Was at my local library today where I picked up a book entitled "The Great Railroad Revolution" by a gentleman named Christian Wolmar. Obviously I have not yet read the book, so can't comment on it. BUT, the jacket cover showed what is certainly an O5 class Burlington 4-8-4 heading toward the camera putting out a nice amount of smoke under very heavy skies. My first thought is that the photo was of the Q's famous O5B #5632. But after reading the jacket cover blurb, I found out that the photograph was by Jim Shaughnessy. If my memory serves me correctly, I think that Mr. Shaughnessy also photographed CB&Q Northern's near the end of their regular service careers. Anyone know how I can find out the engine number? Is there a listing of Jim's photos somewhere?

Thanks.

Les

Les,

Mr. Shaughnessy contributes regularly to Classic Trains magazine. I imagine if you write him, via Kalmbach, they will forward your inquiry to him.

If I remember correctly, one of his stories in the past year or two involved chasing two of the CB&Q 4-8-4's in Illinois during a grain rush.

David -

Thanks for the suggestion. I guess I should have picked up that issue of Classic Trains.


Les

Les

If you wanted 5632 pictures you should have come to me. Here's 22, some double headed with 4960.

http://railfan44.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... x?id=82581

Truly a beautiful locomotive, and a victim of tragic egos. There was no excuse for the destruction of 5632.

Les,
The shot (which appears to be colorized and has had the sky "dramatized" on the book jacket) is of the 5634 making a pick-up westbound at Zearing, IL, on November 24, 1956. The caption in Classic Trains indicates that she was handling train 75-A and that she was backing up while switching at the time Mr. Shaughnessy made the photo. Thank goodness he was there to record the images that day.
Don C.

Marty -

Thanks. I like your photos! I have a "few" of 5632 myself. My favorites include slides of a movie run across the Wisconsin River on a trip that went up to the Missabe. Also, a shot of her with the red lens in her Mars light which, as I recall, was taken at Savannah. She was certainly photogenic. And boy, could she run! If anyone ever decides to restore one of her 4 surviving sisters.....I am there!

Les

Don -

I kind of thought that it wasn't the 32. Thanks for the confirmation. Sure do have to try to find that back issue of Classic Trains now. Do you know which issue it was?

Les

Les,
It was the Fall 2012 issue. They can easily be ordered on-line from the Classic Trains website.

The oil-burning O5b locomotives were assigned to Lines West so it was highly unlikely that the 5632 would have been working out of Galesburg at the time the photos were made. A February 1, 1952, CB&Q locomotive assignment sheet shows 5626, 5627 and 5632 assigned to the Lincoln division, 5620 assigned to the McCook division and 5614 and 5629 assigned to the Alliance division. The logic to bring 5632 "east" for fantrip service in 1958 was for relative ease in fuel handling as most or all of the coaling facilities had or were about to be retired from service. Harold Edmonson's "Steam on Q" booklet states that the locomotive burned 2325 gallons of fuel on her first excursion from Chicago to Galesburg (162 miles) in 1958 while pulling 18 heavyweight cars. Her bunker capacity was 7300 gallons. It is obvious that she could have operated roundtrip on this particular excursion without having to have taken additional fuel.

Don C.

Thanks Don. Interesting that both of the O5b's assigned to the Alliance Division (5614 and 5629) were eventually preserved. Wonder if that was a coincidence, or if perhaps they were on the roster a bit longer than their other oil-burning sisters?

Les

In late 1956 (the same time Jim Shaughnessy was there, I believe) I photographed the 5621 operating out of Galesburg, and 5622 stored and available if needed: http://www.railarchive.net/rlsteam/cbq.htm. I got the 5632 at Galesburg later, 1n 1960.

Did anyone take pictures of the 5632 being cut up? I've never seen any, though it became an inflamed lawsuit. The owner won, by the way, only his locomotive was reduced to rubble by that time.

Richard -

Most likely, somewhere back in the boneyard where 5622 sat that day when you took your photograph of her, was O5A class 4-8-4 #5618. She eventually was pulled out and spruced up for a Railroad Club of Chicago 3 day weekend trip that the club made to the Missabe in 1958. The 5618 only had a 4 car train: two heavyweight coaches, a dome car and a solarium-observation. Not much of a train to tax her. She ran up to St. Paul the first day and then returned to Chicago on the third day. As I recall, we took coal at the coal dock in LaCrosse, Wisconsin both ways. Two memorable photo runs on the return trip including one alongside the Mississippi. It was my first fantrip (I had just graduated from high school). It was her swan song because she ran out of flue time 5 days after the trip. But what a way to go!

Les