Small can also mean Important!!

Locomotive #45 was built by Alco in 1956 as a 1600 h.p. RS-3, a B-B diesel. It is seen here as it rests in the yard of the Alton and Southern

Railway in East St. Louis, Illinois. This picture was taken on Saturday, June 19, 1965, by K. C. Henkels. Our friends at Wikipedia tell us this about the railroad and its history: The Alton and Southern Railroad was formed in 1910, and in 1913 it absorbed the Denverside Connecting Railway (founded in 1910), and the Alton and Southern Railway (founded in 1911). The company was operated as a subsidiary of the Aluminum Ore Company, which was itself a subsidiary of the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa), to serve the Bayer process bauxite-to-alumina refinery at Alorton, Illinois. Alcoa sold the line to the Missouri Pacific Railroad and Chicago and North Western Railway (CNW) in 1968, and it was reorganized as the Alton and Southern Railway. In 1972, CNW's share was sold to the St. Louis Southwestern Railway. In 1982, the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) took ownership of the Missouri Pacific share and then became full owner in 1996 with the acquisition of SSW parent Southern Pacific Transportation Company. The Alton and Southern is still a legally separate entity but is wholly owned by UP. This is what the actual company, the Alton and Southern Railway, says about its history. You can find it on their website https://www.altonsouthern.com/about/ Founded in 1910, Alton & Southern Railway has a rich history as a crucial railroad in the St. Louis region. With approximately 30 miles of mainline track, we serve various industries like chemicals, petroleum, metals, and manufacturing. As a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railroad, we benefit from a vast transportation network, including easy access to four Interstate highways, various river ports, and six Class-1 railroads, ensuring seamless connections nationwide. We prioritize safety, efficiency, and environmental stewardship, continuously investing in infrastructure and technology, and are committed to providing reliable services through its Union Pacific partnership.

The post card was published by Audio Visual Designs (AVD) in Earlton, New York. AVD was started in 1964 by Carl Sturner for the sole purpose of providing railfans with sound recordings of locos and trains as well as with photochrome postcards of trackside photos. These stunning color images were taken all over the country by some well-known photographers such as David Sweetland. The history and product line of AVD can be found on the company's website at www.audiovisualdesigns.com

Michigan Interstate... What is that?

The ALCO RS2 locomotives on the front of this post card have the Ann Arbor Railroad name on the side. The lead engine has a Michigan Interstate logo on its side. When Conrail began on April 1, 1976, the Ann Arbor Railroad ceased to exist. Michigan arranged for a new company, Michigan Interstate Railway, to run it, which lasted from October 1, 1977, to September 30, 1982. This last bit of information came from this website, which has a great article about the history of the Ann Arbor Railroad: https://www.trains.com/ctr/railroads/fallen-flags/remembering-the-ann-arbor-railroad/ The Ann Arbor Railroad (AA) was as much a steamship line as a railroad. Built from Toledo, Ohio, northwest to Frankfort, Mich., it existed for one reason — to move freight in car ferries across Lake Michigan to bypass Chicago. From 1910 to 1968, “the Annie” operated 320 car ferry route-miles versus 292 miles of railroad. During the 1940s, up to six ferries made the round trip from Boat Landing, as AA called its yard in Elberta on the south side of Frankfort harbor, to two Wisconsin and two Michigan Upper Peninsula ports. The boats ran year-round on a tight schedule, timed to match with three pairs of scheduled Toledo freights, where AA interchanged with five trunk lines. Well-kept 2-8-2s powered those short, fast trains across AA’s rolling profile until 1950, when Alco FA2s took over. The Wabash had eyed the Ann Arbor since the late 1890s, as the car ferry service fit into its expansion plans. On November 2, 1925, it took stock control, and soon, Wabash ordered the last ferry built for the Annie, the Wabash. Launched March 19, 1926, she was the largest Great Lakes car ferry to date. AA began to dieselize in 1941 with a 44-ton Whitcomb, adding two Alco S1s in 1944. By fall 1951, steam was done as AA finished its roster with 14 FA2s, 4 S3s, and 2 RS1s. The Eastern mergers of the 1960s ultimately doomed the old Ann Arbor. As planning for Penn Central went on, the Norfolk & Western (N&W) merged with Wabash, Nickel Plate, and two smaller roads in 1964. N&W wanted no part of the Ann Arbor and its costly ferries, so AA was foisted off on the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad (DT&I), which was profitable by the 1960s. With Interstate Commerce Commission approval, DT&I took over the Ann Arbor on August 31, 1963, Today, the last two AA car ferries and the two RS1s still exist, and a new Ann Arbor Railroad, owned by Watco, operates Toledo to Ann Arbor. Their website has a great video that tells us about the current owners. https://www.watco.com/service/rail/ann-arbor-railroad-aa/ Ann Arbor Railroad (AA) • Primary Commodities Watco moves any commodity, and on this railroad, it’s primarily auto parts and finished vehicles, along with bulk materials like flour, sugar, grain, plastics, sand, cement, recyclables, fertilizer, paper, lumber, and petroleum. • Track Miles • 82.43 • Track Capacity • 286 • Interchange Points • Diann, MI – IORY • Milan, MI – NS • Osmer, MI – GLC • Toledo, OH – CN, CSX, NS, WE • Year Watco Operations Began • 2013

The post card was published by that great mystery publisher www.Railcards.com out of Alameda, California.

Does this Bring a Song to Mind?

The locomotive on the front of this post card is an Alco C415. The website (the best railroad history webiste in my opnion) https://www.american-rails.com/415.html tells us the following about the locomotive's history: "It is a center-cab design, which began production in June 1966 and offered a staggering 1,500 horsepower for a switcher using Alco's 251F prime mover (the builder's latest, and final, engine design). While Alco by this point typically sold its locomotives in a standard model, as EMD had been doing for years, the C415 did come with a few options such as differing cab heights for either clearance or increased visibility and two various truck setups (AAR or Alco's Hi-Ad). Built through the end of Alco's time as a locomotive builder the C415 seemed to epitomize the company's troubles. Just 26 units of the model were sold with the Rock Island and Southern Pacific accounting for 20 of those orders (ten each). Alco removed the C415 from its catalog by December 1968 as the builder was simply having no success in remaining competitive with either GE or EMD. Due to the C415's poor sales it's amazing that any of these switchers survive. However, six can still be found in the United States (at least one is operational on short line Burlington Junction as its #702) as well as one in Australia." This is taken from an article in Trains magazine; a very good read: https://www.trains.com/ctr/railroads/fallen-flags/rock-island-history-remembered/ "In 1847 the Rock Island & La Salle Rail Road was chartered to build between Rock Island, Ill., on the Mississippi River, and La Salle, where connections would be made with the Illinois & Michigan Canal to Chicago. Contractor Henry Farnam persuaded the organizers to extend the railroad all the way to Chicago to connect with other railroads. The charter was so amended, and the railroad was renamed the Chicago & Rock Island. Construction began in 1851. The first train ran from Chicago to Joliet, 40 miles, on Oct. 10, 1852. Its power was a 4-4-0 named Rocket. The line was opened to Rock Island on Feb. 22, 1854, and the contractors turned the line over to the corporation in July of that year. The Rock Island ceased operation March 31, 1980. Chartered in 1847, the Rock Island was the largest U.S. railroad to be liquidated."

Ths post card was published by Audio Visual Designs in Earlton, New York. It was started in 1964 by Carl Sturner for the sole purpose of providing railfans with sound recordings of locos and trains as well as with photochrome postcards of trackside photos. These stunning color images were taken all over the country by some well-known photographers such as David Sweetland. The history and product line of AVD can be found on the company's website at www.audiovisualdesigns.com