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"Claytor's Dreams"
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CLAYTOR'S DREAMS
The Crescent near Duluth, Georgia Circa 1975
The late Graham Claytor, Jr., President of the Southern Railway during the 1970's often proclaimed "My trains will not run late".
It is with this thought in mind that he made sure his passenger trains were powered by at least four General Motor's E8's, both to
guard against equipment failure and maintain speed. Mr. Claytor always saw to it that a fresh new set of locomotives was spotted in
Atlanta 's Peachtree station for a fresh swap of locomotives on both the north and southbound runs through Atlanta. When Robert first
came to Atlanta in 1969 he used to go down to Peachtree station to watch the twice daily ritual of swapping the power on the north
and southbound crescents. The Southern Railways E-units were distinctive in that they featured air reservoirs on top of the
locomotives which were affectionately called "torpedoes" by rail enthusiasts and employees alike, because they resembled torpedoes
found on PT boats. Graham Claytor, Jr. was a well decorated W.W.II Navy veteran and it is ironic that like the PT boats mentioned
before that he ended up serving as secretary of the Navy after he retired from the Southern Railway, serving in the Carter
administration. It should be mentioned that Robert was an aquaintence of both the Claytor brothers, Graham and Robert who were
both executives at the Southern Railway in the 1970's. Another interesting note is that the brothers and James Bistline were
responsible for Southern Railway's world famous Steam Excursion program. So this print serves a tribute, specifically to Graham
Claytor Jr. and the affection for his "Beloved Crescent" which continued to operate under Southern Railway's corporate banner into
the Amtrak era which was one of the last privately owned passenger trains until the early 1970's. The train depicted is roaring
southbound into the northern outskirts of Atlanta approaching Buford, Georgia through gently rolling hills with dogwood trees in
full bloom. An elderly gentleman and his dog waive to the train as if in salute to passing of not only a famous passenger train but
also to the end of an era.
Print Size 23" x 14-1/2"
Image Size 19" x 12-1/2"
©2002 Robert West
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