I'm a little late to the party, but I can give you a few details about the two photos in Mr. Peck's original message.
I have both of these images in my collection. They're marked "Bishop Color Slides, P.O. 8394, Denver 10, Colo." After further research, I've concluded that both images were taken on the inaugural run of the Black Hills Central, on Saturday, June 14, 1958. (Don't confuse the "inaugural run" made at the start of the first full season of operation with the railroad's first run, which took place on August 18, 1957. The BHC ran an abbreviated first season to test the waters - only 68 round trips - and thus the celebration at the start of 1958).
C&S Number 9 was refurbished at a cost of $500 in May 1958. It's cab was rebuilt, and it was given a new front buffer beam in order to participate in the inaugural run. To my knowledge, the 69 and 9 "doubleheader" was done only once in the history of the BHC, for the inaugural trip. A stop was made in the cut on Tin Mill Hill for photos; of the two I've seen, one was published by Bishop, and the other ended up on the cover of Railroad Magazine. Gov. Foss of South Dakota was on board, reportedly riding in the cab of 69 (he does not appear in either photo).
At Oblivion, No. 9 was set out on the new display track that branched off the three-way stub switch. It was left there for the remainder of the 1958 season as a static display. Also note that CNW 4-6-0 444 can be seen in the background - it ran under its own power from Belle Forche, SD to Edgemont on June 13th, the day before the inaugural run, and was hauled from Edgemont to Oblivion dead by a CB&Q crew just prior to the BHC's steam trip from Hill City. It remained at Oblivion through 1963 when it was taken back down the hill to Hill City.
Hope this gives you some insight. I've been working on a book about the BHC as time allows.
Jeff Terry
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2013 10:10AM by Jeff Terry.
