In the spring of 2019 I posted a few photographs taken by Jack Delano while visiting Isleta, New Mexico during March of 1943. While there, he witnessed the tower operator at work routing trains through his interlocking plant. He then recorded a train crew picking up their orders on the fly. Mr. Delano also captured this scene of the operator passing orders to the engineer of AT&SF M.119, a self-powered railcar affectionately known as a “doodlebug”.

These railcars were used for lightly traveled lines, making stops at each town (the local train). It’s a combine style car, that is, it has a forward section to carry baggage, mail and express, and the rear coach section for passengers. Initially these railcars were gas-electrics, using a gasoline or distillate engine powering a generator. This in turn powered the electric motors actually driving the wheels. Most were re-powered to use diesel engines during the 1940s. As seen here, they often towed another combine or coach car if the traffic warranted it.