Joseph A. Smith (1895-1978) was an avid collector of railroad photos, sharing many of them with fellow collectors in the Northeast. A former plumbing contractor, he presumably developed his interest in railroads through his father James H. Smith, a trolley motorman in Troy, NY. His extensive collection focused on the lines that once served Troy: Delaware & Hudson, Rutland, Boston & Maine and New York Central.
Southern Pacific's number 2404 is one of only ten Alco-built century-415 locomotives on the Espee system. Constructed in 1966, all ten of these 1,500 horsepower units were delivered to work for Southern Pacific in the Los Angeles area handling inter-yard trains or switching duty such as #2404 at the Pacific Fruit Express yards in the City of Industry.
