Louis:
The DM&IR engines were simply being moved west for service on the D&RGW, and
I'm sure the Q wanted them off their rails as quickly as possible and therefore
double-headed them. You're quite right that the drawbars of freight cars would
break before the capacity of two of these engines on the Chicago-Denver
mainline was reached. Joe Schick did not record how many cars were in the
train he photographed. And I don't know if the engines were double-headed all
the way from Chicago, or if the were paired up at Lincoln. And since the D&RGW
leased a half-dozen of the Yellowstones in two consecutive winters -- 1942-43
and 1943-44 -- there would have been numerous possibilities for double-headers
over the Q.
Hol
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
From: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2014 13:02:43 -0400
Subject: [CBQ] Yellowstones On Lines West
June 14, 2014
Hol - Catching-up with Emails this Saturday morning. I have several
questions in regard to your's below. Could the DM&IR Yellowstones shown have
been double headed to reposition one as traffic during World War Two was
predominately east to west to support the Pacific Theatre of War. My thoughts
are that the two Yellowstones would've vastly overpowered any Q freight train
strung out behind them. Broken knuckles and pulled drawbars had to been
a major concern as two Yellowstones could pull far more than what the draft
gear on freight cars at the time could withstand. Did the photographer record
how many cars were being pulled? Lastly, how far east did the Yellowstones
operate? As far as Lincoln? Obviously, the Yellowstones were far too big
for any Q turntable, so they had to have a wye with heavy rail to turn. Any
further comments from you or others on the List would be appreciated. Still, a
most remarkable image! Best Regards - Louis
In a message dated 6/10/2014 11:48:44 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
CBQ@yahoogroups.com writes:
Looking at these two photos made me wonder if the DM&IR
engines were ever double-headed on the DM&IR. I don't think they
were, but I'm certainly no Missabe expert, and this is probably the wrong
forum in which to pose this question. But . . . these photos may
well document the only time these big engines ran doubled-headed, and it
was on the Q, of all unlikely places!
Hol
From: holpennywagner@msn.com
To: cbq@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [CBQ]
Unexpected Visitor To Aurora
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2014 10:39:31 -0600
OK, here's the rest:
By late 1942 the D&RGW was
being overwhelmed by heavy wartime traffic, much of it flowing over the
Moffat
Road and Dotsero Cutoff, but a substantial amount also taking the Royal
Gorge route west from Pueblo. The Rio Grande borrowed whatever power it
could -- even a single O-1-A Mike from the Q. But big power was needed
and in the winter of 1942-43 and again the following winter the Grande
managed to borrow several big 2-8-8-4 Yellowstones from the Duluth, Missabe
& Iron Range, which had no need for them during the winter when Great
Lakes ore traffic was at a standstill. The locomotives were sent west
from Chicago via the Q in service, and Joe Schick, who lived at Keenesburg,
Colo., some 40 miles northeast of Denver on the mainline, caught up with a
pair of them double-headed on a westbound freight, on a chilly December 12,
1943. The two attached views are the magnificent result.
&nbs
p;
After one of the DM&IR engines ran away and derailed with an
eastbound train coming down out of the mountains on the Moffat at Fireclay on
February 7, 1943, the leased engines were restricted to service between
Denver
and Pueblo. Otto Perry photos of the derailed DM&IR 224 and
sister 225 in service on the Joint Line can be found at:
http://cdm16079.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15330coll22/id/51309/rec/1
http://cdm16079.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15330coll22/id/67330/rec/1
http://cdm16079.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/coll
ection/p15330coll22/id/67331/rec/1
Enjoy!
Hol
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