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Home > Archives > Machinist making brass nuts at Beech Grove, 1980.

Machinist making brass nuts at Beech Grove, 1980.

Black and white photograph from the August 1980 issue of Amtrak NEWS.

Machinist making brass nuts at Beech Grove, 1980.

On April 1, 1975, Amtrak purchased the Beech Grove, Ind., shops from the Penn Central Transportation Company. The need for a major repair facility that could accommodate all types of existing equipment—and the Amfleet and Superliner cars on order—was acute, and Amtrak immediately embarked on a five year, $22 million improvement plan to modernize the facility. In the late 1970s, Amtrak began a program to convert older cars purchased from the predecessor railroads from steam-power to electric head-end power (HEP).

Cars undergoing conversion were fumigated and completely stripped on the interior and exterior. In this image, machinist Charles Mitchell creates brass nuts on a shop lathe.

Photographer: Unknown for Amtrak.