Most of those who know me know that Burlington office
cars and Mallet articulated locomotives are my two
favorite Q equipment subjects, and I have accumulated
more data and images of them than any other Burlington
subject. So the photo Brian posted of T-2 4104, along
with a recent eBay offering of brand new 4106 beside the
Alliance roundhouse with everybody in the area posing on
the big engine, have been extremely pleasant and
unexpected "gifts" for me. While I can't be certain of
the location of the 4104 image, it is a real gem, and
I'm fairly sure it was taken at Arvada, Wyo. I've
cleaned up the image a bit and am attaching it and the
4106 photo (which, of course, I bought) and have written
what I think is a credible description of the 4104
photo:
It's a calm but frigid late winter morning, with
remnants of the last snowstorm still on the ground as
T-2 Mallet 4104 takes water from the wooden tank at
Arvada, Wyo., before running light back to its home base
at Sheridan. The big Mallet, only a couple of years
old, has helped an eastbound freight up the grade from
Sheridan, cutting off at Arvada and turning on the wye
there before taking coal and filling the tank for the
trip back to Sheridan, running light. That it's a cold
day is attested by the steam escaping from 4104's high
pressure rear cylinders, twin single-lung air pumps and
boiler-top pop valves. And the cab curtains are down
and in place in the event the notorious Wyoming wind
makes the 58-mile trip back to Sheridan even colder.
The steam from the pop valves nearly obscures the giant
windmill that pumps well water into the Arvada tank,
which happily is not frozen up this day as the fireman
poses for the photographer while he completes the task
of topping off 4104's tank, having already refilled the
tilting coal compartment and placed flags in the
tender's stanchions. As locomotive efficiency and
tender coal capacity both increased in the Teens,
Arvada's wooden coal chute would be abandoned and
replaced by a modern Ogle steel chute 20 miles farther
east at Echeta.
As I said, there is no way of being certain this photo
was actually taken at Arvada, but the description fits
what can be seen in the image, and there aren't many
other locations where that would be the case, so I'm
fairly certain it's Arvada.
Hol
[Attachment(s) from
harleyhorse74@gmail.com [CBQ] included below]
Wondering if anyone recognizes this
depot. The lady who owns the photo thought
it was in Alliance, NE. I don't think the
Alliance depot had a peaked roof line. I''m
not even sure if it is a CB&Q structure.
She also has a photo of CB&Q 4104 and
thought the photo may have been taken in
Ellsworth, NE. Was this locomotive ever
assigned to western Nebraska?
Thanks,
Brian
