December 27, 2016
Group - Again, I'll say, "You never know from one week to the
next what will turn-up on EBay..."
Several weeks ago, I came across and purchased a collection for sale on
EBay of 11 photographs taken September 4, 1952 of a Q doubleheader derailed at
Sparta, WY, just outside Gillette. What lead me to purchase the collection what
that, amazingly enough, I found views of my late father M.L. Zadnichek who
was Casper (WY) Division Train Master at the time. I'm going to insert and
attach three of the images:
First, CB&Q Class M-2-A No. 6108 is shown derailed at Sparta, WY. The
following locomotive is unidentified and about all we can tell is that it's
another 2-10-2, but equipped with an Elesco Feedwater Heater.
My father M.L. Zadnichek, Casper (WY) Division Train Master, is shown
wearing a leather jacket and fedora at extreme right in the group of railroadmen
alongside the second, unidentified 2-10-2. I have memories and family album
snapshots of him wearing the same hat and jacket. I think the smashed tank
car between the locomotive and tender was being used for water.
Perhaps, a Group member can trace the car number to see if true. Note its draw
bar is broken off.
In this similar view, you can see my father with the shattered cab of the
second 2-10-2 in the background. A jack-knifed stock car has destroyed the cab
and quite possibly killed the engineer and fireman, unless they had time to
jump. From the white flags on 6108 and the time of the year, this may've
been a stock extra. If any Lines Westerners have more information on this nasty
derailment, I would enjoy learning the details.
I checked the Corbin Book for disposition data on 6108. Evidentially, on
the eve of dieselization, 6108 was not considered worth repairing, so it
was sold for scrap in December 1952. A clue to the identify of the other 2-10-2
is that sister 6160 was also sold for scrap on the same date. However, I do not
know if 6160 was equipped with an Elesco Feed Water Heater and I do not have an
image of it to check against. Can any Group member help me out on this
question? A nasty derailment, to be sure! Best Regards - Louis
Louis Zadnichek II
Fairhope, AL
