[Attachment(s) from Hol Wagner included below]
Interesting photo. Here are a couple from my collection -- I bought them at some meet, but I don't remember where or when, and there's nothing on the back of the prints. Both views are at NWS&W in what I would guess to be December 1960. They show O-5s 5602 and 5604 (which were sold for scrap in June 1960) and O-5-Bs 5626 and 5627 (which were sold in November 1960). In the overall view, there are four GTW locomotives beyond the 5602, then another O-5-A in the distance. Unlike your photo, Louis, the four Northerns in these views have been shipped to Sterling without their tenders, which were retained by the railroad for company service use. In order to transport them, the overhang of the cab roof on the two O-5s and the vestibule area at the rear of the cab on the O-5-Bs has been torched off by the railroad and the two pairs drawbar-coupled cab-to-cab. All four of these locomotives had been stored at Lincoln for several years, and were shipped east from that point. The last of them to operate was the 5626, which powered an Illini Railroad Club "Journey to Yesterday" trip in June 1959 from Lincoln to Denver and back to Lincoln. During the layover in Denver while the excursionists took buses to southwestern Colorado to ride the D&RGW narrow gauge, the 5626 ran a C&S-sponsored round trip from Denver to Colorado Springs over the Joint Line (my first fantrip!) and the following day ran a two-car (coach and caboose) private trip from Denver to Fort Collins and return for Boulder artist Howard Fogg and his invited friends. (This trip was patterned after the one operated between Cheyenne and Guernsey, Wyo., by Jim Ehernberger and written up a couple of years ago in
Classic Trains.) For this trip out to Colorado, Lincoln repainted the 5626 -- with one unfortunate feature that cannot be seen in these B&W photos. Since the Burlington had just phased out mineral red paint in favor of the new Chinese red, the cab roof of 5626 was painted Chinese red; awful!! And since the engine never operated again after its return to Lincoln, it never lost that bright red cab roof.
Hol
To: cbq@yahoogroups.com
From: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2015 16:26:19 -0400
Subject: [CBQ] Q Steam Being Scrapped At NWS&W [1 Attachment]
[Attachment(s) from LZadnichek@aol.com included below]
October 6, 2015
Hol - Whereas Galesburg and Lincoln deadline images of retired Q steam are
fairly common, actual images of Q steam being scrapped inside the gates of a
scrap yard are relatively rare. I took the attached image in July 1961 at
Northwestern Steel & Wire in Sterling, IL. Shown is Class O-5-A No. 5609 in
the process of being cut-up. The locomotive had been separated from
its tender at far left and the torch crew had started cutting off the rods and
cross head. I don't recall which day of the week it was, but from the lack of
workmen, I'd assume it was on a Saturday. The Corbin book says 5609 was built by
the Q at the West Burlington Shops in September 1936 and sold for scrap in May
1961. It was not quite 25 years old when scrapped and had been out-of-service, I
would think, for about five years. I've understood that the Class O-5
locomotives had a design life of 30 to 35 years depending upon shopping cycles,
so diesels cut short their service careers by a decade or more. In the
background is the C&NW mainline and the cab of a passing ALCO switcher
can be seen. From visiting NWS&W a number of times with my Dad who was
Chicago Division Superintendent at the time, I developed a strong interest in
the scrap and steel industries resulting in my later making a rewarding and
interesting career in the scrap business. If any one else has images of Q
steam actually being scrapped, I'd enjoy seeing them. By far the best
collection of images showing Q steam power being scrapped at NWS&W
appear in noted railfan photographer Ron Zeil's 1963 book Twilight Of Steam
Locomotives. I treasure my copy. Another one of my images tomorrow. Best Regards
- Louis
Louis Zadnichek II
Fairhope, AL