| Conrail U28C 6830 at BN's Cicero, Illinois yard on an unknown day in October 1980, photo by Chuck Zeiler. Built for the Standard Railroad of the World between September-October 1966 as Pennsylvania 6530 (c/n 36029), it was one of 15 U28C's for the PRR (#'s 6520-6534, classed GF28a), and one of 75 built by General Electric before being replaced by the U30C. The U28C was built in two distinct Phases, Phase I utilized the U25C carbody, the significant spotting feature being the step-up in the running board at the location of the radiators at the rear of the unit, and drop equalizer trucks. The Phase II introduced a General Steel Castings truck similar in design to EMD's Flexicoil truck, and a truck of similar design referred to as the Adirondack truck. The radiators of the Phase II had a bulge on the side just above the intakes, and a walkway over the center on the roof. When Penn-Central came into existence February 1, 1968, the U28C's retained their PRR road numbers. On April 1, 1976, Conrail took over the failed PC and several other eastern railroads. To make room for SD40-2's, CR re-numbered the U28C's into the 6820-6834 series, and they lasted until retired in 1983. |