What is the rarest locomotive, rail car, or any other peice of equipment you've seen??

[METRO]

Back in High School, I was on the track team. We had a track meet at a suburban school that was right next to a CNW line. Well I was standing by the tracks with a few of my teamates after my races and along the line rolls a FM switcher. First and last time I've ever seen a FM unit period. It had to be on its last few months of service though as it was so covered in rust and road dirt that I couldn't even make out a unit number. It also sounded like the prototypical equiviant of an un-lubricated Athearn engine.

And when I was back in school, I was railfaning on then SOO trackage and saw one of the SRS rebuilt doodlebugs.

~METRO

[chad thomas]

I don't know if this qualifies, but I thought this was rare.
My father and I went on a weeklong railfanning trip starting in LA, we went to Sandpoint,Id. then east to Billings,Mt. then Butte down to Salt Lake City and back to LA. On this trip we had several encounters with an LMX B39-8. I can't recall what number. It was as if it were following us. The first sighting was on a westbound between Spokane and Sandpoint. The second time was around Butte on a eastbound Montana Rail Link train. Then several days later it showed up around Las Vegas on a westbound (seeing a BN unit on a UP line was a rarity in its own right). And finally on a eastbound in Cajon pass. What are the odds of that?????

[lonewoof]

Saw today, parked in the CSX yard: US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION SAFETY DIVISION #2001T. Looks like a 70-foot-long double-ended Winnebago.
Does anyone know what this car does? Inspect track? check signals? It didn't look like it was self-propelled, but might be.
I got a couple pictures, but it will be a while before I shoot up that roll of film and can get one posted...

[Overmod]

Most recent interesting rarity: BNSF 2249, in the middle of a 5-locomotive consist, traversing the yard in south Memphis very early Saturday morning. Unless I'm very mistaken, BNSF has just this one...

[M636C]

Overmod,

Is this the first positive, rather than negative posting in a while or have I missed them?

I don't have a current BNSF roster handy - what is 2249?

Peter

[Anonymous]

In 'real life": There were four (4) Fairbanks Morse model P-12-42 SPEED MERCHANT locomotives built,(1957-1958), two for the B&M and two for the New Haven. I have ridden behind two of these and have explored the cabs of all four.
in "muesum" life, there are two EMD lightweight train locomotives (Model LWT-12) preserved. have visited both of these locos in Museums in St Louis and in Green Bay WI. There were only three of these locos.
Rarer still, I guess, were the two lead cars used on NH's streamlined "ROGER WILLIAMS" RDC train. I used to commute on these fairly regularly.

[Anonymous]

I would have to say a side dump car on a CSX train that still had L&N reporting marks.

[Anonymous]

OK, I really didn't see this myself ..but as a long time railroad employee I've had a few friends that were around much longer... most are dead now ..This one I would believe anything he told me...As for me I'm in my 38th year with UP (formerly SP) as as locomotive engineer....He told me that early in his career as a switchman (he was an older fellow at the time about 35 years ago) he had orders to take an old coach to the scrap yard. While riding on the car he said he saw a sign stenciled inside the car that said " DO NOT SHOOT BUFFALO FROM VESTIBULE DOORS" .. Well this is my Little
contribution ..Carry On

[Overmod]

Peter --

Don't post much more, either positive or negative. Just happened to see this topic the day after I saw the unit itself in consist and remarked to myself that the thing had to be rare...

2249 is a GP-38B -- in other words, a cabless GP-38 that isn't a slug. I don't know of any others, and cabless hood units have always been exotic to me anyway.

[Anonymous]

I saw a Milwaukee Road F-7 being pulled by CSX to the Chattanooga, TN railway museum a couple of months ago.

[espeefoamer]

I saw an EMD model 40 switcher at Traveltown in L.A. I saw the GM Aerotrain quite often on the UP I was 5 years old.There were only two of these built.

[Anonymous]

NS 4610 in the Southern heritage paint

[anb740]

Well let's see. I've seen a lot of rare stuff, but my catch of a Trident missile car a few months ago probably took the cake. Only five known in existence. (my apologies for those who've seen the pic already)

http://anb740.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=51972

Want more crazy stuff, here ya go!
Pulpwood car still lettered for the Ga RR: http://anb740.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=50872

Cannonball #4 2-8-2 steam locomotive...on a flatcar:
http://anb740.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=92028

all for now.
anb740

[coborn35]

A rare find I saw over the winter was a FM in operating condition and a IC F-unit in perfect condition. Also this lineup of 4 F-units all in perfect running condition. I do not know if these are rare or not but i see on a regular basis NW5 GN#192, SD18 DMIR#193, McGiffert log loader and a DMIR mallet, and have been in the cab of all of them multiple times:)

[UPTRAIN]

Gotta be the Challenger, the 1522...the UP United Way Unit, BN 1991...I've been really fortunate to see almost every special paint scheme since 1990.

[trolleyboy]

Rarity that I've seen in the last two days a pair of CN GMD1's still in the Zebra sceme pulling raillinks steel train through Brantford. TB