Yet another photo of the world's biggest brass locomotive. No date or place.

http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?j ... anColl.jpg

Thereare numerous photos of Jensen's GTW Pacific, #5629, being butchered by the scrappers, but I have never seen any photos of his CB&Q Northern, #5632, being cut up. Two of the worst tragedies in American steam non-preservation.

What is the little box that the Q ran on these locomotives? The one here is ahead of the sand dome. Thanks.

I have a notion these boxes contained relays and other hardware for an automatic train stop system. This is the device that would make a penalty application of the train air brake if the locomotive passed a red signal. I don't know about the Q's installation, but on Pere Marquette 1225 a magnetic inductor (receiver) was mounted on the lead tender truck. I can't tell if I see one obscuring the forward roller bearing on the 5632's tender in the photo. If the receiver passed an energized transmitter, relays actuated electropneumatic valves that sent air to a servo cylinder over the air brake handle, moving the air-brake lever into (I think) a fast service application. The system could not be turned off until the crew went down on the ground reset a valve, which required breaking a seal, giving evidence of passing the signal. I think the supplier was Western Railway Supply (or Signal?).

I think I've got much of this right. The system on the 1225 is disused, of course, and most of the system has been removed owing to rules that require disused equipment to be removed and for fear of clearance problems from the inductor, and because the electropneumatic valves occupied the space that should be devoted to the engineman's feet. The relay box was usually installed on the tender deck, and ours now discreetly houses a backup battery power source and 110v charger in place of the quaint spring-mounted glass relay case, using the ATS conduit to connect with the locomotive.

I work with guys who are devising "vehicle-infrastructure interface" applications of radio to auto safety schemes, such as interactive vehicle brakes and traffic signals, and get a kick out of telling them my coal-burning locomotive had this in 1941.

And while we didn't see it actually getting cut up, we did see the 5632 half-dismantled and looking very bleak in the Chicago scrapyard around 52nd Street, around 1980 if I remember the date right, in the company of the intact 2-8-2 that eventually went to IRM.

The boxes were installed on 5632 and 4960 for cab signal equipment which was used between Chicago and Aurora (Metra still uses cab signals on the BNSF route).

The photo of 5632 has to be on the locomotive's final trips out of Kansas City for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of KCUT. She only pulled stainless steel equipment or suburban coaches when she was painted gold for the Chicago to Aurora 100th anniversary celebraion in May 1964.

Don C.

Thanks for the response guys. That was the trip that at one point held the record for the most commuters on one trip of 3,500 if I remember correctly.

Clem,
The return trip from Aurora to Chicago on that Saturday morning was, and as far as I know "is", the record. Out of demand, additional cars were added at Aurora to satisfy the ridership. I couldn't ride the trip but I stood on the platform at the Aurora depot as the '32 got out of town with all of that tonnage tied to her tender drawbar. There is a "canyon" of three story and higher buildings located just east of the old depot for six or seven blocks. The O5b really sounded off as she got that train underway, her booming exhaust rattling adjacent windows and echoing off of those buildings. Had I ever doubted that this was the greatest locomotive that I had ever seen, all doubts were removed on that Saturday, even though she was in "circus" paint. She is still the greatest locomotive that I have ever seen.

Don C.

Wow! Thanks for sharing that with us.