C&S 74 Entering Leadville

Posted by Keith Hayes on
URL: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/C-S-74-Entering-Leadville-tp17245.html


This image popped up on the C&S Facebook Group this week. It is an Otto Perry image and DPL states the date is May 2, 1941 (10 mph, 13 cars approaching Leadville).

Right away I spied CONX 14 and 5 leading the train, followed by 6 boxcars, 5 coals and the waycar.

Bill Meredith noted that the tank cars are inconsistent with the date, as it seems to be established that no tank cars were left in Leadville after 1938. I suppose I should ask: is this established fact? Tank cars were not listed on the instructions to trainmen to forward particular cars to Leadville in 1938. The order does indicate that some equipment was already in Leadville, and I suppose this could have included tank cars.

FYI, May 2 was a Friday, so I guess Otto was taking a day off from delivering mail. This was six months before Pearl Harbor, so gas rationing was not in effect yet.

Also curious to me is the fact that we have a photo of a train entering Leadville, and it has a single locomotive on the point. My point being that we see a train entering the Cloud City during daylight, which is rare. Either the trains got into town after dark, or our railfans were out of film, or both. If this was the end of Denver-Leadville operations, it is interesting that 74 is handling the train alone, as trains from Denver tended to have four locomotives to boost the train over Kenosha-Boreas-Fremont Passes. So maybe it is 1941?

I recall Grandt published a photo of 74 switching the tank cars, which is interesting because Otto spent the night in Leadville and photographed 74 taking a cut of cars back east Saturday morning:

This time the train has 3 boxes and 3coals plus the waycar and no tanks. So if the tanks were coming back from Climax they were spotted to get filled if they were not just along for the ride advertising.

Then there is this pic:

This is 74 headed westbound (towards Leadville) on June 15, 1943, which was a Tuesday. This time 74 has 15 cars: 4 coals; CONX 14; 5 boxcars; 5 flats and the waycar.

It is reported that Otto was very precise recording dates, so these photos seem to reflect that both the dates are correct, some tanks were used on the Climax run after abandonment, and one locomotive was sufficient to manage the train, which could make it back to Leadville before dark.