A Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad EMD GP 38-2 roadswitcher crossing theMissisippi River lift bridge.

A Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad EMD GP 38-2 roadswitcher crossing the Missisippi River lift bridge., a photo by Eddie from Chicago on Flickr.

I took this photograph last week Wednsday night, at the Oak Park Society of Model Engineers,H.O Scale Model Railroad Club in Oak Park Illinois.

One of the North American fallen flag railroads of the past I enjoy modeling, is the former Illinois Central Gulf Railroad. The early circa 1972 days and the years beyond this, featured locomotives and cars decorated for predecessor railroad Gulf, Mobile & Ohio, as well as the former Illinois Central itself. It was a colorful variety of color schemes from two railroads during the early 1970's.

Depending on what kind of mood I am in, I can either run early 1972 merger era ICG trains, or earlier G,M & O trains. The locomotive shown here, is a Life Like Proto 2000 Series EMD GP 38-2, painted in the G,M & O's late 1960's era "Red Bird" color scheme.

My G,M & O engine shown here, is viewed crossing the model of a railroad life bridge spanning the Missisippi River at the Illinois and Iowa state line border just as the prototype I.C and ICG trains did back in the day. The former G,M & O had crossed the Missisippi River at St. Louis Missouri.