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In the summer of 1990 (I think), I was allowed a ride in the cab of the T44 diesel on the line from Haifa to Naharia, in the north of Israel. Somewhere in the Haifa Bay area, I suddenly spotted #251 waiting on a siding for my passenger train to clear the main line. I leaned out of the T44’s side window and took a photo. Ten years ago, ISR were still using mechanical signaling. It’s no longer so, I regret to say. Photo and scan by Alon Siton <a_siton@hotmail.com>

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This is a rare photo. In Israel, freight trains are a tricky business, and you can never tell when they might come, or, when they do, if there would be some unusual diesel up front. In this case, we’re in Lod station, once an important junction for train to Egypt and Lebanon, and now home of a small diesel shop. ISR diesels #611 & #251 are two classic machines. #251 is a GM class GP-8 built in 1956 for Egypt and captured by Israel in June 1967. On the 08 April 1992, it is trailing behind the newer #611 (G26CW built in 1982) with a train of freight cars to Ashdod. The three-arm semaphore is a remnant from the time of the British Mandate in Palestine, until 1947. More efficient but far less spectacular electric signaling is now used. Photo and scan by Alon Siton <a_siton@hotmail.com>