Little Joes

The last three weeks have focused on electrical locomotives on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad (Milwaukee Line); in this time we have seen two generations of the locomotives by used by the Milwaukee Line. Today we see the third, and final, generation of electrical locomotives they used. It is known officially as the General Electric EF-4 or EP-4 (depends on if it is being used for Freight or Passenger service). Each locomotive had 12 axles (8 of which were with power) with a 2-D+D-2 configuration. They were powered by 3,300 volts DC from overhead wires using the pantograph system for electrical connection. Each locomotive could develop 4,300 kilowatts of power (over 5,000 horsepower). That is enough energy to light up 43,000 one hundred watt light bulbs. The Milwaukee Line had 12 of these in service from the 1950s to June 15, 1974. General Electric actually built twenty units; the other eight sibling engines went to Brazil's Companhia Paulista de Estradas de Ferro and to the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad. They are called Little Joes because the units were originally built for use in the Soviet Union (whose leader was Josef Stalin). The Cold War set in before the units were completed and the United States government would not allow them to be delivered to the Soviet Union. General Electric looked around for other buyers and the Milwaukee Line purchased its twelve for about $1 million. These units proved their value in the Rocky Mountains as they pulled train after train dependably over the passes and through the snow. The last two week's posts included pictures of the Olympian Hiawatha being pulled by older generation electric locomotives. The passenger train was soon handed over the the Little Joes once they arrived. Only one of these locomotives still survives. It is on static display at Deer Lodge, Montana; the same location at which this cover picture was taken on June 23, 1970. The locomotive in the picture is number E74; the one on display is number E70.

The post card was published by Audio Visual Designs, based out of Earlton, New York. This could be the youngest post card about which I have blogged to date. The address on the back includes a zip code, so the card cannot be any older than January 1, 1963. But, looking up the history of the publisher we find that the company was founded in 1964 by the late Carl H. Sturner. Audio-Visual Designs has been a leader in providing high quality railroad images products for over 4 decades. The business was originally located in Earlton, NY. The name was derived by the products sold at the time – audio soundtracks of trains well as visual items (post cards, books, & calendars). The first All Pennsy Calendar was published in 1966 and for many years used exclusively the photos of Don Wood, a long time friend of Carl's. In the late 80's, Carl started showcasing other photographer's work as well. Railroad Christmas cards were added to the line of products early on and with a few exceptions have featured real photos of trains in action. Three railroad books have been published by Audio-Visual Designs: I Remember Pennsy, Locomotives in My Life, and The Unique New York and Long Branch: all of which were projects worked on by Carl and Mr. Wood. Audio-Visual Designs has also published books for other non-railroad related organizations.

I also have this post card, which is on of the "Little Joes" that was purchased by the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad, as mentioned above. This picture of #801 was taken in 1965.