August 18, 2016
Group - A thread some time ago discussed steam locomotives being able to
run through high water over flooded tracks verses diesel locomotives that could
not because their traction motors would short out. I just came across
the inserted/attached image that graphically shows such an occasion many years
ago:
The unidentified image shows CB&Q Class P-5 No. 2569 "tip toeing" over
flooded tracks with a local passenger train. I first shared this image with Hol
Wagner who commented that 2569 had been a Lines East locomotive
and that the scene really could be anywhere in Iowa or Missouri. The 2569
was assigned to the Ottumwa Division in the 1920s and the Hannibal Division in
the 1930s. Plus, I have another undated image of 2569 taken in Kansas City.
From the forward bell position behind its stack, 2569 also had at some
earlier time been used in Chicago Suburban Service.
If you enlarge the attached image, 2569 is pushing a wave in front and
water is splashing down from the main rod. The man riding the pilot as a
lookout could be either the head end brakeman or a member of the
section gang responsible for patrolling the flooded right-of-way. With the bare
trees, flat gray sky and what appears to be a heavy coat on the man riding the
pilot, the image was likely taken in late winter or early spring. No. 2569
must've been a "good" locomotive as it enjoyed a long service life on the Q and
wasn't retired until October 1953, some 48 years after being built by
Baldwin in 1905.
This is only one of a handful of images I've ever seen of a Q steam
locomotive powering a train over flooded tracks. Does any Group member have
another such image to share? Best Regards - Louis
Louis Zadnichek II
Fairhope, AL
