IT/NW SD39's

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Hi Claus,

    When the N&W acquired the Illinois Terminal in 1980(?) six SD39's joined the roster.  The IT numbers were 2301-2306 and became N&W 2961-2966.  Paul Withers and Robert Bowers book N&W Second Generation Diesels has two pages (96-97) about these engines.  Pg. 96 shows #2963 with the small nose herald on the sides instead of the large block NW.  I believe that this is the only one that was painted this way.  All photos are dated Oct, 82.  They all spent their NW lives on the old W&LE in Ohio.  Sometime between then and 1988 the units were painted black with NORFOLK and WESTERN spelled out.  There is a photo in Scott Lindsey's Norfolk Southern 1995 Review (Pg. 136) that shows the Norfolk and Western lettering removed on #2961-2963 on their way to Guilford in New England states.

    The first photo by Douglas Walker shows the black paint being applied.  Doug is the brother of my friend Craig Walker.  Craig several years ago gave me copies of six or eight of the slides taken as the engine was being painted that day.  I can't find where I put the prints I had made but I did give the slides to then President Jim Gillum at the convention held in Huntington, WV. to be put in the archives.

    Besides the SD39's, four GP38-2's #4160-4163, seven SW1500 #2290-2296, two SW1200m's #1220 & 1221, SW1200's #1201-1203, 1205-1212 also joined the NW roster.

    If you are a modeler I read where a 50/50 mix of BN green and Railbox yellow will make the proper IT green when new.  I think by adding white should fade the green to more like when the NW had the units.  I'm oh so close to painting my pair so I haven't tried these colors yet.  The trick is going to weather the engines and then come back with straight color and masking to create where NW repainted and the apply the NW decals.

    By the way there are more IT/NW SD39 photos on the net.  I've tried looking for SD39, IT SD39 and Illinois Terminal etc.

Take care, John Hecker
nwrlinemp72 at cpmcast.net
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