Bill, Southern Pacific 4449, which pulled the American Freedom Train, has been repainted to its usual orange-and-black "Daylight" colors, and I see it occasionally. I was driving on the freeway west of Sacramento one day, and there was a train on the tracks alongside. I looked again, and realized it was the Daylight, pulling a long train of cars that matched the locomotive. What a beautiful train!

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Eric, you said a magic word: Cab Forward. I've been fascinated with Cab Forward locomotives for years. The Southern Pacific used Cab Forward locomotives across Donner Pass (the tracks go right past my house), Tehachapi Pass from Bakersfield to Barstow, and Siskiyou Pass into Oregon from California.

From the California State Railroad Museum:

In total, Baldwin built 256 cab-forward locomotives for Southern Pacific, the only American railroad to make extensive use of this design. Wheel arrangements for these oil-burning behemoths were 2-6-6-2 (changed to 4-6-6-2 after a serious derailment), 2-8-8-2, and 4-8-8-2. Although they were identified mainly with the Sierra Nevada, these locomotives also saw service on the Tehachapi Mountains, the Shasta Division, the Modoc route and other parts of the SP system.

There's only one of those beautiful locomotives left - it's a 4-8-8-2 on display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. To my mind, it's worth a trip to Sacramento to see that one locomotive alone.

Donner Pass had miles of snow sheds over the tracks, so the trains could get through even when the snow was twelve feet deep (which happens often). With a cab forward locomotive, the engineer could get through the shed in front of the smoke, so there was less chance of asphyxiation. Most of the sheds have been removed, but there are still a few concrete ones left - like this abandoned one. The shets once were build of wood like this one, but they were a fire hazard and were removed.

-Joe-