Burlington Route SD9s are not rare, and I think a few are still working for BNSF. This one, however, was somewhat special. Delivered in 1956, it worked the Colorado & Southern/Fort Worth & Denver system until September 17, 1958, when it was badly damaged in a head-on collision at Chugwater, Wyoming. Sent back to EMD, it was returned in the red and gray paint scheme, the first Burlington locomotive to be so painted. In 1962, it received further modifications to function in ice and snow, and was sent to the isolated (former narrow gauge) C&S line between Leadville and Climax, Colorado. There, on October 12, 1962, it replaced the last class one railroad standard gauge steam locomotive still in revenue service, C&S 2-8-0 641.

The locomotive made it into the BN renumbering series after the C&S was fully absorbed into Burlington Northern, and was again wrecked in a runaway on the Leadville line. Sent away again for repairs, it received a chopped nose, and continued until the line was sold to the Leadville, Colorado & Southern tourist RR. At last report, about a year ago, it was still in a scrap line. Has it been cut up yet?

The photo here was taken before the first wreck, in July 1958. As the C&S still operated steam at that time, it is unusual that a photographer expended his expensive Kodachrome on a common diesel. The 1958 wreck, plus another head-on at Broomfield. Colorado five days later, prolonged C&S steam several more months, and even required the lease of five O1a 2-8-2s from the parent Burlington to fill the gap left by all the wrecked diesels.

http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?o ... 807-rs.jpg