Mine locomotives

Found this GE builder’s plaque at a Bar-B-Q restaurant in my area (Southern Illinois). Storage battery locomotives like this were used in underground coal mines all over the area, and I’d be willing to bet that there are many still buried under our feet.

GE Battery Storage locomotiveGE Battery Storage locomotives builder's plaque

Not too surprising since it would cost a fair amount to remove them after the mine played out. A similar thing happened when Chicago’s freight tunnels shut down in 1959. Some locomotives and cars were removed but many were left behind.

Shut down so many years ago, but the tunnels are still there.

Rich