Charlie,
I have heard all sorts of stories about how the 70 was converted. The 537's tender was indeed used for the 70, but I also have photos of a coal tender being used in MofW service with a large "Burlington Route" stencilled on the side of it ostensibly after the 537 was scrapped. This was probably 70's original "swapped" tender.
This might indicate that the original coal tender of on 70 outlasted the locomotive to which it was lent. You must remember however, that the 70 was used on the Clear Creek lines to the bitter end, even after the 537 was scrapped.
Remember, the Q had no other 3' gauge to run the 537 on and scrapping seems to be the logical mindset from Chicago.
Another possibility is that the 70 was given the coal tender from another 3' gauge locomotive. Remember, 3' gauge locomotives were being scrapped wholesale at that time. Many times tenders were refitted for water service for MofW trains, and one of those could have been pulled and stuck behind the 70. I remember old C&S tenders from the broad gauge being used in the same manner in the '60's.
After the 70 left the C&S, I cannot tell you what happened to it. It would seem likely that it was refitted, much like the 470's were, and abused by the Army until it was returned to Seattle for scrapping. With the 69 and 70 it was a sad end to two survivors of the C&S era in Colorado.
Charlie, you must remember that the 70 was not the first but the last 3' gauge oil burner that the C&S had. Hol Wagner showed me an AFE from the C&S which showed an unspecified number of 2-6-0's being converted to oil in 1909 for the summer season, to be converted back to coal during the winter. The AFE shows that it was fullfilled which means that the work was done. Obviously, the C&S shop forces were no novices at a coal to oil conversion and back again, either broad or narrow gauge.
Rick
