I'm looking for information on what steam locomotive would have been used, or what type would have been in service, in the 1940's on a local serving Dodge City, Ingalls, Cimarron, and other towns in KS on the now-BNSF line through there. This may be the wrong place to ask, though. Thanks.
Best guess would be a 2-6-2 of the 1000 or 1800 class. My memory fails me, but I have recently seen an article somewhere written by Jared Harper about Santa Fe's Alma branch out of Burlingame, KS (I think I have towns right). I picked up a print of a painting he commissioned of a mixed train headed up by a 2-6-2 on this branch at a Santa Fe convention in Topeka many moons back. It is one of my favorites...
But my favorite Santa Fe branch is the Brady branch (San Saba district) out of Lometa....
Thanks. That would be one of my guesses, from looking at pictures and various info. And there's a 2-6-2 - #1139 - on display in Dodge.
Possibly a 2-8-0 would have been used, as well?
Alex, I work for the Cimarron Valley Railroad in SW KS, and we do go into Dodge City. My boss is ex Santa Fe along with his dad and grandpa. I can get all the information for you and let you know on here tomorrow. His brother still runs La Junta to Newton. So yea, I do believe I can get you what you need.
Dru, CVR-Engineer, Conductor, Brakeman.
Alex, my boss said that they used to run all sizes of steamers through Dodge City. They ran anything from 2-8-0's to 4-6-2's out here on the branches that ran in and out of Satanta. So if I get anymore info on this, I'll let you know.
Dru
Thanks for the info, Dru.
So, would it be reasonable to conclude that a steam engine switching a grain elevator in Cimarron, KS in about 1940 would have, more than likely, been a 2-6-2 or 2-8-0?
Thanks again.
Alex, yes that would sound about right. I can get more info if you would like me to. The boss enjoy's talking about things like this. He won't admit it but he does like the historical part of the industry.
Later, Dru
In the 1940's, Cimarron (on the Northern Transcon) was 110# and 112# rail at that time and saw just about anything that passed through the roundhouses at Syracuse and Dodge. The CV District was 1913-1926 90# rail and also saw larger power going between Dodge City and Elkhart/Boise City's roundhouses. The bigger engines were the express engines, the older engines handled the local wayfreights. Sorry to hear the depot at Syracuse is now gone.
3400 Class and 3460 class 4-6-2's were out there a lot.
Say hello to Henry Dru.
The run from Satanta east towards Dodge is now 110 pound rail. Satanta west towards Boise City is 90 pound rail except for a 4 mile section of 85 pound between Rolla and Elkhart. But the Manter line, which runs from Satanta to Springfield has 45 miles of 85 pound from Satanta to Johnson, the rest of it is 90 pound. Yet we still pull 10 to 12 thousand ton trains from Johnson into town. That ol 85 pound rail is something else. We have hardly had any problems with it. All the troubles with rail breaking is on the 110. The 85 is when steel was steel. There are rails at Johnson on the main line that was milled in 1904. It is still in service and there really isn't no problems with it visually or with the detector. So as long as we can still run over it, its going to stay. How can I tell Henry hi for ya if you don't tell me your name. How's Derek, if you've seen em lately. Tell him I say Hi, and tell him he needs to get back out here and take some more pics. Later, Dru
Dru:
The 110 # rail is there because it was demoted from use on the heavier tonnage mains. The 110 has a wunnerful defect in that the fillet curve between the web and the head is too small which allows the head to wobble. The rail is prone to head-web separation.
(the 1904 rail in Johnson is replacement rail from a d-car runs...most of the rail was laid new 1923-26)
Do you folks ever go west of Walsh or Vilas anymore? or even Saunders...
favuprailroadfan The run from Satanta east towards Dodge is now 110 pound rail. Satanta west towards Boise City is 90 pound rail except for a 4 mile section of 85 pound between Rolla and Elkhart. But the Manter line, which runs from Satanta to Springfield has 45 miles of 85 pound from Satanta to Johnson, the rest of it is 90 pound. Yet we still pull 10 to 12 thousand ton trains from Johnson into town. That ol 85 pound rail is something else. We have hardly had any problems with it. All the troubles with rail breaking is on the 110. The 85 is when steel was steel. There are rails at Johnson on the main line that was milled in 1904. It is still in service and there really isn't no problems with it visually or with the detector. So as long as we can still run over it, its going to stay. How can I tell Henry hi for ya if you don't tell me your name. How's Derek, if you've seen em lately. Tell him I say Hi, and tell him he needs to get back out here and take some more pics. Later, Dru
Yes we still do go to Walsh and Vilas. We are storing empty ethanol cars out at Vilas and sometimes we do go out to there to retrieve what we need. We go out to a elevator spot just 4 miles east of Walsh about twice a week. Skyland grain, based out of Johnson, has ordered cars on the tune of 156 cars every other day for grain season. These cars are going to the new facility at Hugoton. These cars will be spotted at Big Bow, Johnson, Manter, Saunders, and Bartlett(the spot east of Walsh). We'll probably spot Walsh throughout the season. We will also being rotating cars between Moscow and Hugoton and also Elkhart and Hugoton. So we will be busy this year. Its going to be fun.
"New Facility at Hugoton" = Seabord Grain or Parker grain?
Its actually called Sante Fe Grain. Its a combination of Skyland Grain, United Prairie Ag and Collingwood Grain. We rotate cars from Bartlett, Manter, Johnson, and Big Bow to Hugoton and back. We are also starting to rotate cars from Elkhart to Hugoton and back because Skyland just bought Cargill at Elkhart and United Prairie Ag just bought Cargill at Moscow so we'll be rotating cars from there to Hugoton. Like I was saying, we are going to get very busy when the harvest starts. Sante Fe grain is anticipating on taking a 110 car shuttle 7 days a week during the season. Henry has got this thing jumping, granted were slow right now but it'll pick up.
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