Nostalgia & History > Warbonnet Wednesday: Elegant Elderly Es (Part II)

I had intended to append these two pictures to my previous post but screwed up the entry, then got called away.  So here goes Part II--which I had intended to be two more pictures of ATSF E-3 #11.

1.  Train #11 with E-3 #11 leading rounds the big curve at Carbondale, KS, in May, 1966, with a sizeable Kansas Cityan in tow.

2.  Lonely and forlorn, E-3 #11 sits in storage at Argentine, KS, on Feb 22, 1967, along with several other elderly E-units, including its B-unit mate #11A, E-6 #14, E-8M #83 and others that I cannot now identify. #11 was officially retired in 1968 after 29 years of service.   RIP, faithful servants.

Ken Nagel
Grand Rapids MI

---

---

Can't count the number times I saw # 11 on the Ft Worth- Dallas- Ft Worth run.  They  were unning the wheels off that old thing in late 60's and early 70's.

tomstp Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Can't count the number times I saw # 11 on the Ft
> Worth- Dallas- Ft Worth run.  They  were unning
> the wheels off that old thing in late 60's and
> early 70's.

Interesting considering that 11L was retired in June 1968 and traded in to EMD on an order of F45's.

Slant nose E-Units had better proportions than those with bulldog noses.
ALLEN

Two treasures.
Bob

Use to ride behind those engines as a kid on the Golden Gates between Bakersfield and Hanford, and Fresno.
Really nice fast trains that sometimes went 100-plus.according to photos I've seen of the speed recorders.
Was always in Railroad Magazine's annual speed report back in the day.

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Wow!  They're both great, but I love that Carbondale shot!

I agree with others in that the slant-nosed E's were better looking than their younger counterparts.

- Jeff Carlson

A really classy E! Really like your first shot on the curve, NICE!

Larry

Here's a shot out the back of #4 at the Carbondale curve.
As you can see, there's still a lot of super-elevation, a rarity on railroads these days!
The Topeka subdivision is a well enginered railroad, making up for the numerous curves and some moderate grades.
I'm not sure if it's 79mph, but it's not a slow speed curve by any means.

---

I recall seeing a superelevated curve out near Syracuse, KS about 1947 with a 95 mph speed limit sign for passenger trains.  If any Santa Fe passenger train was running a few minutes late, they usually made it up between La Junta and Dodge City.

The 95 mph curve probably didn't need much superelevation.

The 1966 chart says the Carbondale curve
had 6 inches, which is odd, since it seems
the allowed speed on the 3 deg 04 min curve
was 55 mph. No need for 6 inches.