Dear Pioneer Zephyr,

Your letter caused quite a stir. I heard the volunteers hollering about it even from my spot on the far end of the wye. And then to hear that it was addressed to me! I nearly turned over from the shock.

Of course you can call me Silver Pilot! Being on a named basis with the original Burlington Zephyr would be a great honor. Even among us E5s, your Denver-to-Chicago sprint was legend. Silver Mate and I used to joke about how much quicker our route in and out of Dallas would be if we could do the whole thing over seventy miles per hour!

I do take your meaning about service. Hard not to, when it’s pretty much all I have to think about anymore. If we’re being honest, you‘re the first one who’s called me Silver Pilot since I arrived. All us stainless steel equipment had names, but they made sure we weren’t too proud about them. They’d tell us, “Even the baggage car has a name,” if one of us started getting too cocky. So the mechanics here just call me 9952. I always liked being called by my name though because all us booster and cab sets were named to match.

The visitors all call me “Nebraska Zephyr” or sometimes just “The Zephyr” which the Goddesses are not very happy about. They don’t think I’m worthy of the name. They say the Texas Zephyr wasn’t Burlington so it doesn’t count. Most of them only ever call me “that engine” (though your letter seems to have softened their opinion of me somewhat, so thank you for that!) I can’t blame them for being unsure, though. They know what it takes to pull a train like theirs.

One of the volunteers suggested that we be “pen pals” and write back and forth regularly. I’d like that and, if you’d be willing, I’d love to hear more about the Museum of Science and Industry and your time at the CB&Q. If I’m to be the last Zephyr engine in service, I think I ought to take some pointers from the best!

Your friend,

Silver Pilot

Dear Pioneer Zephyr,

I hope my quick response didn’t seem overeager! It wasn’t just me who was excited to hear from you. More than one volunteer offered to do the writing for me. (I think they settled on trading off for now.) You’re as much a celebrity to the folks here as you were to those of us on the CB&Q!

Names are a tricky thing. It didn’t used to mean much in day-to-day service, but here it makes you sort of special. I hadn’t thought about how helpful it is to have your name spelled right on your side until I came here. It meant I got to be Silver Pilot on the CB&Q and FW&D, since they were Burlington-owned. Not all us E5’s were so lucky. When we came to the C&S, Silver Bullet and Silver Wings had their name boards taken entirely. All the others just had their nameplates turned over. Me, Mate, Silver Racer, and Silver Steed all got to keep ours very near to the end though. Between you and me, I think C&S just realized it would be faster not to bother..

Meanwhile, KL&L 5 tells me her name changed every time she changed companies! Even now though, sometimes they just call her “the Shay”, which she says is a fine enough name. She’s the only Shay here, so it’s not as though they’re talking about anyone else, I guess. You don’t think about this stuff when you’re hauling rake, but sitting around all day has a way of changing how you look at things.

I had no idea there were so many other engines at the MSI! 999 and 2903 sound like they both had quite the service life. I don’t doubt 999 went one hundred miles an hour and 2903 sounds incredible! I pulled freight once. It took six of us just to pull one train and it was slow, grueling work. I can’t imagine pulling that many cars just on my own. Isn’t steam grand? Those engines have been doing incredible things since before you and I were even thought of.

We have a few steam engines here at the IRM. I mentioned Shay already. She might be able to give 2903 a run for his money. She’s a three-truck geared locomotive, and used to haul timber trains out west. Now she’s mostly in charge of the visitor train, but sometimes she helps with moving static engines to different parts of the track.

There’s also Tuskegee 101. She arrived around the same time as me, but since her repairs she’s been a big hit with guests. Shay is popular too, but she’s not a type of engine the folks who live here are used to seeing. Tuskegee 101 is more familiar and faster to boot.

And then there’s our newest arrival, Commonwealth Edison 5, a steam engine from the city who worked at an electrical generating station hauling coal. He pulls cars too on our busy days, but he’s not really used to it yet. Between him, Shay, and Tuskegee, I think the visitors are spoiled for choice as far as steam goes!

It’s funny that CE 5 is here now because apparently there’s been a steeplecab electric here for 10 years or so called Commonwealth Edison 4. They didn’t know each other because they worked at different plants, but CE 5 thought that was the funniest thing.

And of course I mentioned my train already, the Goddesses. They’re only five now: Venus, Vesta, Minerva, Ceres, and Juno. Diana and Psyche didn’t come to the IRM, but that’s about as much as I know and it’s only because Venus told me. If the rest of them do know, they’re not saying and I haven’t asked. Losing part of your train isn’t easy. I can’t tell how much they can hear when the volunteers read your letters or how much they bother to listen when I talk to them myself, but I shared your advice with them (not the part about them being fortunate to have me; I don’t want to come off as conceited). Even if they’re not sure about me at the moment, I’m lucky to have them. I don’t know how I’d manage if it were just me. I guess they wouldn’t need an engine if they didn’t have the train though. I suppose I’m twice as lucky for that!

I keep telling myself that it will start to feel normal soon. That I’ll wake up one day and be the Nebraska Zephyr and it won’t feel strange at all. It happened when I was in service, it happened at the scrapyard, and it will happen here too. I only hope it’s soon. Maybe after my first run with the Goddesses in August? I’ve shuffled around quite a bit, but I haven’t pulled anything in ages. When I worked last, I was running smoother and it wasn’t just me.

I must thank you again for writing. I’ve asked the volunteers to read me your last reply more than a few times. It’s been nice to hear it again while they’re doing maintenance and safety checks. So many safety checks. But it will be worth it in the end – I hope! Your letters have been getting me through these past few weeks and I appreciate them more than I can say.

Please thank your guides for sending along that postcard too. You and U-505 both look dashing! I hope that the warmer weather has been treating your exterior well and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Your friend,

Silver Pilot

Dear Pioneer Zephyr,

I should apologize. It never occurred to me that you wouldn’t know all that had happened since I retired, but how could you? If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have shared quite so much as I did. After all, it’s not your load to haul and I never meant to put you in that position. You’ve gone above and beyond just by writing to me in the first place.

I’ll tell you a bit about Mate as you were kind enough to ask though, to help you understand my last letter. Mate was my B-unit. We were manufactured at the same time and meant to work together. Many of us cab units had boosters to match and I’m sure if you asked any cab they’d all say their booster was the best, but Mate really was! He was as hard-working as any cab engine I’ve ever met, but always cheerful and ready with an encouraging word. We’d joke and laugh – even sing sometimes on our longer jaunts – but he was just as capable of being serious when we needed to be.

Boosters had it pretty rough though. They’re not cars, but they’re not quite locomotives either. Mate could move without me, but he couldn’t pull anything by himself. In a way, I felt responsible for him, the way I’d feel for any of my cars. When they sent us both back to La Grange though, he was the one comforting me, saying that they might need us to pull grain cars again. They held off on putting me to the torch because I was the A-unit, because I could head a train and he couldn’t.

We were made as a matched pair, but only I’m left. It seems silly now to have implied that I can’t pull this train without him (if they didn’t know I could do it, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion). But I worked together with him for so long, the idea that I’ll be doing it alone – that I have to do it alone. Sometimes, it feels like more than I can bear.

I think a lot about if our positions had been reversed, if it should be him sitting here instead of me. It’s only dumb luck that I got back out of Pielet Brothers at all and it never would have happened if I was a booster unit. Still, I wish there’d been some way for me to give Mate this chance instead. I know I shouldn’t be feeling sorry for myself though. Mate would have joked that that’s the trouble of being the A-unit.

I can’t really say whether or not engines ought to be writing letters, but yours have been useful to me. In the past, when I would struggle with a job or feel unsure of myself, it was Mate who’d always be there to remind me to put things into perspective. I think your letters have done the same thing.

By the time this reaches you, I think I’ll have probably been out for my test run. The volunteers said I might wait to write until after that, but I wanted you to know I never meant to make you feel responsible for my troubles. I only have them because I’ve been given a second chance at service life and I’m grateful for it. I have a job to do, cars to pull, people who care about me, and a pen pal who writes me once a month! I’m sure that I’m the luckiest engine running.

I’ll probably have more interesting things to say in my next letter. I hope this one and my last don’t weigh too heavily on you in any case. As always, looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Your friend,

Silver Pilot

Dear Pioneer Zephyr,

What a month it’s been! Your letter arrived just before I took my first trip down the tracks with the Goddesses. I wanted to start on my reply right away, but they did our test run at night so we didn’t disappoint any crowds if things didn’t work out and it was late by the time we finished. I’ve had a few days’ rest and some more time to think on your letter since then.

Your story about The City of Salina was sad, but was something of a comfort after my last letter too. Is that strange to say? It was nice to know that my feelings about Mate and about being the one left behind were not unusual. Preservation has been one realization after another and this one might be the most important one of all. I didn’t get a lot of time to really get to know the other types of engines I worked alongside, but it seems like we all have more in common than I realized, regardless of build.

I asked some of the volunteers if they had any pictures of Salina and one of them brought in a book to show me. Imagine my shock when I saw a photo of the both of you together! All the pictures were in black-and-white, so I couldn’t see Salina’s yellow, but one of the volunteers thinks he has a color postcard at home he can show me. You and I are lucky; we mostly look the same in black-and-white as we do in color.

Salina seems like he was a great engine and I’m happy that you shared his story with me. I hope there will be a time when I can tell others about Mate in the same way. What you said about Salina and Mate being part of our stories, it got me thinking. I said in my first letter that I liked my name because Mate and I were a matched set, but now that there’s just me left, I’ve never been more proud to wear the A in 9952A. Not that I wasn’t before, but it’s almost like proof. I can’t be 9952A without there having been a 9952B too. I think (I hope?) that this means I’m getting better at doing this half of the job. As for the other half…

My test run went great! At first, I was more nervous than I even have words for. The mechanics and engineer had worked very hard to get me here, I didn’t want to let them down. But everyone was so kind and encouraging and I remembered all the nice things you wrote. That helped. Venus even wished me luck (quiet-like so the others didn’t hear). Then we were off!

It was magnificent. The whole train gleaming in the moonlight, feeling the rails rumble under the weight of a full five cars, and me! I wish you could have seen it. I don’t think any engine has ever been as happy as I was to travel the short distance up and down the line. We didn’t get up to speed, as there’s not much room and it was dark, but even just ambling along was enough to put everyone in high spirits. The Goddesses were delighted and I got to hear Ceres speak for the first time! She sits so far back and only whispers to Juno so I don’t ever hear her, but her voice was clear as a bell that night.

The staff say they hope to get us fully operational for Members Day next month. They’re going to serve lunch in Ceres while we take all the museum members along the main line. We’ll have one more test run between then and now, but I’m optimistic with how well this one went. If I make a good enough impression, we’ll get more donations and maybe they can fix the Goddesses’ air-conditioning! Everyone’s excited and it feels like everything is on the right track after so long.

Have I said “thank you” enough yet? I don’t know that I have. I spent so many months sitting in a siding by myself, only to come here and feel like an outsider and a burden. But here I am now, and everyone is rooting for me! It’s hard not to feel like your letters played a role in helping me get to this point. Your words of advice, your willingness to listen, and even the simple offer of friendship; they were all just as important as the mechanical repairs in getting me ready for operational service again. So once again, from the very core of both my engines: thank you. You’re an inspiration to me and I couldn’t ask for a better friend.

My volunteer letter writer says his hand is starting to cramp so I’d better wrap this up. If I don’t hear from you before Members Day, I’ll be sure to update you on how it went. Please give everyone at MSI my best!

Your friend,

Silver Pilot

Dear Pioneer Zephyr,

I missed your October letter. It may be that one of our replies got lost in the mail. The volunteers told me these things happen. If so, I’m sorry and I hope you don’t mind me reaching out again. I figured it was worth sending an update since a lot has happened since my last letter anyway.

I mentioned that my test run in September went well and that I’d be out for one more before Members Day. To make a long story very short, one of my valve springs broke. I wasn’t able to pull the train for the event. They still served lunch in Ceres, which I think softened the blow at least, but it wasn’t the same. Looking at it another way, it’s good that it happened a week before and not the day of. That’s why we do safety checks, I suppose.

It’s no one’s fault, of course. I’ve been outside since the scrapyard and have suffered some minor damage, but nothing so bad that it stopped me from being able to do my job. Left alone, a broken valve spring could lead to more serious problems, so until it’s fixed the Goddesses and I are functionally static displays.

And I’ve been reassured that it will be fixed, as well as other repairs I need. So that’s good. A lot has to come before that though. There are other engines who are in more dire straits than myself that need their repairs first. Though the Goddesses and I are static for now, a full trainset makes for nice pictures on the wye still.

Hoping to hear from you soon.

Your friend,

Silver Pilot

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

Dear Pioneer Zephyr,

You met Bullet? That’s amazing! You met her before I did! Even though she was number 9909 on the CB&Q and Mate and I were 9911, she was actually delivered a month after we were. They put the first batch of us to work right away on the heavyweight trains so we didn’t get any celebrations, but those of us who went directly into service knew she’d be doing a publicity tour.

I never minded. It seemed to me that she was being shown off on behalf of all us E5s, which makes sense. After all, if we were all getting our pictures taken, who would pull the Exposition Flyer or the Fast Mail? I do remember Meteor saying some unkind things about Bullet and “silverbricks” (which I think did more to upset Comet and Mate than anything) but for the most part we were just happy to be working.

When I met Bullet properly, it was years later on the C&S. She worked the Sam Houston Zephyr mostly, but they sent her all over for relief work when one of us needed time in the shop. I try never to judge an engine before I’ve met them, but I did expect Bullet to be at least a little full of herself. She’d have been well within her rights. She worked on nearly every passenger train the Q had from Denver to Dallas, after all! But it’s just as you said, she was as gracious and humble an engine as I’d ever met. So gracious and humble, in fact, that she never once mentioned meeting the Pioneer Zephyr, haha!

Venus liked your last letter. She is very sensible, and I’m not just saying that because she can hear me! She’s been a great source of advice and very supportive. I owe much of my progress with the rest of the consist to her. You might remember the Goddesses wouldn’t even address me by name a year ago, but if they want my attention now they’re not above calling me Pilot anymore. She knows how to talk to the others so they all listen, but never seems rude or bossy. She’s telling me this is called ‘tact’. I don’t know that word, but I trust she knows what she’s talking about.

Of course, all the Goddesses are smart in their own way. It’s to be expected; they’re older and have seen more service miles than me. I think it’s made them unique. I don’t know how much you know about average trains, being that yours is so special, but I’ve worked a few different kinds and I’ve never met a consist like theirs before. Most cars are content to let the lead car speak for them or are otherwise happy to go along with the majority on most things. The Goddesses, however, are very opinionated and are rarely of one mind about anything! They each have their own personality and preferences. It keeps things lively on the wye, let me tell you!

For example, I mentioned before that Venus has… tact! She speaks her mind, but makes you feel good about the things she has to say. She says as the head of the train and the auxiliary power car, it’s important to be diplomatic.

Vesta speaks her mind too, but she and Venus often argue about the way she says things. Vesta is the lead coach car and she was the most vocal about her dislike for me, but I think she was just looking out for the rest of the consist. She’s protective of the others that way.

Minerva, the second coach car, doesn’t talk as much as Venus and Vesta, but when she does speak she does not mince words! She’s frank and has a way of seeing to the heart of the matter. She’s also good at telling when someone is lying and has no qualms about letting you know when she thinks you are. I quite like that about her.

Ceres I’ve brought up a few times in my letters. As I said before, she doesn’t talk much. I don’t think it’s because she doesn’t know what to say though. Every time I’ve heard her, she’s been very clear with her words. She doesn’t seem shy, just thoughtful and careful to say exactly what she means. Even without telling us so, I could see how pleased she was to have passengers dining on her again. She seems to shine even brighter when she’s happy.

Last but not least, Juno! Having an observation car yourself, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how helpful they are. It’s always nice to have a good lookout at the back of the train, and Juno is as sharp-eyed as they come. I never have trouble hearing her either, even as far back as she is. She and Ceres are the best of friends and if Ceres can’t find the words she wants to say, Juno’s more than happy to come up with enough for the both of them. Juno also carries the Nebraska Zephyr drumhead on her nose, lit up and everything! You couldn’t ask for a better view.

I fear I’ve taken up enough of my very patient letter-writer’s time so I’ll wrap this up. Trolley bus operations in Chicago come to an end in March, and the IRM hopes to take in as many of them as they can for preservation. You can imagine how busy everyone is. You should see the yard. There’s construction going on all the time and all the volunteers are excited for the potential new additions and donations. So… peaceful? Not exactly, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Oh, and please don’t worry about the vandals. I’m much safer here at the museum now!

I hope everyone’s getting along in your yard. Look forward to hearing from you soon!

Your friend,

Silver Pilot

P.S. – I think your edges are very distinguished. Handsome, even!

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!

Dear Pioneer Zephyr,

I’m glad the teasing was all in good fun! Some engines can be quite mean, but that might just be my own experience. I swear, you could build a track out in the middle of nowhere and the second you put two engines on it, they’d start making fun of each other.

Whenever our yard got too disagreeable I found a well-placed compliment tended to smooth things over. Your compliments to the Goddesses have kept my current yard friendly enough, in any case. You should let 999 know that she has one of the most elegant shapes I’ve ever seen, especially from that angle. Her cowcatcher is very fetching. And I know you said 2903 was big, but I’ll admit I didn’t realize quite how big you meant. He must tower over 999 (and you, for that matter)! He seems sturdy and reliable too. I’d trust any train to him, no question.

It was really nice of U-505’s manufacturers to send new parts to the museum! It’s good that they’re still around and were willing to help out. Most of the engines here are old enough that their builders have gone out of business or don’t make their parts anymore, me included. Part of the reason the Q sent our class to be scrapped instead of reassigning us when the Zephyr service ended was that by returning us to EMD, they’d get a credit toward any new engines they bought from them. It’s a good deal for the railroad and the manufacturer, but it means EMD isn’t exactly keeping spare E5 parts around. Not that we’d expect them to. It seems like it’s probably not a usual thing for most manufacturers to do. But then, U-505 is not a usual machine!

As to your name, it makes sense that the Pioneer Zephyr refers to your whole train. As engines we are the “face” as you said, so we tend to get called whatever we’re pulling. I’ve been called by my name and number just as often as I’ve been The Flyer or The #8. That said, if you’d signed off as 9900 I’d have wanted you to call me 9952A in return. I’ve never had a preference, but I’ve known engines who did and I like to make sure we’re all on level track. Of the things I could call you though, Pioneer Zephyr is my favorite. It’s almost like a title. You earned it by being so successful that they had to build more engines just like you!

And since you did get a name later on, that made 9901 and 9902 unique in their own way. At least, that’s what I’d have said to them if they were sore about it, haha! There’s something about being part of a pair that can make you memorable as well. Silver Power and Silver Speed were like that. “What’s one without the other?” they’d say, and the fuss they’d kick up if you separated them! I can’t really blame them for being like that. Being the first isn’t easy but at least they had each other to rely on. I hope 9901 and 9902 saw it that way.

Injun Joe’s train must have been a big hit with the passengers for the Q to have kept giving us all names. Having them right there on our sides made us stand out when we’d usually only ever get numbers and the cars don’t even get to wear theirs where passengers can see them usually. Most folks can’t tell one car from another, number or not, but a name meant people got excited to see us when they otherwise wouldn’t. The passengers always seemed to like it when they recognized stock they’d seen before and the cars liked it when they were remembered by name. It’s nice to be acknowledged and we have Injun Joe to thank for that!

Having your class asked after by another railroad is something special too. It sounds like Flying Yankee made for a good ambassador of sorts. Is he stainless steel too? We E5s had half-siblings on other lines in the E3s and E4s, but they weren’t stainless steel or fluted like us. Under the hood we all had basically the same parts, though. The E3s were built for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and the E4s went to the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. It’s funny, they were competitors, but they ended up with the same engines pulling their passenger lines.

With a name like Silver Charger, I’d almost expect your last brother to be one of us E5s. It sounds like he’d fit right in on our roster. He and Silver Steed might have had a good laugh about both being named after horses. We have a Frisco 2-10-0 here too, 1630! She’d been static for a while, but they’ve been putting in good work on her over the last few months. They call her the Russian decapod, but she told me she’s never actually been to Russia. She ran for the first time on Members Day last year (when our train was supposed to run). We’ve only talked a few times, but she’s smart and a real go-getter! I can’t imagine sitting cold for almost a decade and then hitting the rails as hard as she did last October. At the beginning of the day they just had her fired for a few test runs, but by the end of it she was pulling trains on the main line and looking great while doing it.

It seems like they want to add her to the regular steam service rotation alongside Shay 5, Tuskegee 101, and CE 5, so she’s gone back into the shop for further work. I only get whatever word makes its way out here to the wye, but from what I hear, she’s making good progress. If Charger’s decapod is anything like ours, he’s in good company. We don’t have any planes here, but I think it would be fun to talk to one someday. I’m probably the only Pilot that’s never met a plane before!

It’s not something to be proud of, but a little bit of mischief is what’s kept a lot of us out of the scrapyards so far. I mentioned the trolley buses in my last couple of letters, they just arrived on the 11th. They’re numbered 9553 and 9631 and both are quite chatty! They only just retired a few months ago, and have been in storage waiting for our members to be able to get the money together to purchase and move them. Getting back to the mischief: They were the last trolley buses to have operated in Chicago. The catch is that they were the last to operate because the museum had already picked them out beforehand, and they did a special passenger trip so they’d have the distinction once they arrived here. It’s true, but it’s also not the whole story. Venus called it a ‘white lie’, which is a lie that doesn’t hurt anyone especially. You should hear them both zipping up and down the main drag though. I can’t really say the white lie was all that bad if it means they get to stay here with us.

I wished for better weather last time but I guess I didn’t wish hard enough. One day it rains and the next it’s hot and muggy and the poor visitors have to contend with the mud. It’d be nice to have some more paved spots like in your yard! I hope the heat isn’t bothering U-505 too much. Give them all my best.

Your friend,

Pilot

Dear Pioneer,

I’m glad to hear everyone’s well! It’s nice to be told about the goings-on from another yard. Not that my own isn’t interesting, mind, but it’s just me and the Goddesses out here most days. Even when we do have company – engine or human – they’re usually working so it’s best not to distract them too much. Hearing about how you all are getting on is a nice change. Reminds me of pulling into Union Station and getting caught up on all the news and gossip from while we were away. This is good gossip too. A submarine on rollers! What will they think of next?

I’m happy to have given 2903 something to get puffed-up about as well. An unremarkable work history is a safe, reliable work history. Being one of a small class, and Burlington besides, I did get some marketing material. They might have put me on a poster once? Aside from that, the most notable thing Mate and I ever did was pull the first Vista-Dome train, but that doesn’t really compare to all the events in your career or even Silver Bullet’s inaugural tour. It was just another cold January morning for us. All this to say, from one working engine to another, 2903 should be proud!

Not that there’s anything wrong with being famous either though. Attending a Railroad Fair and seeing two Pioneers (not to mention the famous No. 999) would have left quite the impression on the attendees! That’s quite a coincidence about your names, but given how long the railroad’s been around, I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. The Q knew how important the engines that came before us were to their success so it’s only natural that they’d make hay about our lineage where they could.

I didn’t know anything about Silver Slipper though. I’d never even heard of a railed engine running on rubber tires! My volunteer letter-writer tells me it was a short-lived experiment – which, given her nickname – makes sense. I know names that come about from design flaws are something of a touchy subject (more on that later) but it seems like this one worked out for Burlington in the end and for our roster especially.

Of course, last time when I said I hoped 9901 and 9902 being part of a pair made them feel better about not having names, I hadn’t considered that they might not see much of each other. That makes sense if it was only the two of them and they were eventually replaced because just them alone couldn’t meet demand though.

I can’t say I blame 9901 for his attitude. All of that moving around must have been awfully stressful. We did our fair share of route-switching during our time on the CB&Q, but I always had Mate with me so it was never a lonely job. Even those E5s without Bs were still better off than 9901 because Burlington knew the passenger load better by then and would send them backup if they needed it. It’s because 9901 kept getting shuffled around to meet demand that the Q better understood what the limitations of their engines were. Once again, we owe much of our success to the shovelnoses who came before.

None of us E5s ever had a route named for us, but that was only because all the routes had their names by the time we took over and they weren’t making new ones after 1953. It might have been nice to have a whole route named after me (The Pilot Zephyr has a nice ring to it!), but then when I retired it wouldn’t be mine anymore and some other engine might grumble about being called The Pilot instead of their proper name.

I’m sorry to hear of 9901’s fate. I don’t like to bad-mouth other railroads so I will just say I’m grateful to the Q for the care they took with all of us. At least 9902 had a happier end to his service, named train and all. I even think Baby Zephyr is quite cute for a nickname. The Goddesses do not agree with me!

I don’t think you went on very long at all. There’s so much to your history and of your brothers and sister and I’m more than happy to read all of it. Of all the benefits of preservation, this has to be my favorite so far.

Of course I’d be happy to talk about my kin in exchange and it only makes sense to talk about Silver Speed and Silver Power next. I don’t know much about twin engines, but Speed might be the closest I ever got to having one. He and I were the first to be built, we both had B units to match, and we both ended up assigned to the same jobs. We even ended up being what they call ‘Phase 1’ now, but at the time no other E5s existed so they didn’t call it anything when we were new. The second half of our class to be built in 1941 would have some modifications made (inside and out) that would set them apart from those of us built in 1940. In a way, I’m more closely related to Speed than to any of the E5As who came later. You wouldn’t know it setting us side-by-side though. Speed was not very much like me.

I don’t know how much experience you have with engines who are first in their class besides yourself. I think you must be one of the best First engines to ever be made, being so knowledgeable and level-headed as you are. That’s a rare thing. It’s not an enviable position, being First. When you’re First, they haven’t had time to work out your quirks yet and there aren’t any other engines to ask for advice. I think Speed and Power felt pressured to be flawless right out of the gate. In some ways they were! They certainly didn’t have any mechanical issues anyway. The problem was more that they didn’t have a good example to follow on how to be two engines together, A and B. They couldn’t very well ask how you all did it and the fact that they went right into service meant they didn’t have a lot of time to figure it out. The result was… less than agreeable.

It’s not so much that they had different ideas on how to run a train, though I imagine they probably had at least one “argument” about it just for the fun of hearing themselves talk. Mostly they were just always trying to outdo each other. Power always wanted to push and Speed would let him because then he’d get to show off how fast he was and how easily he could keep up with Power’s pushing. I say this not because it caused what happened next, but it’s important to what came after.

It may be that you’ve heard of the Naperville train wreck. It seems like engines who wouldn’t normally know about an accident involving only Burlington trains knew about it – but then, it was pretty bad. Remember what I said about nicknames that come about from design flaws? Even before the Naperville wreck, the Exposition Flyer was sometimes called the “Explosion Flyer” for how many accidents that had happened involving it, but out of all of them Naperville is the one most folks remember.

Six years after we went into service, all four of us were still working the Exposition Flyer. Speed and Power were following up the Advance Flyer out of Chicago Union Station, running three minutes ahead of the Exposition. From what I heard after, the two trains often ran closer than they should and sometimes got yellow signals when they ran too close, but the schedule would time it out so the signal would just turn green as the second train passed through. They called it “riding the yellow”. That day, though, the Advance had some trouble with debris under the wheels and stopped to check the running gear. When Speed’s Exposition got the yellow warning light, the engineer thought it was just the trains being a little too close together like usual so he didn’t slow down enough. By the time he saw the Advance was actually stopped and threw the brake on, it was too late.

Speed hit the back of the Advance at high speed and his entire front truck ran through the rear car. The second-to-last car on the train was a heavyweight car and the momentum pushed it into the next car on the train, a dining car named Silver Inn. He was full of passengers and was completely crumpled due to the impact. In total, forty-five people were killed and a hundred and twenty-five more were injured. It was as bad a crash as had happened up to that point on any railroad here in the states.

A lot of things changed after the accident. The railroads posted speed limits across the board, which is why most engines are at least a little familiar with the wreck, I expect. They also were more careful about running lightweight and heavyweight cars on the same trains because of how badly it turned out for Silver Inn and the passengers that were on board when the train crashed. Speed and Power were damaged too, but not so badly that they couldn’t be repaired.

After they came back out of the shops, Speed and Power were a different pair of engines. They were much quieter for one. I never heard them raising their voices just for fun anymore. They also did not like to be separated for very long. Power never complained when he was on my trains, but I could always tell he was anxious to get back to his A. The happy ending to this story is that they never had any major incidents after that and they both lasted until the C&S stopped running Zephyr passenger trains in ‘67. They even ended up going back to LaGrange together after we were all pulled from service. Actually now that I think about it, they were the only other A-B pair that went to the scrapyard together, besides Mate and me.

Your mention of the Zephyr steam engine seems to have brightened my whole train. The Goddesses got all excited and haven’t stopped talking amongst themselves about Æolus for several days. I’m curious to hear about this engine they seem to like so much, but I can’t get much out of them before they all start giggling. I asked them if you might have more to say about Æolus, to which Juno said, “Twice as much!” I’m hoping you know what that means because I sure don’t.

As for the steam engines I do know about: at the end of August, they hung the new steam shop doors and since then it seems like the whole fleet’s been in and out for maintenance or repainting or both. Both the 5s (Shay and CE) had work done as well as Tuskegee 101. They’ll continue to run steam trains until the end of the month. After that, the engines will have to be stored until spring so it’s important that they be in good condition. It’s amazing; they’re still building the steam shop itself, but there’s so much to do for the engines that work doesn’t stop even when they’re pouring concrete.

This month, the focus is on Frisco. She’s real close to being ready for regular service and they’d like to have her finished before the end of the year. Since she’s been undergoing so much maintenance I haven’t seen much of her, but Shay tells me she’s taking the job like a champ. I’d expect nothing less from an engine of her caliber, of course. She seems like the kind of engine who’s hungry for the work. Makes me feel a bit idle, silverbricking it out here on the wye!

I don’t mind it when the weather’s this nice though. The leaves are starting to change and when the steam rises up from the main line, it looks absolutely beautiful. Venus called it “picturesque”, which I quite like. It means that it’s like a picture. Not that I think you don’t know that, but maybe U-505 doesn’t?

I hope you and your visitors are enjoying a similar vista.

Your friend,

Pilot