Dear Pioneer Zephyr,
I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear from you again! I don’t think any letter from you could be a disappointment.
The IRM is pretty slow over the holidays so I’ve had some time to adjust to the idea of being static for a while. It was hard at first – we are contraptions of habit, after all – but now I figure it’s not so different from what I was doing after they pulled me out of Pielet’s yard. At least here I’m safe from vandals. And I have the Goddesses, of course!
Venus in particular has been very understanding. When my valve spring broke, I suggested they might like to be pulled around by Shay or Tuskegee. After all, they’re a beautiful and fully-furnished consist, it would be a shame if visitors couldn’t experience the train in motion. But Venus said that it would be improper for any engine other than a Burlington to pull the Nebraska Zephyr. You might consider that unkind (as you know, I’m actually C&S) but the way she said it wasn’t unkind at all. Though maybe she’s only thinking about how they might look behind a simple Prairie locomotive or a logging engine. Either way, she considers me an important part of the train now and that’s been helpful in keeping my spirits up despite the circumstances.
Your advice, as always, has been a great help too. I’ve never appreciated being… appreciated before! It’s not something I ever thought would happen to me. I can see why visitors would admire your train, of course. There’s a reason they wanted us E5s to look like you, though I think it’s hard to beat the original. I might not have your articulated trucks, but I do have some pretty impressive running gear the visitors could look at. Some of the fleet complained when they took our wheel shrouds away on the C&S, but I never really minded. Maintenance went quicker without them, and the streamlined look was somewhat undercut when we stopped getting regular washdowns. In a perfect world it would have been nice to keep them but as it was, being on time was more important than looking sharp.
The rest of January looks to be quite busy! There’s supposed to be an important memorial run happening over on the trolley loop later this month. It’s been 10 years since the closure of the North Shore Line and the electrics department is all-hands getting the interurban cars ready for that. Afterward, work will be off and on until we resume regular service in the spring. If you don’t hear from me until April, that’ll be why, though I hope it won’t be that long before I can write you again! Your letters really are bright spots on the horizon.
I hope you had a good Christmas and New Year. Please give the yard my fondest regards!
Your friend,
Silver Pilot