Steam & Excursion > CO&E #17 Move Pictures

Here are a few pictures I took of the welcome train project as it was transported through Boone 7-22-20 & 7-23-20.
 

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A bit more info about the move would be nice.

patd3985 Wrote:
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> A bit more info about the move would be nice.



Of course,
The Boone Iowa rotary club is celebrating its centennial by commemorating a project call the "welcome train" the project consists of a former Rock island coach, and 2-8-0 CO&E #17 steam locomotive. The equipment has been sandblasted and painted, a short section of track was constructed on the Southside of town at US HWY 30, the locomotive and coach is angled so it looks like it is turning into town to help attract visiting folks to enter the community. This has been a $250,000.00 project in the works for the last several years.

Posted from Android

Someone said it never ran in Boone, so I wonder what was the last year it did operate....late 80's????
Greg

gregscholl Wrote:
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> Someone said it never ran in Boone, so I wonder
> what was the last year it did operate....late
> 80's????
> Greg

I believe 1981 was the last year operated under steam. Boone and senic valley railroad purchased it in 1987.

Posted from Android

The dry pipe on the 17 collapsed in September of 1986 while switching hoppers in Marion, IL. It went on to Boone later that year, or early 1987.

Posted from Android

This is the last time #17 had a fire on her grates, on September 9, 1986.

The photo was taken shortly after the dry pipe collapsed, and shows #17 where she stopped after the incident.  As you can see, she is still hot despite being disabled.  Shortly SW1200 #1147, which had arrived on the property only days before, would be rushed into service to complete the day's chores.

Standing next to the locomotive is Mike Piper, Union Pacific's agent in the area at the time and also a well-known local railfan.  He was around that day as it was the first day of handling a new coal contract with Western Fuels, which trucked coal into Marion to load on the CO&E for movement via U.P. as a shot across the bow of Illinois Central Gulf, which was raising its rates.

This photo was taken by the late Brian Shafer, who was a junior high school student in Marion at the time, and just happened to have film and a camera and was in earshot when the dry pipe went.  It is fortunate he was on hand to document the end for the last common carrier steam railroad in the U.S.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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I put together a longform video on #17 for the website last year.  It's the second from the top of the page.

http://www.divergingclearproductions.com/web-videos

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

Great information Mary, thanks

Posted from Android

MaryMcPherson Wrote:
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> This is the last time #17 had a fire on her
> grates, on September 9, 1986.
>
> The photo was taken shortly after the dry pipe
> collapsed, and shows #17 where she stopped after
> the incident.  As you can see, she is still hot
> despite being disabled.  Shortly SW1200 #1147,
> which had arrived on the property only days
> before, would be rushed into service to complete
> the day's chores.
>
> Standing next to the locomotive is Mike Piper,
> Union Pacific's agent in the area at the time and
> also a well-known local railfan.  He was around
> that day as it was the first day of handling a new
> coal contract with Western Fuels, which trucked
> coal into Marion to load on the CO&E for movement
> via U.P. as a shot across the bow of Illinois
> Central Gulf, which was raising its rates.
>
> This photo was taken by the late Brian Shafer, who
> was a junior high school student in Marion at the
> time, and just happened to have film and a camera
> and was in earshot when the dry pipe went.  It is
> fortunate he was on hand to document the end for
> the last common carrier steam railroad in the U.S.

So I guess I was there pretty close to a Year prior, as we went to Colorado in Sept-Oct of 1985.
It was a neat little 2-8-0.  Wish it could have found a home to operate again! It least its not scrapped!
Greg