October 24, 2015
Group - If any of you are good with math, let me ask you a
question. How many 10 penny (10d) common steel nails could be made from a
scrapped M-4-A at NWS&W? From the Corbin book, figure the locomotive
weighed 512,770 pounds and the tender weighed 158,600 pounds for a total of
671,370 pounds delivered as "scrap on the hoof" to the deadline in Sterling, IL.
I've done the math myself and the number will absolutely knock your socks
off.....
Shown in the undated attached image is Q Class M-4-A No. 6320 and an
unidentified sister paused at Erie, IL, while in route to NWS&W. The Corbin
book says 6320 was sold for scrap in May 1961, so this image was most likely
taken in May or June of that year. There are three idler gondolas separating the
two Texas type locomotives to spread their weight. The train would've been a
local that worked between Mendota and Sterling at the time. The diesel was
probably switching nearby on-line industries and had spotted the train on a
passing siding at the depot. You can just see the way car cupola behind the rear
scrap M-4-A.
There were no "funeral trains" as such that delivered scrap Q
steam power to NWS&W. The locals did the work of moving one or more scrap
locomotives at a time from Galesburg/Chicago to Mendota over the mainline
and then onto the branch for the final trip up to Sterling to be
dismantled. The cream of Q steam power all took this last melancholy journey
during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Best Regards - Louis
Louis Zadnichek II
Fairhope, AL