One of those "I Waited Years For This Shot" Shots. Growing up in Hanford, every time I would drive down to the grain facilities at Kings Park I would make it a point to find the red, EMD SD20 sticking out of the Hanford Milling's facility off Idaho Ave. While the unit, MJRX 1023, would often be buried behind a string of grain cars, I would occasionally find it without obstruction gleaming in the late afternoon light. Out of all those times buried or not, however, I could NEVER get a clean shot of the unit's nose because it was always stuck facing south. With no loop, wye or other means to have itself turned - this unit has faced south for its entire career at this facility. Knowing all that, on this cool October morning, I made it a point to stop by my old stomping grounds during a quick hometown visit to see where the veteran unit might be hiding this time. To my surprise, the unit was parked at the bumper at the facility's southern most stub track that banks to due west - positioning the unit in the perfect spot for light. The rest, as they say, is history.
Not
just heritage schemes, not just commemorative schemes - this album is devoted to some of the world's most interesting paint schemes, past or present.
The EMD SD (special duty) series are a strong and reliable kind of locomotive which still serve America's rails today. They have proved themselves reliable by clocking in several million miles of freight service over several decades.
