Front view, at coal tower
Identifier
NG503041
Title
Front view, at coal tower
Subject
Steam Locomotive
Description
Even the bright Memorial Day sunshine could not dissipate the atmosphere of decay which casts an inevitable pall over Shelby Street. Weathered structures, rusting machinery, twisted rails, littered grounds - all combine to suggest that here is the very epitome of that most persistent plague of railroading, obsolescence, and that here also is the excruciatingly stark evidence of its raison d'etre, financial instability. The pair of GP-7's, serving as passenger protection between stints on race specials, seems grotesquely out of place among the other occupants of the area - so much so that it is hard to reconcile the legend "New York Central" as being common to them and to the pathetic hulks which predominate in this veritable morgue. The only live steamer in view is the 3015 in the center foreground, and except for her pumps, which emit an occasional soft whine and pant, she is almost as mute as the corpses on her left. The dead line is made up mostly of 2800-series L-2s and various members of the J-1 class. All are consigned to scrap and are waiting for a buyer.
Creator
Jeremy Taylor
Contributor
Jeremy Taylor
Format
2-1/4x3-1/4 neg
Date Created
Spring, 1954
Shopping
To buy a copy of this photograph; click here NG503041
Sub-Subject
4/8/2002
Negative Number
408
Class-Lot
L-3a, GP7
Road Number
#3015,#5763,#5766
Builder
Alco-Schen
Location
Shelby St., Indianapolis, IN
Notes
See NG503041a
Collection
Citation
Jeremy Taylor, “Front view, at coal tower,” New York Central System Historical Society, accessed April 22, 2025, https://nycshs.omeka.net/items/show/86040.
Comments