It's a little after 6 P.M. and the New Iberia Night Switcher has just gone to work switching train No. 520, the local from the salt mine at Avery Island. Engineer Shirley Landry enjoys the fresh-but-warm early evening air on the front of his locomotive, as the ground crew is probably bleeding off the air from the cars. The 2298 was an SW9 built in December 1951 as Cotton Belt 1059, renumbered SSW 2205 in 1965, upgraded into SP 2298 in March 1973, retired in December 1986, and sold to Rail Switching Service in April 1988. |