The 1508 is an EMD F-7 built new for the Alaska Railroad in 1953, one of a dozen F-7's and FP-7's built new for the Railroad. The 1508 was one of the second order of F-7's which included 1506, 1507 (a B unit), 1510, 1512, and 1514 (the last 3 being FP-7's equipped with steam generators for passenger service). It was retired in 1985 (I think after the passenger season that year) and sold along with most of the remaining ARR F-7's to a group called Mountain Diesel Transportation. It spent time stored in Portola at the Railroad museum and possibly on short term lease to some shortlines
from time to time. There is a picture of it at the rr-fallenflags.org website in 1988 at Portola. Sometime in the early 1990's it was sold and moved to the Massachusettes Central Railroad in Palmer Mass. I don't know if it was privately owned or owned by the Mass Central. Sometime in around 1998 it was sold to the Adirondack scenic railroad and was repainted into a NYC lightning stripe type of scheme.

On the Alaska Railroad she was delivered in a blue and gold paint scheme with a winged nose herald. In the early 1970's she was repainted into a black and yellow paint scheme and then about 1982 she was repainted into a strikingly modern blue and yellow paint scheme that she wore until repainted by the Adirondack Scenic.

Since she was not equipped with a steam generator, passenger service was less prevalent than freight service. The F's in the later years of the ARR were often found in work train and gravel train service. After she received her last paint scheme it would have been more common to find her in passenger service.

Commentary courtesy of Jason Kuehn