Winton,
Thanks for sharing that information. That SW15 was probably ex GN although I believe that BN purchased some SW1500s after merger. I wonder how the RR handled servicing of of steam locomotives assigned to outlying switching locations? Did they take the main rods down and ship them as a box car in the train? Who would go out and do the work? Of course, there were a lot more small engine terminals in those days, so they was always some work force around. Still, even a switch engine had to go to the backshop once in a while for flue and boiler work.
Bill Barber Gravois Mills, MO Sat Apr 21, 2012 10:45 am (PDT)
I don't know about the Q since I didn't leave the PC for the BN's former Q at Sheridan, WY until 1974... but up until I retired in 2009 we had an SW15 at Sheridan for the yard engine. (I often had to fight to keep her here and the minute I was gone so was the SW15). The 92 day inspections were done 320 miles away at Glendive, MT. Sometimes our SW15 was MU'd (idling but off-line) to the road power of the thru-frt-local, taken to Laurel MT, then put on another freight to Glendive. But more often it was simply MU'd behind the power of a unit coal train because they went directly from Sheridan to Glendive bypassing the MRL Laurel Yard. It would come back a few days later MU'd to an empty unit coal train.
Its temporary replacement unit was handled in the same manner. This temporary unit was often another SW15 or an SW12 but sometimes just a GP28, GP15, etc. So it was not at all unusual to see SW's MU'd to the 4 or 5 coal train locos which over the decades were U30C/SD40-2 to SD60M to SD70MAC to C44/GEVO to SD70ACe.
Winton
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