6128 EJ&E 668 Bi-Cen 3-77

EJ&E 668, an SD38-2 and the road's last new unit (all subsequent units were second hand) was delivered in solid white. The railroad applied its Bi-Centennial markings in reflective Scotchlite, but the stuff kept peeling off, so after a couple of attempts, the markings were painted on. Unlike many Bi-Centennial units, the EJ&E did not keep the scheme for long, and this March 1977 photo was the last time I ever saw it in red, white, and blue. Getting the shot at all was a study in blundering perseverence; the Joliet bound train was shot just after it had crossed the bridge over the C&NW and Sheridan Road in North Chicago. The photographer (me) had to scramble, slipping and sliding and tumbling repeatedly up and down the snow and ice covered embankment to reach a place to get a decent shot, as the bridge girders obscured the bottom half of the train while fencing and other ghetto garbage ruined the shot from ground level.