Engine No. 74 - The Colorado & Southern Years
(1921 - 1945)
Mike Trent
COPYRIGHT -- ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
These two prints of the 74 in her C&S livery were done by artist and
modeler Joe Crea.
These two prints of the 74 in her C&S livery were done by artist and
modeler Joe Crea.
 (Photo3) C&S #74, Denver, 9/18/21. Note DB&W cab, original position of the air tank, and the tender hasn't been rebuilt. Also note the lifted safety valve. Otto Perry photo, DPL collection. |
 (Photo 4) C&S engines #74, 73, 75 at Leadville Depot, 2/22/34. Cinder catchers are folded down and it is snowing. A typical winter scene on the C&S Narrow Gauge. Otto Perry Photo, Ed Haley Collection. |
Them Denver, Boulder & Western engines we got was dandy engines, rated at 145 tons. Our 60 class engines was rated at 110 tons. The 71, 72, and 73 at 120 tons. You never did need steam on them DB&W engines, they steamed so good. I fired the 76 for Charlie Thomas for a long time. Boy, she was a good steamer.
Tom Gibbony, retired C&S Engineer (Crossen)
The Colorado & Southern Railway was formed as a consolidation of two railroads, which had been consolidated earlier from other lines.
The Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf, the first of the two, had been formed previously from the Colorado Central (narrow and standard gauge); Georgetown, Breckenridge & Leadville (narrow gauge); Denver, Marshall & Boulder; Denver & Middle Park; Denver, Texas & Gulf; Denver, Texas & Fort Worth; and the Cheyenne & Northern (all standard gauge).
The second of the two, the Denver, Leadville & Gunnison, was the former Denver, South Park, & Pacific (narrow gauge).
The C&S, which began operations under that name in January 1899, operated both standard gauge and narrow gauge lines, and was based in Denver. The Southern Division was standard gauge, and ran from Denver to Texline, Texas, where it connected with the Fort Worth & Denver. The Northern Division, also standard gauge, ran from Denver through Cheyenne, Wyoming to Billings, Montana.
The Eastern Division, or "East End" to the railroaders, was mostly narrow gauge, and included Denver to Como, Colorado, and Denver to Silver Plume, Colorado. The latter branch was dual gauge as far as Golden. The Western Division, or "West-End", was also narrow gauge, and ran from Como to Leadville, Colorado and over the former DSP&P main line from Como to Gunnison. After 1910, the line from Como to Gunnison, which ran through the Alpine tunnel, was abandoned.
By 1921, the Colorado & Southern and the Fort Worth & Denver had both become subsidiaries of the much larger Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and part of the "Burlington Route." The C&S narrow gauge operation, however, was considered an orphan to empire-builders in Chicago.
Narrow Gauge Freight Operations
Much of the narrow gauge motive power on the C&S was aging quickly
and much too small to keep up with the workload. From this time until 1937,
operations on the narrow gauge mainline consisted of one Passenger train
each direction between Denver and Leadville. Freight trains on the mainline
had been consolidated into two "through" freights a week in each
direction between Denver and Leadville. These trains typically were 12-15
cars in length and handled by three to four locomotives. The trains ran
on a four-day cycle, one leaving Denver, and one leaving Leadville the
same day. A Westbound train would leave Denver with an "East-End"
crew, travel up the South Platte Canyon over Kenosha Pass, into South Park,
and down into Como, the end of the Division. The next day, the East-End
crew returned to Denver with the Eastbound that had originated in Leadville
the day before. The Westbound train, now with a "West-End" crew,
left Como at about the same time, continuing on over Boreas Pass, to Breckenridge,
across the Continental Divide at Fremont Pass, and on into Leadville. On
the third day, an Eastbound train was made up in Leadville, another Westbound
was made up in Denver, and repeat trips to Como were begun. All local switching
operations were done eastbound, a carryover from the DSP&P days, when
the railroad had promised "The Fastest Freight to Leadville"
to lure traffic away from the Denver & Rio Grande. On the fourth day,
the East-End crew took the second Eastbound back to Denver, and the West-End
crew took the second Westbound to Leadville. Three days later, the cycle
started all over again. This schedule left engines idle for servicing and
repair at Leadville, and Denver. Como, the Division point, once a bustling
hub of activity, was by this time all but abandoned except twice a week
on "train days," when up to eight locomotives would arrive in
the evening hours with the two through freight trains. Most of the time,
only one "emergency" engine occupied the once busy roundhouse.
In order to meet the needs of this mainline schedule, the C&S was required
to have two engines available for passenger service every day, with one
in reserve at Como. As many as eight engines had to be available at all
times for the freight trains, with as many in reserve as possible. Motive
power for switching and branch line operations was also required.
Due to heavier tonnage demands on the mainline to Leadville, the C&S was looking for ways to avoid the high cost of "Extras" which were required to handle additional traffic the two scheduled freights could not handle. It was also becoming increasingly difficult to keep the required number of engines ready for service out of the aging stable. Bigger and newer engines were needed.
The C&S had long been impressed with the three former Denver, Boulder & Western engines, remembering they had done all major work on them for years in their own shops. The tonnage ratings were as attractive as their relatively young age. The largest narrow gauge engines on the C&S roster at that time were the class B-4-E Baldwin-built 2-8-0's numbered 71-73. It is interesting to note that the UPD&G engines whose specifications were borrowed by the C&N which and forwarded to Brooks to aid in construction of the 30, 31, and 32, were now known as the 71-73. These engines weighed in at 80,500 lbs., which was considerably smaller than the three DB&W engines.
The B-4-E's tractive effort was listed at 19,848 lbs., or 120 tons on a 4% grade. (One loaded car was rated at 25 tons on a 4% grade.) This meant that one engine could pull only 4 loaded cars up a 4% grade. The "DB&W" engines, as C&S employees always referred to them, boasted a tractive effort of 21,170 lbs. and rated tonnage of 145 tons. Thus, they were capable of pulling 5 loaded cars up a 4% grade, a 25% increase in productivity. It is worth noting here that tractive effort and tonnage ratings are not figured using identical mathematical statistics. This accounts for any discrepancy in the numbers.
Because the CB&Q would not allow the C&S to spend any money on narrow gauge motive power, the C&S negotiated a trade with Morse Bros. In return for the three DB&W engines, the C&S traded five smaller 2-8-0 engines and 760 tons of 50 lb. rail. The traded engines were Numbers 42, 43, 47, 49, and 50. Total value of the settlement was $27,000.
 (Photo 5) #74 on Leadville turntable, 5/2/41. Note upper portion of cinder catcher is missing (there's still lots of snow on the ground so sparks aren't much of a problem), cab curtains, and snowplow. Also note the "Armstrong" turntable, which was removed after operations were standard-gauged in 1943. Otto Perry Photo, DPL collection. |
 (Photo 6) C&S #74 and a caboose at Leadville, 6/16/43, near the end of narrow gauge operations. No. 74 will be retired 2 months later, on August 25th. Note raised roof hatch, 2-pane windows, and hose wrapped around steam dome. The cinder catcher is complete in this photo. Otto Perry photo, DPL collection. |
 (Photo 7) C&S #75 at the Denver Roundhouse, 11/12/33. Note the new sand dome and low profile coal bunker, both resulting from the April 1922 wreck when she rolled over into the South Platte River near Estabrook. Another unusual feature of the 75 is the 4 pane cab window. Otto Perry Photo, Ed Haley Collection. |
 (Photo 8) C&S #76 at the Denver engine terminal, 2/28/31. This excellent photograph shows one of the the split doors on the rear of the engineer's side of the cab. The front door has been opened into the cab. Also note the typical C&S style 2-pane windows and the UP style smokebox front. Behind the ash pile can be seen what appears to be one of the five USRA 2-10-2 900's owned by the C&S. Otto Perry Photo, DPL collection. |
The 31 and 32 were brought to the C&S shops from Morse Brothers while No.30 was brought in from Boulder. They were classified B-4-F renumbered 74, 75, and 76.
In order to bring the new engines into the C&S "family," and a number of changes were made, but there was an immediate need to get the "new" engines on the line, so some of the changes had to wait awhile. New wood cabs were soon built of similar design found on other C&S engines. Distinctive C&S Ridgway spark arrestors (named for the designer, C&S Superintendent of Motive Power H.W. Ridgway) were installed. For the first year of operations, No.74 carried her air pump on the fireman's side, as she had been built.
In early 1922, the tenders were equipped with C&S trucks and were further modified by adding 12" side sheets to the top of the coal bunkers over the tank bodies, which increased the coal capacity to 8 tons. Then the rear deck was squared off by removing all material above the tank behind the coal bunkers. All three engines were fitted with Westinghouse 11" air pumps, and the 74's airpump was moved to the engineer's side. Large air tanks were installed under the running boards. Two pane windows were installed in the cab. These modifications gave the engines a similar appearance to most other C&S engines on the roster. For the first time in many years, the engines again were almost identical in appearance, and their C&S modifications were up to date.
Because of their size, the B-4-F class engines were not allowed west of Golden on the Clear Creek branch. They were considered "Park" engines, and used on the old DSP&P main line between Denver and Leadville. The engines had been in service with their new tenders for only a short time, when in April 1922, No.75 rolled over into the South Platte River two miles below Estabrook. After considerable head scratching as to the cause of the mishap, it was decided that the tender was top heavy and had caused the whole engine to pitch off the bank. In order to prevent a reoccurrence, the damaged 12" side sheets added a year before were removed and not replaced, leaving the remnant of the original Brooks 12" flange to serve as the top sides of the coal bunker. With its now odd tender profile and a new, higher profile replacement sand dome, No.75 once again had taken on a "different" appearance to her sister engines. The mechanical department kept a watchful eye on the big engines for more trouble.
The engines performed very well, however, and were very popular with the crews. They "steamed well, and never failed to pull their tonnage." The only complaint was the continuing lubrication difficulties with No.74's slide valves and excessive wear to her Stephenson valve gear.
One day we got to Selkirk to take water and was wonderin' what
was the matter. I was firin' for Charlie Williamson. She could hardly pull
the train. So Williamson says, 'I know what's the matter. Her valves are
gettin' too dry.' So we cut her off and run her up, oh, a quarter of a
mile, then coasted her back. I got out on the runnin' board and pilot beam
with the hand oiler. I put oil in through the relief valves and got them
well lubricated. Then, after we left Selkirk, we just done fine, went along
like a million dollars.
- A.A. "Brownie" Anderson retired C&S Engineer (Crossen)
During periods of hard economy, the railroads were very stingy with valve oil. Not one extra drop was allowed, and awards were given to engineers who used the least amount of oil. That is to say, "legal" oil. More than a few engineers filched extra, and stashed it at water tanks, behind bushes, in trees, and under rocks. To this day, there are probably undiscovered stashes of lubricating oil squirreled away along Colorado's abandoned narrow gauge right-of-ways. Life must have been particularly tough on the engineers assigned to No.74 during those periods when "Ridgway's Blood" was in short supply.
Another time I was firin' for Charlie Thomas with engine 74. Andy Nelson was Travlin' Engineer, and Andy was thinkin' a bunch of these Engineers was usin' too much valve oil. So he got on the engine with Charlie Thomas and Charlie says, 'I can't keep her lubricated, Andy.'
We was gettin' on a stiffer grade and we had to drop her down a notch or two. Andy got hold of the reverse lever and unlatched her, and she was so dry the reverse lever pretty near took Andy through the front of the cab. He spit a little bit and wiped his mustache, and says, 'I guess we'll have to use a little more oil.'
- A.A. "Brownie" Anderson (Crossen)
The old problems with high pressure and uneven wear had not improved over time. The C&S had begun a campaign to "modernize" its fleet of standard gauge 2-8-0's in 1921. Among improvements to many of the engines was the addition of Walschaerts valve gear, which had corrected similar problems to those of No.74.
In 1926, George Lundberg of the mechanical department designed a distinctive, customized Walschaerts valve gear for No.74. This addition would help fix the problem of the Johnson bar being so difficult to manage and also correct the excessive wear to the existing Stephenson valve gear. The most major and significant rebuild the engine would ever experience was soon underway. In order to install the new valve gear assembly, the engine had to be completely dismantled and rebuilt. Because of the placement of new hangers supporting the rocker arms, the air tanks had to be raised on both sides to allow clearance. This caused the running boards to be "stepped" up, or raised, which resulted in a much different appearance for the 74. Sister engines 75 and 76 retained their original Stephenson valve gear, and thus, retained their straight running boards. The 74 was the only narrow gauge engine the C&S equipped with Walschaerts valve gear. The redesign was successful and corrected the problems of wear and control, which had caused problems since the engine was built. Had this project not corrected these problems, new piston valves would have been fabricated at considerable expense. This modification did not address the lubrication problems associated with the sloping valve chests, and those continued to plague the engine for the rest of it's operational life.
Yes, that engine 74, she was a good engine, but she had one fault. She had a slide valve, and a Walschaerts valve gear, and she was an awful hard engine to keep lubricated on account of her slide valves slopin' away from the smokebox.
- A.A. "Brownie" Anderson (Crossen)
Beginning in 1927, standard gauge motive power on the C&S was painted to match the scheme of the CB&Q by this time. The new livery included small gold or yellow numerals (designating passenger or freight), and the "Burlington Route" square herald centered on the side of the tenders. Later, cab roofs were painted in red oxide. The only distinguishing markings that identified C&S and FW&D engines from those of the CB&Q were original engine numbers and classifications, and each road's initials on the cab sides. All standard gauge rolling stock was to bear "Burlington Route" markings as well. Narrow gauge motive power was left in original C&S plain black, with graphite smokebox and firebox, and "Colorado & Southern" spelled out along the tender. All narrow gauge rolling stock was left with the old Colorado & Southern insignia and lettering. It was clear from the outset that the CB&Q had absorbed the C&S narrow gauge only because it had to, in the quest to expand its "Route" north and south out of Denver. By leaving the narrow gauge equipment in the old livery, it was visually disassociated from the "image" of the CB&Q. This was just fine for the men of the narrow gauge and for the many employees of the old C&S. It was a matter of pride and identity.
In 1930, another large engine was added to the roster. The CB&Q had abandoned its narrow gauge operations in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and one of the engines used there had been wrecked and was brought to the Denver Shops for rebuilding. Afterward, the engine was leased to the C&S; Engine 537 was an 1896 Baldwin-built, outside frame 2-8-0, with a tractive effort of 20,800 lbs. When it arrived in Denver, the 537 was an oil burner, but was converted to burn coal on the C&S because there was no way to fuel an oil burning engine west of Denver. As part of the 537's rebuilding, a new steel cab was constructed of similar dimension to the C&S narrow gauge engines.
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(Photo 9) The ugliest duckling of them all. Leased CB&Q #537, in Denver, 1930. This engine had just been rebuilt by the C&S shops using many parts from set-aside and scrapped engines. She was converted to burn coal for use on the mainline to Leadville, and had switched tenders with the now oil-burning No.70. The steel cab sides are dimensionally identical to the 74-76. Similar to the D&RGW C-21 class engines, she outweighed the 74-76 by 3,000 lbs (total engine and tender) but only generated a tractive effort of 20,800 lbs., compared to 21,170 of the B-4-F class. She was not a popular engine to fire on the West End, as most firemen on that division were not used to firing her wide, square firebox. East End firemen had an easier time, as they also fired standard gauge engines. 5/20/30. Otto Perry Photo, DPL collection. |
By 1931, the C&S had added new steel cabs, and 18" diameter Pyle National headlights to the 74, 75, and 76. Air operated pilot flangers were installed on all of the larger C&S narrow gauge engines, including the B-4-F class. The cylinder that operated the 74's pilot flanger was mounted to the bottom of the running board behind the 11" air pump. In addition, the 74 had been fitted with a new, "modern" flat smokebox front. The 75 and 76 retained older, "UP" style older front ends, which were similar to, if not the same as, the original Brooks design. With her new facelift, stepped running boards, and Walschaerts valve gear, the 74 was regarded as the "ultimate" in modern motive power on the C&S narrow gauge.
Narrow gauge 2-8-0 locomotives usually feature "blind" driving wheels on the 2nd and 3rd axles. Blind drivers have a flat surface across the entire width of the driver with no flange. This design allows the locomotive to negotiate tighter radius curves, and also allows the engine easier footing needed at various points along a narrow gauge railroad. The C&S mechanical department correctly felt there was a loss of adhesion without a flange holding the rail on curves, but also recognized the advantage of the blind drivers. A compromise was developed with the design of a small, ½" flange that was used to replace flat "blind" drivers on all their narrow gauge 2-8-0's, including leased engines. This allowed the engines better adhesion with more surface to hold the rail, and also allowed the engine to still behave as though it was equipped with blind drivers in those situations where necessary. With this modification, the engines were able to start easier on heavy grades, without slipping. It also made sure the tonnage ratings of the engines were conservative, as the additional driver adhesion increased the engine's pulling power.
In 1935, the tenders of all B-4-F class engines were rebuilt. During the rebuilding, new coal bunkers for the 74 and 76 were fabricated from single piece sheet iron, replacing the last remnant of the original Brooks flared top. Apparently, the mishap in 1922 had not been forgotten, and the 75 was not provided with a new bunker.
Of the B-4-F class, engines 76 and 74 were crew favorites. The 76 was said to have the smoothest ride, and didn't have lubrication problems like the 74.
The 74 and 76, according to the highline men, was two of the nicest engines to run. The 75, they didn't care much about her.
- A.A. " Brownie" Anderson (Crossen)
In the summer of 1935, a spark from the 75's stack ignited a bird's nest in the rafters of the Rotary shed adjacent to the Como roundhouse. The ensuing fire destroyed the last remnant of the wood addition to the roundhouse, and burned every wood part off Rotary 99200. It also gutted the 75's cab interior, and ruined all non-metal parts. A falling roof beam had cracked the steam dome cover, causing it to be replaced with an unusual, more rounded cover. After yet another rebuilding, the 75 was beginning to take on a rather homemade look, clearly the result of a hard life. Both domes were now mismatched, and it still carried its lower profile tender from the 1922 wreck. Another of the 75's peculiarities after the 1935 rebuild was that its new cab doors were rehung to swing outward, but still hinged to the outer side of the door frame. This was not standard practice on the C&S narrow gauge. Doors were typically hinged on the outer wall side, swinging inside against the cab wall when "open."
The 75 was not popular with engine crews, and had been considered a "Jonah" (Bad luck engine) for years. It seemed that whenever there was trouble on the line, the 75 was usually there.
That 75 was just a Jonah. A lot of them guys didn't like workin' on it. There'd been problems with it. It didn't run as good as the other two and as I recall, it didn't steam as good either. I don't know what it was about it. Some engines was like that. Most of 'em weren't. That was the one Williamson was killed on.
- Doug Schnurbush, former C&S Fireman (1982)
One night In January 1936, Schnurbush was firing on engine 73, headed downgrade, eastbound, just below the summit of Boreas Pass. Coupled to the 73's tender was a flanger, and behind the flanger, engine 75. The two engines had been helpers on an eastbound freight train, and had been cut off at the summit, according to regular practice, because the "road engine" could handle the train downhill. The two helpers were running ahead of the train to clear the line of snow down the hill and into Como. Shortly after leaving the train, the engines and flanger derailed and went over the side of the hill, killing 75's engineer, Charlie Williamson. The two engines were retrieved the following summer, rebuilt, and put back into service.
The C&S considered leasing an undetermined number of C-19 class locomotives from the D&RGW in 1935, but the motive power situation was now critical. Three engines were leased from the D&RGW as soon as possible. Engines 343, 345, and 346 were brought to Denver, where they were fitted with Ridgeway cinder catchers, and later fitted with 36" diameter C&S half-flanged tires on the blind drivers. The engines remained on the C&S until abandonment in 1937.
Firing on the Colorado & Southern narrow gauge:
They all fired different. Each engine had its own draft. I thought the 71 and 537 were the only hard engines to fire, and I fired them all in those years (1925-1937). We used to put the scoop in upside down and the draft would carry the smoke real low so you could see the bright spots. As long as you fired the bright spots in there, you never had any trouble at all. I used to tell the new guys, 'Watch the smoke. When the smoke is white, the fire is burning the hottest and that's when you feed the bright spots. Don't throw coal on the cold spots or it'll clinker* on you.' Some of them listened, and some of them didn't, and the ones who didn't always had trouble.
- Doug Schnurbush, (1983)
* "A clinker is fused coal, caused by heavy fire, poor draft, or a combination of both"
- John Coker
As previously stated, the C&S never owned a "new" narrow gauge locomotive. Every engine they ever had had been owned by some other line before them. The engines ranged from small 2-6-0's to large 2-8-0's. They were built by Baldwin, Rhode Island, Cooke, and Brooks. Some engines bore little resemblance to others, but as coal burners, one thing they had in common was was that they were fired in basically the same manner.
The fire was laid down on the grates, and the firemen learned to anticipate the draft created by the engine's exhaust, which would burn the coal at different temperatures at different locations in the firebox. When the engine was working hard, the fire burned hotter and used coal faster. The narrow fireboxes of the C&S engines drafted well, and the coal was carried well to the front end of even the longest fireboxes by the draft.
I'll tell you something else about firin' them engines, too. That engineer, he was the one who could hang your hide on the coal gate. If he dropped that Johnson bar down in the corner and pulled the throttle for more steam, he'd pull your fire right off the grates and out the stack. The times that was best was when they'd set the throttle, and use the Johnson bar for steam. That'd keep the draft pretty steady. That's what the best of 'em did. Some of them guys didn't do that. They'd be pullin' and jerkin' on that throttle and it'd be real hard to keep her hot. That'd make it real tough on you as a fireman. Them guys all knew it, too. They'd all fired. But you never complained about it. Then you'd have real problems.
- Doug Schnurbush, (1982)
According to Clinton Eshe, who was the last living C&S narrow gauge engineer, if an engine didn't steam well, it was usually caused by bad coal. Doug Schnurbush, a former fireman on the "West-End" between Como and Leadville, said in 1983 that his least favorite engine to fire was leased CB&Q engine #537 because it was so different. The 537 had a big, square firebox. This engine was nearly identical to the D&RGW class C-21, and not unlike the larger, K-27 class. All the C&S engines had narrow fireboxes that fit inside the engine's frame. Some were very long. The B-4-F class had the longest of all, at 9 ½ feet.
They tried an arch* in the 74 one time, but it didn't work very good. I remember Fred Warren was firin' for me. We left Leadville, and had to stop to blow up (restore steam in the boiler to "working" pressure) three or four times between Leadville and Climax.
Another time, we left Como, and Ed Oshier was firin' for me. We
had to stop at Peabody's, and that's just a couple of miles out of Como
goin' west. I said to Ed, 'What's the matter?'
'I don't know.'
I looked down and said, 'Don't you know this engine has an arch?'
'No.'
'Look in there.'
He had more coal on top of the arch than he had in the firebox. He had to take the clinker hook and it took quite a while to get that coal off the top of the arch and clean the fire. After that, we made it light up to Boreas and into Dickey. That arch wasn't a success and they done away with it.
- Brownie Anderson (Crossen)
* "An arch is basically a cover (typically brick) that is over the flame and below the flues. It extends from the flu sheet (at the front end of the firebox) back toward the firebox door. Its purpose is to force the hot gases to travel farther before entering the flues, allowing more complete combustion of the coal. Obviously, if coal is piled on top, and hence, against the flues, the area available for air flow will be reduced, and some flues will be blocked."
- Todd Hackett
There was a dead grate back of the flue sheet, oh, I'd judge, two feet or more. (Location of the fourth driver axle) There'd be an awful big clinker* there all the time. They used to carry an extra long clinker hook and when you'd clean the fire, you'd have to get that clinker out from there. If you didn't, it would keep formin' and she wouldn't steam very good.
- A.A. "Brownie" Anderson (Crossen)
Regarding the clinker hooks, there are photographs of the 74 on the C&S, which clearly show as many as four hooks and rakes at one time, stowed at different places on the tender and engine. The longest measured approximately 11¾ ft. and was carried on the handrail stanchions on the fireman's side of the boiler, over the running board. These were tools of the trade for firing a C&S locomotive. Especially one with a 9 ½ ft. firebox and a dead grate over the fourth axle.
Yeah, I remember all them hooks and stuff. One of 'em was an auger for the flues. Among a lot of us firemen, it was a matter of pride not to use anything but a scoop for firin'. I was like that. Some guys, they used them hooks all the time. It was always good they were there when you needed 'em, though. And yeah, that's right about that dead grate on them engines, too. You had to watch all the time for that clinker. We'd have to clean that off when we was stopped somewhere.
- Doug Schnurbush (1982)
By 1937, the three sister engines looked as different as they looked alike. The 74 had evolved into its new, "modern" self, the 75 was a battle scarred- veteran, and the 76 still looked "dignified,", a vestige of her original design.
The years 1935-1937 were good for the C&S narrow gauge. There was a good deal of construction underway at Climax, and the C&S hauled a great deal of industrial steel and other materials. Many trainloads of molybdenum were taken from Climax over the line to Denver. Business was good, but everyone knew the end was near for the old "South Park".
The C&S had been attempting to abandon the narrow gauge line for years, when the ICC finally granted permission to abandon the line between the molybdenum operations at Climax (13 miles east of Leadville) to Denver in 1937. Tonnage that had been critical to the operation was molybdenum, which was being shipped from the mines at Climax, hauled to Denver and transferred to standard gauge cars there. Following abandonment, molybdenum was transferred to standard gauge at Leadville, and then transferred to the D&RGW. All leased engines were returned to the D&RGW and CB&Q, and the three engines of the B-4-F class were moved over to Leadville, where they were isolated from the rest of the railroad.
Engines 74, 75, and 76 were placed in regular, rotating service between Leadville and Climax. During one of the winters in the early 40's, the 74's frame broke in front of the cylinder assembly on the engineer's side while bucking snow. All necessary equipment was brought to the scene, and major welding was done to repair the crippled engine on the spot, in the snow, and in subfreezing temperatures. The work was done by Mickey Hansen, who later became Road Foreman of Engines on the C&S. Hansen's weld, of which he was most proud, has held to this day. The three engines remained in rotating service until 1943, when the line was standard-gauged. Near the end of operations, No.74 was rarely used, as she was approaching the end of time on her flues, and in need of a major overhaul. Engine 76, with Joe Delaney at the throttle, hauled the last C&S narrow gauge train to Climax on August 25, and the three sister engines were finished on the C&S.
Not long after the last run, the engines were loaded on flat cars and taken to Denver. Abandonment of the Clear Creek Branch had come in 1939, and all narrow gauge rail had been removed from the Denver yard in 1942. Placing rails inside a seldom-used siding behind the roundhouse made a "temporary" arrangement for storage of the engines. There they remained until March 1945, when they were again sold to what was then called Morse Bros. Machinery Co. in Denver. Fortunately, the timing of these events allowed the engines to be spared being shipped to Alaska or scrapped in the war effort, as many other C&S engines were.
Narrow gauge equipment was not as easy to sell in 1945 as it had been twenty four years earlier. General belief was that within ten years, all Colorado narrow gauge would be gone forever. For the next three years, the engines sat at Morse Bros., unwanted.
Those DB&W engines were real popular with the engineers, because they always had steam and pulled their tonnage and had plenty of 'snap' on the throttle. They was great engines.
- Clinton Eshe, former C&S Engineer, 1983
 (Photo 10) Ex-C&S #74 at Morse Bros. yard, Denver, Colorado, 3/25/45. The engine has now been idle for 19 months, and shows signs of neglect. Otto Perry Photo. Ed Haley collection. |
 (Photo 11) Ex-C&S #75, 74, 76 at Morse Bros., Denver, Colorado. Otto Perry photographed the three engines as they await their respective fates. It will be another 3 1/2 years before the 75 and 76 are shipped to their new owners in Peru, leaving the 74 to await her final curtain call alone. Note the 75's two mismatched domes and low tender profile, evidence of a hard life. Also note the clear distinction between 74's canted slide valve chest and the 75 and 76's piston valves and the 75's C&S pilot with the wide sheet iron steps. This is a rare picture because it shows all three engines together. Otto Perry Photo, Ed Haley Collection. |
To continue the 74's story click on the "RGS Years" button, or to return to the previous section, click on the "Early Years" button...
