Monon F3 203         
Monon F3 203 at Pullman Junction on the south side of Chicago, Illinois on April 20, 1965, Kodachrome by Chuck Zeiler. Officially the CI&L (Chicago Indianapolis & Louisville), Monon F3 203 was delivered as CI&L 82A, completed in May 1947 (c/n 4455). It is a bit unusual in that it has three portholes and Farr Aire grills. One of the spotting features of a Phase I F3 is three portholes on the A units, but it certainly was not delivered with Farr Aire grills, so one assumes this was a railroad modification.

It is pictured in charge of the daily Train Number 6, 'The Thoroughbred', running between Chicago and Louisville, Kentucky. It is seen here at Pullman Junction, and if it is on schedule, it's a little after noon. It departed Louisville at 6:30 AM, and is due in at Dearborn Street Station at 1:05 PM. According to the June 1965 Official Guide, 'Monon Passenger Trains Are Completely Air-Conditioned", and feature Reclining Seat Coaches; sandwiches, coffee, and soft drinks served between Bloomington and Chicago'. The southbound train of the same name was Number 5, departing Chicago at 5:25 PM, arriving at Louisville at 2:10 AM, a 324 mile run. This paint scheme was called the 'Purdue' paint scheme, the same colors of the Purdue University football team.

Date: 4/20/1965 Location: Chicago, IL   Map Show Chicago on a rail map Views: 2602 Collection Of:   Chuck Zeiler
Locomotives: MON 203(F3A)    Author:  Chuck Zeiler
Monon F3 203
Picture Categories: Roster,Track This picture is part of album:  Monon and C&EI
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User Comments
Name Type Comments Date
Gary Everhart General Beautiful shot! Brings tears to my eyes! Glad to see it is wearing the later passenger livery colors for Purdue than the original "IU" color scheme! Find the farthest left signal a real treat to see too! 3/25/2012 3:15:51 AM
Tom Beckett General Leader is an "F 5" perhaps?? 3/12/2018 4:54:52 AM
Chuck Zeiler General Although the F5 was never an official EMD model designation, it is generally accepted ( among the railfans ) that the F5 was a late-model F3 with some F7 components ( notably, the change from the D17 to D27 traction motors ). Without knowing this detail, I called it a F3 with Farr Aire grills. This was an easy retrofit by the railroad, and the Farr Aire grills were superior for keeping the rain and snow out of the engine room. 3/12/2018 11:44:24 AM
Eric Reinert General 203 was the repaired 82A that was part of a pair of F's that were involved in the Sept. 1951 wreck at Monon, IN. The repair involved EMD replacing the chicken wire with the Farr-Aire grilles. It's all F-3 under the skin. 2/4/2020 10:04:42 AM
Eric Reinert General I should've said it was part of the pair that was dead-heading behind the lead pair in the Monon, IN wreck. 2/4/2020 10:05:50 AM
Chuck Zeiler General That's good information, thanks Eric. EMD did the repairs. 2/4/2020 7:01:47 PM

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