CSI-Rock Island

I dug a little deeper into the slide boxes and came across this shot of a fine-looking Rock Island freight powered by quite an eclectic group of locomotives.

This is from a dupe slide. There’s no information on the mount, but some sleuthing might be able to shed some light on this scene.

Right off the bat, I recognize the location as Dallas. The train is passing by the Dallas Union Terminal building. The bridge in the background confirms this. It’s the Houston Street viaduct over the Trinity River.

Looking carefully at the motive power provides clues about the date of the picture. The lead unit is an Alco FA that’s been re-powered with an EMD 567 engine. These engines were retired by 1970.

Second out is an F7B unit. The third and fourth units are brand-new GP35’s. My Rock Island roster book tells me that the RI received all of its GP35’s in early 1965.

Lastly, looking at angle of the sun indicates that it’s a late afternoon shot in the summer.

Conclusion: Rock Island 131 North is passing through downtown Dallas late summer 1965. The train is coming off the B-RI line which originates in Houston. The train is en route to its primary yard in the area, Peach Yard in Fort Worth.