Is that a "Bluebird" that I See?

This website tells us almost everything we want to know about the front of this post card: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_U34CHU34CH

What we are seeing is one locomotive of a fleet of 32 that were built by General Electric for Erie-Lackawanna and the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT). The locomotive is a U34CH fitted with heating equipment to handle commuter trains in northern New Jersey. This picture was taken in 1972. The U34CH is a 3,600 hp passenger diesel locomotive built by General Electric between 1970 and 1973. In total, 33 U34CH units were built; 32 were built for the New Jersey Department of Transportation and operated by the Erie Lackawanna Railway and, later, Conrail, with the last unit coming as a later rebuild of a GE U30C for the New York MTA. The 32 initial locomotives operated with new Pullman Standard push-pull coaches. The units were intended to replace locomotives in suburban commuter service out of Hoboken, New Jersey. The U34CH was the first GE locomotive to use steel crowned pistons to develop 3,600 hp and was the first commuter locomotive built with shaft driven HEP–that is, a Head End Power alternator driven by the locomotive prime mover rather than by a separate diesel. In the next sentence, F indicates a cylinder bore of 9 inches; D identifies the engine configuration with the master and auxiliary connecting rods; and L refers to the service as “locomotive”. To provide HEP at the proper AC frequency the FDL-16 prime mover ran at a constant 900 RPM, so traction horsepower was 3430 minus whatever was going into HEP. By contrast, when not providing HEP, the FDL-16 could produce 3600 traction horsepower at its usual 1050 RPM. To show their NJDOT ownership, the units were painted in a dark blue and silver paint scheme with NJDOT logo and were often called "Bluebirds" by rail enthusiasts. The U34CHs on the weekends were sometimes used in Erie Lackawanna freight service, often being on freight duty from Saturday to Sunday and returning to commuter service Monday morning.

The post card was published by Railcards.com

Yours, Mine and Ours

General Electric Locomotive Division, General Electric Leasing Corporation, Burlington Northern come together to make this post card work. The paint scheme on the locomotives on the front of this post card is that of

the General Electric Leasing Corporation (LMX). Not only did General Electric (GE) build locomotives, but they also leased them to railroads. The General Electric Leasing Corporation was acquired by Wells Fargo in September of 2015. This was then merged with Wabtec to form Wabtec Freight, which has continued to operate General Electric’s leasing operations. The locomotives themselves are Dash8-39B models from General Electric. This website gives a good, concise history of this model of locomotive. https://trains-and-locomotives.fandom.com/wiki/GE_B39-8 The General Electric B39-8 (Dash 8-39B, or simply "Dash 8") is a type of four-axle, 3,900hp diesel locomotive first built in 1984, and again from 1987-1988. 145 were sold only to Southern Pacific (SP), LMX Leasing, and Santa Fe (ATSF). During the mid-1980's, railroads became interested in purchasing more modern, high-horsepower, fuel-efficient, and otherwise more economical diesel locomotives to replace the preceding so-called "ancient" diesels. To meet these needs, GE developed the Dash 8 line of revolutionary, economical, high-tech, high-horsepower diesel-electric locomotives which included microprocessor controls that monitored everything under the hood via computerized sensors and displayed stats from a panel located the cab of the locomotive. Other features included automatic engine starters, a doppler-controlled wheel-slip system, as well as having an advanced engine cooling system reminiscent to EMD's “Tunnel Motor” cooling system design used on the SD40T-2 and other subsequent "Tunnel Motor" series models, while also retaining a similar design found on previous GE models. The testbed line for the early Dash 8 models officially debuted with the introduction of the B36-8 and C36-8 between 1983-1984. The B39-8 was a complete success and became an almost instant contender to EMD's GP60. Yet not too long after the B39-8's initial production, the more popular and externally similar B40-8 was introduced, thus eliminating the B39-8 entirely from GE's catalog, and the six-axle C40-8 overtook the latter in 1987.

The picture on this post card is taken on the Burlington Northern line at Loram, Montana in 1992. The post card was published by Railcards.com and he usually did not give photo credit for the pictures on the post cards he published.

Dashing through the Line-up

The locomotive pictured on the front of this post card is the successor to the

locomotive featured in last week’s blog post. This website gives us the details about this new model of locomotive: https://grokipedia.com/page/GE_Dash_8-40C The GE Dash 8-40C is a six-axle diesel-electric freight locomotive built by General Electric Transportation Systems, featuring a 4,000 horsepower GE 7FDL-16 V16 turbocharged diesel engine and microprocessor-based control systems. A total of 584 units were produced between December 1987 and 1992, primarily for heavy-haul service on North American Class I railroads. Developed as an evolution of the earlier Dash 7, the Dash 8-40C represented GE's push into advanced electronic controls, becoming the first locomotive in any major series to incorporate fully microprocessor-equipped engine management for improved efficiency and reliability. Production began with the first unit delivered to Union Pacific in late 1987, and the model quickly gained popularity due to its robust design suited for intermodal, coal, and general freight trains. Major original purchasers included Union Pacific (256), CSX Transportation (147 units), Norfolk Southern (75 units), Chicago & North Western (77 units), and Conrail (25 units). Key specifications include a length of 70 feet 8 inches, a weight of approximately 391,000 pounds, a 4,600-gallon fuel capacity, and a top speed of 70 mph, with standard features like dynamic braking, GE 752 traction motors, and 83:20 gear ratios. Early units used Rockwell International FB-3 trucks, later transitioning to Adirondack castings, and production saw minor phase changes such as relocated dynamic brake intakes and enhanced anti-climber designs for safety. The Dash 8-40C's success led to variants like the wide-cab Dash 8-40CW (built from 1989) and cowl-bodied Dash 8-40CM (1993–1994), extending the lineage until GE shifted to the Dash 9 series in the mid-1990s. Many remain in service, often rebuilt for continued freight operations. The railroad for which this “Dash 8” is working is the Chicago & Northwestern. It is seen here at the Proviso Yard in West Chicago. While I have compiled most of the concise history of the railroad below, I recommend that you go to this website for a comprehensive history: https://www.american-rails.com/cnw.html The Chicago & North Western's founding predecessor was the Galena & Chicago Union chartered in 1836. The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) was the first railroad constructed out of Chicago, intended to provide a shipping route between Chicago and the lead mines near Galena, Illinois. The railroad company was chartered on January 16, 1836, but financial difficulties delayed construction until 1848. While the main line never reached Galena, construction to Freeport, Illinois, allowed it to connect with the Illinois Central Railroad and provide direct service to Galena. The G&CU is notable as not only being Chicago’s first railroad but also the first to operate a steam locomotive out of the city. After a very long and complicated history, including the purchase of the railroad by its employees in 1972, the Union Pacific Railroad took full ownership of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad in 1995.

The photo credit for this picture goes to Doug Koontz. I found this description on this website: https://www.tumblr.com/norfolksouthern/190314271822/doug-koontz-a-norfolk-southern-foreman-is-no. No guarantees that this is the same Doug, but if push comes to shove, I might bet some money that they are the same person. "Doug Koontz, a Norfolk Southern foreman, is no stranger to photography. Before joining the railroad six years ago, Koontz was a newspaper photojournalist in Maryland. Near the end of a freezing winter day, Koontz happened to be near Fort Hunter Mansion and Park just north of downtown Harrisburg when he saw this NS merchandise train passing over the Susquehanna River on the Rockville Bridge. He took advantage of the colorful sunset view just in time. The icy waters of the Susquehanna, juxtaposed by fading sunlight, serve as a reminder that NS runs 24/7, in all weather conditions. Koontz recalls a saying he once heard about our around-the-clock service: “A sunset on the railroad is a pretty light show in the middle of the day.” The post card was published by Audio Visual Designs.