One switcher for 2 railroads?

[thomasjmdavis]

I was looking for something completely different on the Lake States Historical site, when I came upon this photo:
https://www.lakestatesarchive.org/Lee-A-Hastman-Collection/CS-FWD/i-GfFDDx9

C&S switcher in Burlington paint (normal for a CBQ subsidiary), but with additional reporting marks for AT&SF.
Photo was taken sometime in the 60s, judging by the ATSF geep behind the switcher,  in the blue-yellow scheme with big billboard "Santa Fe", and none if the CB&Q equipment showing BN insignia.
But the reporting marks are "A.T.&S.F"- the periods and ampersand were dropped decades earlier on ATSF equipment.

Does anyone know the story?  I can't find anything in my references about this unit.

[pedro]

Rice Yard in Denver was a joint C&S/AT&SF operation. (Now the site of Elitch Gardens) They had some sort of reciprocal switching agreement, but honestly someone else would have to fill in the finer details. When Rice yard closed, the AT&SF (and C&S) moved their base of operation in Denver to the CB&Q’s Globeville yard. The yard jobs in Denver were then split up between the Q and the C&S, while the Santa Fe ran their Pueblo road traffic.  Not sure what the current situation is, but this was still the case when I worked there in the late 90s post-merger. Three completely separate operations working out of the same terminal.

[nkalanaga]

The current situation is that they're all BNSF!  As for what yard they use, I have no idea.

[Mark5]

Strange. This loco appears on the CBQ roster (as C&S): https://www.burlingtonroute.org/Qrailroad/roster/diesels.php

Perhaps the AT&SF sub-lettering was just a "nod" to the joint operations there.

[Sokramiketes]

I was looking for something completely different on the Lake States Historical site, when I came upon this photo:
https://www.lakestatesarchive.org/Lee-A-Hastman-Collection/CS-FWD/i-GfFDDx9

C&S switcher in Burlington paint (normal for a CBQ subsidiary), but with additional reporting marks for AT&SF.
Photo was taken sometime in the 60s, judging by the ATSF geep behind the switcher,  in the blue-yellow scheme with big billboard "Santa Fe", and none if the CB&Q equipment showing BN insignia.
But the reporting marks are "A.T.&S.F"- the periods and ampersand were dropped decades earlier on ATSF equipment.

Does anyone know the story?  I can't find anything in my references about this unit.

This occurred in shared terminal operations as well.  An example of specific interest to you might be the locomotives assigned to the B&OCT at Grand Central Station.  I have photos of Chicago Great Western 0-6-0's assigned to the B&OCT that have B&OCT sublettering despite being CGW owned and maintained.  Soo Line has other examples, including diesel switchers. 

[squirrelhunter]

99% sure that is the joint C&S/ATSF switcher used at Pueblo.

I've seen photos of a 2-8-0 switcher with similar lettering on the tender used at Pueblo as well. If I had my books with me I could give more details.

[wcfn100]

99% sure that is the joint C&S/ATSF switcher used at Pueblo.

It may have worked Pueblo but there's other pictures of it in Denver.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/98693596@N00/11003559973/in/album-72157637958890674/

Here's a different unit.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/98693596@N00/11003558243/in/album-72157637958890674/

That lettering continued into the BN era but was lost later into the 70's

http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4671930

Santa Fe had units with C&S lettering too.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/chuckzeiler/28787623074/

Jason

[w neal]

Very interesting. Conversely, in Galesburg, the "Galesburg Industrial" tracks were ATSF owned, but switched by both the Q and ATSF (and connected to both). To my knowledge, there was no joint equipment there, just trackage rights for the Q on the ATSF. Some tracks on the "G.I." had their origins in an interurban line.

[wcfn100]

This was part of a bigger agreement where the C&S would switch Denver and the AT&SF would switch Colorado Springs and Pueblo.

This went back to steam days as well.




Jason

[nkalanaga]

They also shared track between Denver and Pueblo.  Originally parallel single-track lines, they long ago agreed to operate them as a double-track joint line.

[CBQ Fan]

From a photo by chuck Zeiler

AT&SF VO-1000 2218 at Colorado Springs, Colorado on August 19, 1964, Kodachrome by Chuck Zeiler. Built in June 1943 (c/n 67725) it was retired March 30, 1971 and went to PNC in June of that year. Note that it is stencilled for both the AT&SF and C&S. At the time of this photo, this unit was assigned as the station switcher at the joint AT&SF/C&S depot. Those two roads had a switching agreement with AT&SF providing a Baldwin or two, an RSD4 (#2107), and a GE 44 ton (#464), and the C&S providing EMD products. It appears that the C&S handled the switching in Denver, and the AT&SF handled the switching in Colorado Springs and Pueblo. The C&S locomotives were lettered C&S over AT&SF, and the AT&SF locomotives were lettered AT&SF (or Santa Fe) over C&S.

[wcfn100]

They also shared track between Denver and Pueblo.  Originally parallel single-track lines, they long ago agreed to operate them as a double-track joint line.

They did share the AT&SF track, but that's not what the joint line is.  The C&S built a line in the early 1900's from Denver to Pueblo that turned out to not be very good so they agreed to use the AT&SF track that ran parallel to the D&RGW track. During WW1 the AT&SF and D&RGW lines started operating as a north/south double track under USRA control.

In the 1970's, part of the line was reduced to single track to avoid all the grade crossings in Colorado Springs.

Jason

[nkalanaga]

OK, so it was D&RGW and AT&SF, which today would be UP and BNSF, so it's still a two-line joint operation?

[wcfn100]

OK, so it was D&RGW and AT&SF, which today would be UP and BNSF, so it's still a two-line joint operation?

Still a joint line but there's more BNSF than UP.  UP runs a couple mixed trains between Pueblo and Denver and until a few years ago a couple coal trains for the local plants.  The power plant in Springs in closed now and I think the one south of town gets switched by the BNSF now.

Jason

[nkalanaga]

Does the UP still go to Salida, or did that end when they closed Tennessee Pass?