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