| Union Pacific Railroad U50 41 at Council Bluffs, Iowa on May 2, 1965, Kodachrome by Lou Schmitz, Chuck Zeiler collection. Built around August 1964 (c/n 35101), retired and traded to GE January 1974. A batch of 12 were delivered between July and September 1964, while a final eight were built May through August 1965. They were numbered 31-53. The number 72 appears in the engineer's side number board, and at the time of this photo, the UP (and the SP) were using the number boards to display the train number, not the locomotive number, so perhaps this locomotive last worked train #72. The trucks and connecting span bolsters came from retired gas-turbine locomotives. This locomotive was essentially two U25B's on a common frame. The UP had determined that the maintenance costs were independent of the power output of the locomotive, so the concept was to reduce maintenance costs by using a few large locomotives in place of several smaller locomotives. |