| Colorado & Southern Railway E5 9955 at Larkspur, Colorado on an unknown day in October 1967, Kodachrome by H. C. Crist, Chuck Zeiler collection. Built as CB&Q 9914A (named Silver Arrow) in June 1941 (c/n 1301) on EMD Order E377, it was sold to the C&S September 20, 1961, becoming C&S 9955, and was traded in on an order of SD40's on March 15, 1968. It is seen here in freight service after the C&S and FW&D discontinued passenger service in 1967. The following is from the Burlington Route Historical Society's Burlington Bulletin 10, The E's, edited by Hol Wagner: In their final months of service on the C&S, the last of the E5's were used, rather unsuccessfully, in freight service over the Joint Line between Denver and Pueblo. This line includes a steep grade in both directions to the divide at Palmer Lake, and even though the former Q E5's had been geared down, the graceful units were still high speed passenger power. Running in five and six-unit sets, the now filthy stainless steel speedsters were forced to double the hill up to Palmer Lake with 30-35 cars at a time. And still they fell well below their continuous rated speed of 29 mph, so traction motors, and even main generators, were burned up at a frightening pace. This indignity lasted only a couple of months (September 21 to November 10, 1967), because it served to render nearly all of the units inoperable. |