C&S 75 in Leadville . . . but when?

Posted by Jim Courtney on Apr 04, 2016; 1:12am
URL: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/C-S-75-in-Leadville-but-when-tp5051.html

This was a good week for purchasing C&S photos on eBay!  In addition to the 1936 photo of number 60 with the "foamed" dome (http://c-sng-discussion-forum.41377.n7.nabble.com/Got-Milk-C-amp-S-number-60-in-Leadville-td5015.html, I obtained a new (to me) portrait of C&S number 75:






The locomotive is spotted on the dual gauge track next to the water stand, behind the Leadville depot.  Wonder what's in the barrel in the foreground? (Detail note to Keith).

The actual print is small, only 2 1/8 by 4 1/4 inches, probably a contact print from roll film used in a box camera. There is no written date on the back, like that of number 60, but typed on the back in all caps is: "C&S 75 2-8-0 NG LEADVILLE COLO 1940". The photographer is unknown.

After some study, I don't think the photo was taken as late as 1940, as several details tend to help date the photo.  

First, the visored headlight is attached to the bracket with a metal plate.  Chris Walker pointed out that the 75 had a wooden bracket prior to the damage from the 1935 Como roundhouse fire: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.41377.n7.nabble.com/C-amp-S-75-td151i40.html

Second, note the steps from pilot to front of running board: There is a single step with a diagonal brace, from the front of the step back to the sheet metal supports from running board to pilot.  These are more clearly seen in this 1931 Otto Perry photo:



http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15330coll22/id/43131/rec/6


But . . . I am also bidding on this photo, dated to August, 1936, showing the 75 running light on Boreas:



http://www.ebay.com/itm/111950562276?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


The 75 was badly damaged in the January, 1936 wreck with the number 73. By August, 1936, the 75 had two steps from pilot to running board, of a simpler design, likely a result of rebuilding in the spring of 1936.

So . . . to my thinking, the new photo at the top of the thread must be after repairs from the 1935 fire, but before the January, 1936 wreck. Would explain the relatively fresh paint job with tender lettering unsullied by coal dust.

So what do ya'll think?  Mike Trent, does summer or early fall of 1935 make sense?