Minneapolis & St. Louis EMD FT 545 is about to depart Cedar Lake Yard, Minneapolis, with train 21 for Peoria in this winter scene from 1951. The M&StL numbered its diesels according to their month and year of delivery, in this case indicating delivery in May 1945. The number 545 was applied to the entire three-unit, 4050-horsepower A-B-A combination, which was permanently coupled with drawbars. The small "F" (for "front") below the number board suggests that the lead unit in the photo is the 545A. If so it was later renumbered 504, then rebuilt to a GP-9m in 1956 or 1957 and renumbered 603. In the 1960 merger into Chicago & North Western it became C&NW 603 and was rebuilt by the Oelwein shops in 1972, emerging with a new number 4303. The long-suffering unit was finally retired in 1990. Gary Thompson provided this photo of unknown origin, perhaps a railroad publicity shot.