Fading Glory

Fading Glory, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

So, I've bored a number of you with photos of this old rusting Cadillac sedan, parked picturesquely in front of a barn in rural Illinois. It sat there for at least five years, probably longer, occasionally moving around a bit as the owner moved his boat in and out of the barn. I've literally shot thousands of photos of this car, stopping whenever I happened to drive past, sometimes testing out some new gadget or technique I picked up. Seriously, though, four digits.

Anyway, long story slightly longer, I found out earlier this evening that the old Caddy's gone, leaving behind a rectangle of bare dirt in the lawn. I can only hope that the owner finally got around to restoring it, but most likely he sold it on.

What's to become of Fading Glory? I've no idea, but I leave you with this, the last photo I took of her, back in May.

Little Joe

Little Joe, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Originally built for Soviet Railways, the GE EF-4 became an icon of American railroading, following it's use on the Milwaukee Road's electrified western lines. Of the twenty built, twelve were used by the Milwaukee, five went to Brazil's Companhia Paulista de Estradas de Ferro (who used Joes until 1999), and three were used for freight use by the South Shore. Several survive, and this one, the South Shore's 803, is still in operable condition at the Illinois Railway Museum.

I took this on a rare outing for the 803, and processed it to give it that "Oldachrome-found-in-a-shoebox" look.

Vintage Iron

Vintage Iron, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A set of vintage golf clubs. I just like the logo.

X-18

X-18, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

The Illinois Raiway Museum's General Electric 8500 GTEL, a gas-turbine powered electric locomotive. Designed for long haul use, the first turbines were delivered in 1951. X-18 is a third-generation version of the GTEL, delivered in the late 50's, and remained ins service until 1969. One of two survivors, #18 usually sits on the line and is kind of hard to shoot, but this weekend it was moved to this nice curved bit of track for display.

Truck

Truck, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

We've visited these old relics a few times, but here's another view.