| Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad E5 9912A, named SILVER METEOR, at Kansas City, Missouri, date unknown, photograph by R. S. Plummer, print by Gordon C. Bassett, Chuck Zeiler collection. Although the date is unknown, I roughed it in as early 1950. The truck skirts were removed in the late 1940's, and the coupler covers (present in this photo) were removed by the early 1960's. Also, the imitation grill plates (striped lines on either side of the upper headlight) are still present. They were removed in the early 1950's and replaced with stainless steel doors because to access the MU plugs and electro-pneumatic brake connections, the plates had to be unscrewed and removed. Terminal crews took to leaving the plates off completely. |