Here are a few related questions that have
puzzled me for a long time.
Burlington Bulletin No. 29 (on the Q
consolidations — still perhaps my all-time favorite Bulletin) has a section
discussing the so-called L&B front end (the extended smokeboxes
characteristic of CB&Q lignite burners). Lignite is a notorious spark
thrower, and this smokebox was one adaptation aimed at keeping it to a
minimum. Many photos in this Bulletin show engines with the L&B extension
operating in Denver. Dry air and high winds must have created very hazardous
conditions there. Perusing photos of other CB&Q engines in Denver show not
only many equipped with these extended smokeboxes but also, e.g., 6-wheel
switchers with diamond stacks (also to control sparking, I'd guess) in
operation well into the 1920s, as well as some odd spark arrestors on
different engines.
By
contrast, the C&S did not seem to have any engines with L&B front
ends. They did use a variety of spark arrestors, most famously the Ridgeway
spark arrestor, which was standard equipment on all its narrow gauge engines
and also appears, perhaps as an experiment, on a couple standard gauge engines
in 1920s photos. The Ridgeways continued to be used on all the C&S's
narrow gauge engines (except oil-burner No. 70) until the end of operations in
1943 — presumably because of their running through National Forests. However,
by the 1930s, photos suggest that C&S standard gauge engines no longer
used any special spark-arresting equipment.
There
must have been a goodly amount of lignite available and used around Denver. A
table from the 1936 abandonment proceedings for the C&S's narrow gauge
lines shows its freight traffic for the 88-month period from January, 1929
through April, 1936. I was struck by this comparison of coal carloads on the
Clear Creek branches during that period:
14
coke
142
bituminous coal
3,832
lignite
142
"coal cars" of bituminous versus 3,832 cars of lignite is quite a difference.
My guess would be that the 3,832 carloads of lignite were delivered for local
industry and home heating, while the bituminous was company coal for engine
fuel. 142 coal cars x 20-25 tons per narrow gauge car (guess) = 800-1,000 tons
in 88 months or about 10 tons per month. If this was company coal used for the
return trip downgrade to Denver, which might burn about a ton per trip (very
rough guess, based on what the K-class mikados now burn going downgrade from
Silverton back to Durango), this would be about 2 engine-trips per week.
Assuming oil-burner No. 70 was the main engine on this run most of the time,
that would seem about right for engine fuel needs.
So
here are my questions: (1) Were the CB&Q and C&S operating in and
around Denver getting their locomotive fuel from different coal fields? (2)
Were any C&S engines — standard or narrow gauge — burning lignite? And (3)
where in Denver were the Q's lignite-burners getting coaled up? The many
photos of Denver's 300-ton wooden coaling tower show a great variety of
engines queued up there to take on fuel, including Burlington 2-10-2's,
C&S narrow gauge moguls and consolidations, even some big AT&SF
engines — but no lignite burners; so those engines must have gotten fuel at
another site.
Thanks
very much for any clarification, and all good wishes for the new
year!
Jonathan