davidtltc Wrote:
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> One comment in the March 12, 1943, Greeley
> (Colo.) Tribune sheds some light on the situation:
> ARMY WASTES LOCOMOTIVES-Seven smart little Denver
> and Rio Grande Western railroad engines which the
> army requisitioned, over the protests of
> Coloradoans, for use in Alaska, have never been
> put to continuous, effective use, a report
> published in the Alamosa Daily Courier states. In
> the hands of amateur railroaders, four of the
> seven were allowed to freeze and burst, two
> plunged over cliffs into the Whitehorse River, and
> the seventh is still on the docks at Seattle, the
> report states.
If the Coloradoans were so reluctant to let them go, why didn't they want them back?
They weren't amateurs. Many of the WP&Y employees were still working there, and the Army railroaders were mostly professional railroaders.
No records or photos have turned up about bursting or going into a river.
There is no "Whitehorse River." The river at Whitehorse is the Yukon. And there are no tracks on cliffs over the Yukon river.
There are many photos and records of them in use after the 42/43 winter.
August 4, 1943 was the railroad's busiest day (23 Southbound, 14 Northbound trains). All K28's except 255 were in use between Whitehorse and Skagway that day.
Bruce
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/08/2013 10:48AM by bcp.