Steam & Excursion > What is the structure behind ATSF 3760 ?

Is it a wooden sand tower?

Photo Dec 1948 at Kansas City
K. Vollrath collection

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Nope, coaling tower. The east end of the Santa Fe burned coal.

Anyone know how many of SFe's engines
still burned coal circa 1948?

timz Wrote:

> Anyone know how many of SFe's engines still burned coal circa 1948?

Stagner's Santa Fe Steam - The Last Decade shows Santa Fe with 206 coal burners and 1174 oil burners on the roster in 1949.  The following year, the numbers were down to 176 coal and 1023 oil, a decline by 14% and 13% respectively.  Of course, "on the roster" doesn't necessarily mean "in service."  Between 1949 and 1950, the miles rolled up by Santa Fe coal-fired steam plummeted 86%, from 2,270,000 down to just 320,000, while miles accumulated by oil-fired steam dropped 21% from 32,310,000 to 25,570,000. 

The biggest engines still burning coal by 1950 were 2-10-2's in Colorado and New Mexico.  The Illinois Division was home to quite a flock of 8-coupled coal burners, mostly 2-8-2's but also a few 4-8-2's and most of Santa Fe's small collection of 2-8-4's (a few 4100's had been converted to oil and sent to Texas).  The balance was made up mostly of 2-8-0's and a few 2-6-2's.