Strength and Endurance

 

When I first traveled to Deer Lodge, decades ago, I knew 'the Joe' was there.  That was in the early 2000s when only 20 years had passed since the transcon had been active and perhaps less than 30 years separated the venerable Joe from the point of an XL-special and a hustle across the Rocky Mountain Division.  Even that seems like a long time, until the passage of another 20 years goes by.

Now still there, the enduring presence and unforgettable face of the Rocky Mountain Division still gazes with an unseeing 'quad.'  A static display if there ever was, it has received new paint over the years and even replica trolley lines overhead.  The years have given it company as well - a "Cities" painted Milwaukee Road E-8 rests nearby and a bay window caboose now resides with these fellow Milwaukee Road memories.  But the face of the Joe is unique and haunting.  Decades have passed between the photos, lifetimes even, but she endures.  



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