An interesting letter was delivered to our mailbox recently. It was sent by Michael Adair of Sterling Heights, Michigan and it contained two 35mm slides that were taken by his father, Edward, in 1960.
Edward Adair was an engineer on the Grand Trunk Western Railroad and the subject of the slides were the last two steam locomotives that ran in service on the GTW. Our own 4070 is shown at the Rochester, Michigan Depot on the day of its’ last run, on March 29, 1960 (photo above). Locomotive 6323, the last steam locomotive on the railroad’s active roster is shown on the other slide sometime before its’ last run, on September 20, 1961 (photo below). That engine ran passenger excursions for the railroad in Michigan until that date.
The photos along with their explanations were posted on social media on the Midwest Railway and Grand Trunk Western 4070 Facebook pages in August. The posts garnered a lot of interest, especially on the 4070 page which recorded over 10,000 views to date and many comments including one that called the photo of 4070 “the Holy Grail” of all GTW steam photos.
Thanks to Michael for sharing this photographic history with us so it can be preserved in our archives.
6323 steamed up for passenger excursion service for the GTW.