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Class 102 Diesel locomotive (GM-EMD engines), built by AFB (Belgium) in 1951. Actually one of the very first diesel locomotives operated in Israel. Railway Museum (Haifa-East). 29 May 2012. P.L. Guillemin (plguillemin@yahoo.fr)

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Class 102 Diesel locomotive (GM-EMD engines), built by AFB (Belgium) in 1951. Actually one of the very first diesel locomotives operated in Israel. Railway Museum (Haifa-East). 29 May 2012. P.L. Guillemin (plguillemin@yahoo.fr)

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In 1952, the ISR bought three diesel locomotives from the Societe Anglo-Franco-Belge (SAFB) to study the possibility of replacing steam with diesel. The experiment proved a success, and orders for GP-12 diesels were placed directly with General Motors. Today, the SAFB trio is out of service. #101, the first of the three, is now in ISR’s Haifa-Kishon depot, and may finally enter the ISR museum in nearby Haifa-East station. It is seen here in its present livery of yellow, blue, and red. Haifa-Kishon, August 2000. Photo and scan by Alon Siton <a_siton@hotmail.com>

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“Stop!” orders the charming semaphore, and the freight train complies. This is Lod station in April 1992, and the train is occupying the formerly Palestine Railways main line to Haifa, now reduced to a secondary line. The diesel locomotive is ISR #102, built by SAFB in Belgium in 1952. Electric signaling has replaced the semaphore, and the locomotive too is all gone now. Photo and scan by Alon Siton <a_siton@hotmail.com>

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In 1955, ISR’s brand new SAFB diesel #101 was still painted in light gray. A heavy, sturdy machine, it is seen at Jerusalem station. This locomotive is now dumped in Haifa, after 45 years of faithful service. Photo and scan by Alon Siton <a_siton@hotmail.com>

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ISR diesel #101, built in Belgium by SAFB in 1952, seems to have little to do. Forty-two years of age in this 22 October 1990 photo, this engine is one of three identical locomotives delivered to Israel in the same year it was built to become ISR’s first-ever diesel. Behind #101 is the Haifa-East diesel workshop and an old German switcher. Both engines are no longer active. Photo and scan by Alon Siton <a_siton@hotmail.com>

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ISR #101 is the first of three diesels built for Israel by SAFB in 1952. On the morning of the 29 March 1993, it is pulling a batch of loaded flatcars into Bney Brack station, in eastern Tel Aviv. Photo and scan by Alon Siton <a_siton@hotmail.com>

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For several weeks in 1991, ISR faced a shortage of engines on the suburban service between Haifa and Akko – this was before the introduction of IC3 sets. As a result, the elderly SAFB #101 was pulled out of the Haifa-East depot, where it was little used, to launch a new career. If it got stuck, it could be towed easily back to its home depot. On the 27 October 1991, #101 is standing at Kiryat Motzkin station, north of Haifa, with only two coaches in tow. Happily, this is a successful line today. Photo and scan by Alon Siton <a_siton@hotmail.com>