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1953

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1953
Posted by SPer on Monday, February 5, 2018 10:54 AM

Why did Rock Island,Western Pacific,Santa Fe,and Cotton Belt stopped using steam locomotives in 1953

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Posted by Deggesty on Monday, February 5, 2018 11:15 AM

Was it not you who asked this question, or a similar one on another forum not long ago?

The simple answer is "economics."

Johnny

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Posted by SSW9389 on Monday, February 5, 2018 11:47 AM
The last Santa Fe steam operated during the Summer of 1957.
COTTON BELT: Runs like a Blue Streak!
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Posted by MidlandMike on Monday, February 5, 2018 8:28 PM

SPer

Why did Rock Island,Western Pacific,Santa Fe,and Cotton Belt stopped using steam locomotives in 1953

 

Because they had enough diesels.

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Posted by wjstix on Sunday, February 25, 2018 11:13 PM

SPer

Why did Rock Island,Western Pacific,Santa Fe,and Cotton Belt stopped using steam locomotives in 1953

 

Because they hadn't quite managed to eliminate them in 1952? Wink

So many railroads wanted diesels after WW2 that there was often a 2-3 year wait to get an order filled. Same with streamlined passenger cars. I suspect if railroads could have bought diesels quicker, many of them would have been all diesel several years earlier. (The uptick in traffic I suspect the Korean Conflict caused probably meant some railroads found they had to run more steam in 1952-53 then they would liked to have done.)

Stix
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Posted by SPer on Thursday, March 8, 2018 8:21 PM

Santa Fe retired all of its steam locomotives by 1953 with one exception . No 3780 is the only SF steam loco to run past 1953 . She ran until 1957.

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Friday, March 9, 2018 10:09 AM

SPer

Santa Fe retired all of its steam locomotives by 1953 with one exception . No 3780 is the only SF steam loco to run past 1953 . She ran until 1957.

 
Not quite.  Santa Fe officially retained 101 "modern" steam locomotives after 1953 to handle traffic peaks (4-8-4's and 2-10-4's).  Unofficially, other steam locomotives came out of storage periodically for that reason.
The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by jeffhergert on Monday, March 12, 2018 12:37 PM

MidlandMike

 

 
SPer

Why did Rock Island,Western Pacific,Santa Fe,and Cotton Belt stopped using steam locomotives in 1953

 

 

 

Because they had enough diesels.

 

The Rock Island only had enough diesels to handle the normal business level.  A small number of steam engines were kept servicable in anticipation of the summer/fall rushes in 1953.  Instead of firing them up, they were able to temporarily lease diesels from the GN to handle the rushes. 

The last use of RI steam was April 1954 when an 0-8-0 switched flood covered tracks.  

Jeff

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Posted by Deggesty on Monday, March 12, 2018 1:56 PM

I do not remember just what year it was, but, as I recall, in the early fifties the T&P used a steam engine to ford a flooded area--as reported in Trains.

Johnny

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