Steam & Excursion > Cotton Belt 756, burning coal 'till the end

The 2-8-0 CONSOLIDATION was the real workhorse of the St. L. S-W with 120 of these Baldwins built in all.
756 was a class K1b built in the early 20's with Baker valve gear, and was modernized in the late 30's. As diesels
arrived to the Cotton Belt, many of these 2-8-0's were scrapped in Pine Bluff or Tyler, while 36 went to SP de Mexico,
and a few actually made it to SP in the Bay Area of California. On the Cotton Belt, many of these 2-8-0's were converted
to burn oil, but 756 burned coal and stayed on home rail until its scrapping in the early 1950's.

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Nice shot. Interesting that it does not have footboards all the way across but rather the pointed pilot.

They used these as road engines. For some reason I forgot SSW had coalburners.
Nice roster shot.

She had a handwheel, rather than a lever, to dump the ashpan! That's rare.

If the hostler had tried, he MIGHT have been able to load a few more scoops toward the back of the coalpile. It's about the nicest dressed coalpile I've ever seen. How did he pile it so high? (Maybe it's magnetic coal)

-LD