A lot of the “old-timers” (myself included) bemoan the sterility of modern railroading, yearning for the “good old days” when the railroads had character. Well that character can still be found on some of today’s short-line railroads. The late photographer Shawn Levy illustrates that with this image of an Arkansas, Louisiana & Mississippi freight in Monroe, Louisiana as it was making its way back from the nearby KCS yard. Shawn always had a good eye, framing the train with the barren trees in this December, 2008 composition.

The locomotives are GP28s, a relatively rare model from EMD with only 16 built for the U.S. market. Produced in years 1964-65, it is an 1800 HP engine, essentially a non-turbocharged version of their GP35 model. The number 1815 heading the train started life with the Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway as their #700. It eventually went to several other roads: the Texas & Pacific, Missouri Pacific, Ashley, Drew & Northern, and finally transferred to the Arkansas, Louisiana & Mississippi.