Hi folks, The EL started to go through their E8 fleet in the mid-1960s and replaced the portholes on units with solid panels (as I understand it, the portholes would eventually begin to rust out, and the easiest way to solve the problem was to replace them with solid sheet steel). By the end of the EL, only one unit (817) still had its original portholes. However, This wasn't the case for EMD F-units. While I do know a few F-unit that had their portholes removed (VERY few), the vast majority kept their portholes right until the end. Now I would assume that the F-unit portholes would suffer from the same rust problems - so why wouldn't they replace the portrholes? - Paul P.S. As an aside, I always liked the look of the porthole-free E8s much better than the ones with portholes. They look sleeker and more streamlined to me, particularly with the "arrow stripe" running down the middle with the EL roadname within the band. The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List Sponsored by the ELH&TS http://www.elhts.org ------------------------------
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