| AEX 100015 was outside the S&I Locomotive shop in Opelousas, Louisiana. The loco had been built in December 1953 as Santa Fe SW9 2437 and it was upgraded by the railroad into SSB1200 1237 in March 1974. It was retired in December 1984 and sold to Railcar, Ltd., who leased it to shortline holding company RailTex. It initially operated in modified Santa Fe paint but lettered San Diego & Imperial Valley, then Texas & New Mexico and then TNER (Texas Northeastern); but on 4 October 1992 it arrived on the New Orleans Lower Coast (NOLR) in this very paint job. The paint scheme was designed by Mike Palmieri in a contest held by the railroad’s first general manager, Ted Proctor. The loco left New Orleans in April 1998 and did not return for over 16 years! RailTex’s lease with Railcar was assumed by Railamerica in February 2000 and then by Genesee & Wyoming Industries in December 2012. Meanwhile, Railcar sold the unit to The Andersons (AEX) in 2004; but it continued to move around as NOLR 1237 until its lease expired and it was relettered AEX. It returned to Louisiana in March 2015 looking like this, wearing the same paint job it had received in 1992, and went to S&I where it became SILX 12. |