Ferrocarril General Roca's General Electric export-model U18C #8102, by then downgraded to switcher duties, brings the empty coaches of premier-train number 103, "El Marplatense", to begin its daily summertime run from Buenos Aires to the resort beach city of Mar del Plata. Consist is pure Budd-built stainless steel cars, originally purchased by the Chesapeake & Ohio for its 1948 "Chessie" luxury rider between Washington and Cincinatti. When C&O decided not to run "The Chessie" and put all the almost-new coaches on sale, the Argentinean State Railroads arranged to buy 12 cars in mid-1951. So two combines (#1401 and 1402), eight chair cars of the 1500's series and two lounge-tavern-lunch counter cars (#1901 and 1902) left the U.S. for Argentina. Peak Summer-traffic demand called for an extended consist, with the baggage-coach at the rear in the photo and the lounge-tavern car (converted in full-diner in 1958) in the middle of the seven-coach train.
