Novmber 5th, 2007

The Agony Eastern Juniata Shops are a busy place. Today the frames for a second "Quill" were built. #10305 is coming along with nary a hitch...

You can readily see the new frame extension. This was the Milwaukee Road's first attempt at solving the structural problems of the big electrics. Based on a similar, lighter design used for the New Haven, the bar frames were just not stout enough for battling 400 plus miles uphill across four mountain ranges. One of the first points of failure was the joint between the frame and the earlier extension. To remedy this, the shop crews built a heavier extension and about a jillion rivets.

So the Quills are not more than a year or so old and they all got rebuilt . Along with the frame modifications they also received heavier axles, wheels and springs. Since the "quill" drive required axle tubes, it's probably safe to assume these were changed to fit the larger axles. No doubt some other parts of the drive were beefed up too.

The cabs were also modified. The headlights were moved to the roof and the bells were brought down to the "porches" at either end of the superstructure. A few more handrails appeared as well as a large number board above the end windows. The locomotives were most likely repainted, they kept there somber color. The white lettering centered on the side had a letter added for the "Pacific" part of the road's new name, Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul & Pacific. The now familiar red rectangle was added to the cab sides proclaiming the Milwaukee Road was still in business.

Well I think that's about it for now...Thanks for listening.