Train no. CC-1

NG502038

Train no. CC-1

Steam Freight train

As she shouldered the 51-car load of no. 95, the 2815 was panned on the straightaway west of Indianapolis, and she obligingly erupted with a plume of black smoke. In the course of accelerating out of the terminal, the engine was being 'hooked up', which expression had particular application to the 2815 and her sister, the 2869. Most of the L-2s had wheel-operated Precision reverse gear, but these two had been assigned to hump service in the yard at Harrisburg, Illinois, and for this reason were equipped with the more conventional All-Service reverse, controlled by a lever on a quadrant. As the speed increased, the cutoff was shortened by moving this lever back on the quadrant - hence the legendary phrase, 'hooking her up'. As noted in the introduction, the 2815 had another distinction, that of handling the last steam-powered through freight run on the New York Central.

Jeremy Taylor

Jeremy Taylor

2-1/4x3-1/4 neg

Summer, 1953

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467

L-2c

#2815

Alco-Schen

Indianapolis, IN