Having "cut my teeth" as an amateur rail photographer during the waning days of steam power in North America, I never became much of a diesel aficionado. As a result, my rail photography activities largely went into eclipse during the decades following the 1950s. My interest revived in earnest only after advances in technology enabled me to share my early camera work via the Internet. The first effort in that direction was my Steam Locomotive Archive, which continues to be the flagship section of what has evolved into Richard Leonard's Rail Archive.

Neverthless, along the way I did take some photographs, later transparencies, of diesel locomotives both during the steam era and subsequently. A few of these images found their way into the Nonsteam Rarities page of the Steam Locomotive Archive. Later, as the Rail Archive expanded, I found a place for my diesel photos from the New York Central System in the New York Central Collection, and for those from the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio's former Alton Route in my GM&O Gallery. But a group of miscellaneous vintage diesel images remained, for which I had no home.

Finally I have assembled many of these images into this Vintage Diesel Miscellany. To those photos for which I am responsible I have added a number by my brother, Rev. David V. Leonard of Binghamton, New York, plus others supplied by Gary Thompson of Normal, Illinois and Tom Rock of Cleveland, Tennessee. A few of my images from the New York Central Collection are also presented here, plus some appropriate to the GM&O Gallery though not included there. With a few exceptions of older power now in museums, all of these images are at least thirty years old. Those not attributed to other sources are my work, and have been copied digitally from transparencies or color and black-and-white negatives, or in a few instances scanned from prints.

In most cases I am offering only minimal commentary with these photos, due to my lack of familiarity with the realm of dieseldom. However, I try to provide the location and date for each photograph, plus builder models, years of erection and other details such as alternate numbering, for the locomotives shown. (Credit for much of the supporting information goes to The Diesel Shop and the various sites linked therein, and also to Don's Depot Railroad Photos by Don Ross.) Click on the thumbnails below to view the full-size image. You can also page through the collection sequentially.

Dr. Richard Leonard

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