Back in the winter of 2019/2020 we saw a few photographs that Jack Delano had taken during his trip out west on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in March of 1943. Mr. Delano had recorded quite a few images during that trip, so I went back to the Library of Congress to review them. As a change of pace, I thought I’d share some of what I found.

Featured below is a Santa Fe passenger train passing through the Flint Hills district of Kansas. This is a famous stock feeding area. Heading up the consist is locomotive #3771, a 4-8-4 ‘Northern’ type machine. Built by Baldwin in 1938, this locomotive had 80″ drivers, boasted a 300 psi steam pressure, and produced a massive 79,968 lbs. of tractive effort. Suited for high speed runs all the way to the West Coast, she is shown here with her consist of at least 15 cars. Note the “tight” visor on the headlight, required for West Coast traffic during the war years.

And below is a view of the right side of the locomotive (photographer unknown).