Peabody Safari

Peabody Safari - 28 March 1975 The day we shot Baldwins, Limas, GEs an EMD, FM and a Plymouth
Text and photos by Rick Morgan, except as noted.
1975 and I'm still in my first year at the University of Missouri. Prior to going to Mizzou I'd been referred by a friend to a St Louis native, David R. Busse, as a possible railfan partner. We quickly hit it off and made a good pair as I had the wheels (a 1972 Fiat 850 Spyder of all things) and he knew the territory. In March Dave suggested we make a trip to see the Peabody Coal's River King operation in western Illinois. Peabody, of course, was famous for running an eclectic menagerie of locomotives from multiple builders. We staged at Dave's Webster Groves home and woke to solid overcast on the Friday morning we'd planned, with periodic rain. In true railfan fashion, however, we still made the trip. At that point Peabody's operations were open and nobody seemed to care that we were shooting pictures. The trip still proved well worth the time and effort in spite of the foul weather. Dealing with things that I didn't think of way back when, I wish we'd found an Alco that day to make it a clean sweep! PCCX LS750 #23 We arrived at River King Mine no.6 near Lenzburg, Illinois about 1000 and immediately found the two Lima LS750s on site. While both were out of service, they were still the first Lima diesels I had ever seen, let alone photograph. Nos 23 and 24 were former Cincinnati Union Terminal locomotives. blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank PCCX DT66-2000 #50 The biggest targets of the day were the two former Trona Baldwin centercabs. DT66-2000s #50 and 51 seemed larger-than-life and looked to be in great shape. While #50 was sitting on a side track, #51 was found working the coal loader while another Baldwin worked cars next to it on this very gloomy day. blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank PCCX DRS66-1500 #1025 PCCX #1025 was a DRS66-1500, built as Kaiser Steel (KSCX) #1010A in 1948 for their Eagle Mountain mine operation in southern California. It later became KSCX #1025. Kaiser's 52 mile line ran ore to the SP for their Fontana mill. They replaced five six-axle Baldwins with GE U30Cs in 1968. blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank PCCX DRS66-1500 #1026 The #1026 was a sister to #1025 as the former Kaiser #1010B and, later, #1026. The steel company also had three Baldwin AS-616s and replaced all of them with GE U30Cs in 1968, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank PCCX AS416 #1616 Peabody also operated a single AS-416, the 1616, which was a 1955 Eddystone graduate built for the original Norfolk Southern as #1616. blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank PCCX 20-Tonner Rick Morgan in the drizzle, writing down the builder's plate information on a Peabody Plymouth 20 tonner dead at River King. It turned out to be a former Army locomotive (#7704, ex-Quarter Master Corps #2053; s/n 2357, b/d 7/41). Photo by David Busse blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank PCCX H10-44 #274 At 2PM we drove through New Athens and found an Illinois Central Gulf unit delivering a Fairbanks-Morse switcher to another Peabody mine outside town. GP9 #9198 was still in original paint; it was eight years from going through Paducah to become GP11 #8752. It reportedly ended up with US Sugar in Florida. The F-M was #274, a former Frisco H10-44. It wore an odd combination of PCCX and Frisco colors. blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank Union Pacific U30C #2845 It was late in the afternoon and after our return to Webster Groves we heard of a train-auto collision on the Missouri Pacific's Carondelet Branch. What we found was this pair of Union Pacific U30Cs (#2845 and 2860) with the lead unit's nose punched in. blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank
New: 1 September 2022

1975 and I'm still in my first year at the University of Missouri. Prior to going to Mizzou I'd been referred by a friend to a St Louis native, David R. Busse, as a possible railfan partner. We quickly hit it off and made a good pair as I had the wheels (a 1972 Fiat 850 Spyder of all things) and he knew the territory.

In March Dave suggested we make a trip to see the Peabody Coal's River King operation in western Illinois. Peabody, of course, was famous for running an eclectic menagerie of locomotives from multiple builders.

We staged at Dave's Webster Groves home and woke to solid overcast on the Friday morning we'd planned, with periodic rain. In true railfan fashion, however, we still made the trip. At that point Peabody's operations were open and nobody seemed to care that we were shooting pictures. The trip still proved well worth the time and effort in spite of the foul weather. Dealing with things that I didn't think of way back when, I wish we'd found an Alco that day to make it a clean sweep!

PCCX LS750 #23

We arrived at River King Mine no.6 near Lenzburg, Illinois about 1000 and immediately found the two Lima LS750s on site. While both were out of service, they were still the first Lima diesels I had ever seen, let alone photograph. Nos 23 and 24 were former Cincinnati Union Terminal locomotives.

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PCCX DT66-2000 #50

The biggest targets of the day were the two former Trona Baldwin centercabs. DT66-2000s #50 and 51 seemed larger-than-life and looked to be in great shape. While #50 was sitting on a side track, #51 was found working the coal loader while another Baldwin worked cars next to it on this very gloomy day.

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PCCX DRS66-1500 #1025

PCCX #1025 was a DRS66-1500, built as Kaiser Steel (KSCX) #1010A in 1948 for their Eagle Mountain mine operation in southern California. It later became KSCX #1025. Kaiser's 52 mile line ran ore to the SP for their Fontana mill. They replaced five six-axle Baldwins with GE U30Cs in 1968.

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PCCX DRS66-1500 #1026

The #1026 was a sister to #1025 as the former Kaiser #1010B and, later, #1026. The steel company also had three Baldwin AS-616s and replaced all of them with GE U30Cs in 1968,

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PCCX AS416 #1616

Peabody also operated a single AS-416, the 1616, which was a 1955 Eddystone graduate built for the original Norfolk Southern as #1616.

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PCCX 20-Tonner

Rick Morgan in the drizzle, writing down the builder's plate information on a Peabody Plymouth 20 tonner dead at River King. It turned out to be a former Army locomotive (#7704, ex-Quarter Master Corps #2053; s/n 2357, b/d 7/41). Photo by David Busse

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PCCX H10-44 #274

At 2PM we drove through New Athens and found an Illinois Central Gulf unit delivering a Fairbanks-Morse switcher to another Peabody mine outside town. GP9 #9198 was still in original paint; it was eight years from going through Paducah to become GP11 #8752. It reportedly ended up with US Sugar in Florida. The F-M was #274, a former Frisco H10-44. It wore an odd combination of PCCX and Frisco colors.

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Union Pacific U30C #2845

It was late in the afternoon and after our return to Webster Groves we heard of a train-auto collision on the Missouri Pacific's Carondelet Branch. What we found was this pair of Union Pacific U30Cs (#2845 and 2860) with the lead unit's nose punched in.

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Peabody Safari - 28 March 1975