General Motors F3A

Union Pacific 1447, Argo Yard Seattle, August 13, 1960. You gotta love the chain link fencing that adorns the F3. But I have it on good authority that it did keep the critters out!

This shot was taken at Seattle’s Argo Yard. You may not have thought much about it, but Union Pacific never laid rail to Seattle, but here they are in Seattle, and is the only one of the Big Four – NP, GN, and Milwaukee, that did not run over the Cascades.

In 1906, the Union Pacific incorporated the Oregon & Washington railroad company to work on construction of a line from Portland to Seattle. However, the Northern Pacific was already operating a line from Vancouver to Tacoma, so they structured a joint operating – track rights, over Northern Pacific steel, to get to the Puget Sound.

In fact, it wasn’t until 1958, when the Union Pacific purchased the Spokane International Railroad, finally giving them contact with the Canadian Pacific in the Pacific Northwest.

Railroad Stuff: Union Pacific 1447, built as F3A, 1,500 hp, built by Electro Motive Division in May 1948, serial number 5712, 247,400 lbs. Retired in March 1963.