Is SOO #2066 a former MILW loco. About looks like it judging by the worn-out orange paint. This photo was taken in Dec, 2009, only about a month-and-a-half ago. I'm amazed this GP40 loco hadn't been repainted in SOO or CP's current paint scheme. The description says that SOO #2066 is GP40, though the grilled radiators makes it look like a GP40-2.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showpicture.aspx?id=1893206
The SOO 2066 is indeed a former MILW locomotive, one of several that are still in a patched Milwaukee Road paint scheme. The patching was actually done by the SOO line after the Milwaukee merger, but it's survived all these years (and in some cases has started to wear off) without being repainted. They are often known as "bandits" by the fans because of the black patches. On some of the engines you can even start to see the Milwaukee Road lettering bleeding through the patch (look close on the long hood of this engine).
The 2066 is one of the rougher looking of the bunch. It looked about the same back in early 2009:
http://badgerrails.webng.com/photos/cp/satmp4.html
http://badgerrails.webng.com/photos/cp/satmp6.html
The CP has never seemed to be in a hurry to repaint former SOO line equipment. A few of the GP40s and MP15s have got a nice new paint scheme here and there, but many remain in their SOO colors, whether that be red and white, solid red, or the bandit scheme.
Others may know the exact numbers on how many bandits are left.
Noah
Lyon_Wonder Is SOO #2066 a former MILW loco. About looks like it judging by the worn-out orange paint. This photo was taken in Dec, 2009, only about a month-and-a-half ago. I'm amazed this GP40 loco hadn't been repainted in SOO or CP's current paint scheme. The description says that SOO #2066 is GP40, though the grilled radiators makes it look like a GP40-2. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showpicture.aspx?id=1893206
As Noah noted, yes, it is a former MILW unit. Besides the paint, another way to tell is that Soo's GP40's did not have dynamic brakes, but those from MILW did. It appears that CP may have removed the dynamic brakes themselves from former MILW GP40s (since the DB fan is no longer in place), but the DB blister remains.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wales23/578130480/
The Milwaukee Road 2066 heading west out of Davis Junction, IL from May of 1985, with the MKT slug set trailing just for good measure.
The 2066 was one of only 3 GP40s to receive the Hiawatha paint scheme (2011, 2032 and 2066).
Lance
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.