Dear Pioneer Zephyr,
I’m sorry if my comment about your edges caused you problems! Seems like it shook out okay, but I hate to think of anyone teasing you because of something I said. Maybe your guides could send along a postcard of 999 and 2903 so they don’t feel left out? Perhaps they just need to be told how nice they look too!
It’s good that your coaches get on so well with you and each other. I have to say, I don’t mind the Goddesses being forward with me as much as I might have if we were all still in service. It would be hard to corral a consist like theirs and another train and the mail (even with a B-unit backing me up), but since it’s just us and we’re not trying to keep to a schedule, it’s alright if they let me know what’s on their minds!
That they aren’t afraid to speak up also helps if people have questions about the train since I can’t always answer them. It feels like I learn just as much as the visitors do sometimes. For instance, Juno tells me she also had words painted on her like U-505, but in her case it wasn’t to be mean. It was for philanthropy, which is when you do something really nice so everyone can see it. She was decorated with the words ‘Medinah Temple of Chicago’ and had a sword painted on her! It was for a special run for the Shriners, to take them to their convention that year. The paint came off easily in the wash so she was back to her usual shining self by the time they returned to regular service. I have to thank you again. If it weren’t for your letters, I think the Goddesses wouldn’t have occasion to share these kinds of things with me!
The bit about 505 being converted into a full baggage car seemed to interest Venus especially. She heard that and said they did to her cocktail lounge exactly what they did to 505, except instead of adding baggage space they added more seats. They did something similar to Ceres, taking away her kitchen and replacing it with extra seating and vending machines. Then Venus said that at least your coaches were altered because your line was doing well. The Goddesses had those changes made to them because there were fewer passengers, not because there were too many. It’s natural for the railroad to have to make changes based on passenger demand, but it’s interesting that it goes both ways.
The Goddesses were also in a crash once. It was long before any of those alterations were made to the consist, before they were called the Nebraska Zephyr, even. They were the Twin Cities Zephyr back then and my sister Silver Arrow was pulling their train into Chicago that day. A freight train on the opposite track had a tractor slide off one of its flatbeds and onto Arrow’s track. As you know, road vehicles are a big hazard to lightweight passenger engines like us and this tractor was the kind they use to build roads and houses so it was very big and heavy. The engineer saw the tractor fall and hit the brakes right away, but Arrow still plowed right into it. It threw her off the tracks and into the station. Venus and Vesta went through a wall and Minerva was badly torn up as well. It was terrible. Two passengers died and the engineer passed later from his injuries.
Of course, you already know that the Goddesses came out okay. They went to the shops in Aurora, who did a magnificent job restoring the whole train. They even took it as an opportunity to install new raised flooring in all the cars that let the passengers see out the windows better. Arrow was also restored and went on to move with the rest of us to the C&S and work the Texas Zephyr and some of the other trains out of Houston. Since she didn’t have a B-unit, sometimes they’d send Mate along with her. By that point our name boards were flipped over, so it didn’t matter if the A and B-unit names didn’t make a matched set. Mate’s favorite bit was coming back from his trips with other engines and telling me how much smoother and faster they were able to do their work with him along. “Now that I’m back on your train,” he’d say, “your service is sure to improve.”
I sympathize with Injun Joe and hope he’s doing alright. My situation after getting pulled from Pielet was similar, but at least I knew the folks in charge here had a plan for me. It was a bit scary, but knowing that I had a job at the end of it was reassuring. If it’s like you said and Injun Joe and all his coaches are still together, I’m sure there’s a museum or railway who are interested in having them. Moving a train is very complicated though, so it could take some time. The volunteers tell me that even if everyone agrees an engine or car should come here, it can take months or even years to get everything in place to move them. Even so, a streamlined engine and consist is something special, I’m sure they’ll find a home soon enough.
If you don’t mind me asking, do you know if any of your other siblings were preserved? I only ask because I got to thinking, even if I am static for the moment, my being here is still important since I’m the only E5 left. Even if I never get fixed (not that I think I won’t), I’m still here for people to look at and learn about and remember. But if people want to see me and the train, they can only come here to do it. If Injun Joe gets preserved, then people who might not be able to come to the MSI can still see a shovelnose, which is something everyone should get to look at! And I’d like to know more about the other shovelnoses anyway, since it sounds like they all had names and stories too, if I’m hearing you right.
I’ll leave it here for now. I mentioned earlier how much work it can be to move even one car to a museum. I can say that with authority now since I’ve watched the members here move four streetcars into the barn just this month! I don’t know all the details of how we got them (“It’s complicated” were the exact words used) but they all came from another museum and now they get to stay here! There’s a lovely PCC car here now – you might remember them from your time in the city? Green as beetles and beautifully curved, though she’s not quite so green at the moment. They’re going to repaint her soon though. It makes everyone happy to see the cars the way they remember them when they were in service. Anyway, she’s nearly operational and the members here are looking forward to getting her up and running along with her friends from that other museum. The work doesn’t stop just because the moving’s done. I may be stationary, but the museum is bustling all around us. We are never wanting for activity around here!
They tell me the weather should clear up any day now. I’ve heard of April Showers, but never of them extending into May. At the very least, I hope the rain puts an extra shine on you for your guests when the sun does decide to come out.
Your friend,
Silver Pilot
P.S. – I’m not kidding about the postcards!