While most of the details are similar to the other “first generation” Quills mentioned here, the “as built” locomotive had few, if any, handrails. I guess OSHA wasn’t part of the industrial scene in 1918. In the pictures I found the 10300 wore an earlier version of the Milwaukee logo at each end of her sides (not visible here for some reason I haven't figured out yet). There was no “Pacific” in the name yet despite the fact that the Quill assignment was to help trains get to the coast. The builders’ photo shows the full road name spelled out over the windows as on a passenger car of the period. The roof walks at this time were a continuous width for their entire length without railings. The major structural difference from the later versions (post 1922) is the light weight bar stock frame. If you look closely at photos of early Quills you’ll notice that the suspension links run inside the side rails. The locomotive frame is even thinner than it appears.

I had originally painted it green, but based on info from Lukas Lusser, I made a few color changes. Unit 10308 is based on a photo taken in 1920 or 1921 which shows the Quill in its first year of service, before the major modifications began. As we have already seen, the Milwaukee started changing the general look of the engines almost as soon as they left the builder. The headlights and bells moved to new positions and handrails were added along the walkways on the roof. The livery also was changed. The full road name is gone and the large initials are displayed instead. The heralds, usually mounted on separate boards on the sides, have been removed altogether

Quill #10305 (#E14 BLW SN 52215), represents the modified second generation that dates from 1923. The unit is based on a photo of the locomotive taken with United States President Warren G. Harding seated at the fireman’s window.

This is after a meeting in 1922 between Baldwin, Westinghouse and Milwaukee officials to discuss the rather serious flaws in the Quill design. The locomotive’s running gear were too lightly built for the service required. The engines were constantly in the shops suffering from broken frames, wheels and axles. Various modifications were made to address these issues, most of them being structural. One unit, #10301 (E11), was actually cut in half and rebuilt as a draw-barred set upon a recommendation from Baldwin. The surgery made no difference and 10301 was rebuilt into a single locomotive again. For the rest of the locomotives, the Milwaukee shops chose a less radical approach. The main frames were beefed up or rebuilt completely; there is an indication here that the side rails were rebuilt of heavier material or “filled in” in some manner. The frame improvement meant the suspension mounts and stabilizers were relocated outside the frame side rails. Other changes include a heavier frame extension at the outer ends and a lot of rivets or bolts to fasten the assembly together. Cosmetic changes at this time include yet another relocation of headlights and bells. There is also a general re-design of the roof railings. Perhaps the biggest change was the fact that all the Quills were rebuilt into single cab configuration.

In 1939 the number series was changed and became alpha numeric with the prefix “E”. Quill E13 (#10304 BLW SN 52170) is an example of the Quills from the 1940’s and is a composite of several black and white photos taken during that time. E-13 itself was destroyed in 1947.

The details, like headlight and bell positions, were pretty standardized by this time, the only really obvious change from the post Depression engines was the paint and numbering scheme. Most of the photos of the Quills taken during this period show the engines painted black with silver stripes.

The model E-12 (#10302 BLW SN 51845) wears the later version of the tri-color paint scheme. The road name was removed but a herald was displayed at each end.

The surviving Quills would remain in these colors until they were scrapped, with the last one, E18, going in 1957. This is about the same time other passenger units were being repainted in Union Pacific’s trademark “armour yellow” due to joint operations between the Milwaukee and UP. This repaint included the EP-2 General Electric “bi-polar” locomotives, which were contemporaries of the Quills. Even the EP-1 units (boxcab EF-1 units rebuilt as passenger power and older than both the Quills and the Bipolars) survived into this era. By the time the black over orange appeared in the 1970’s none of the big electrics were hauling passenger trains. AMTRAK had taken over that role in 1971 using diesel locomotives. Throughout the decade Milwaukee management made a set of shortsighted decisions that sealed the fate of big locomotives running under the wire. The wire came down (ironically just as the OPEC oil crisis began) and the survivors ended up as museum pieces.

I have talked to a few Milwaukee Road fans about two “what if” versions of the Quill. One is the armour yellow already described. The other is the black over orange paint of the 1970’s. The armour yellow paint scheme is certainly plausible enough, the passenger trains still ran and a Quill or two might have limped on another year or so. Since E18 (#10309 BLW SN 52362) was one of the last EP-3’s serving on the Rocky Mountain Division, I built a version of her as if she had survived past May of 1957 and was repainted in the UP scheme.

The orange over black, on the other hand, is quite a stretch. By that time most of the Quills had been recycled into parts for household appliances for nearly two decades. The Milwaukee Road in that era was one of a number of freight only roads trying desparately to stay alive. It’s highly unlikely any of the EP-3 class would have survived that long, or that they would have been rebuilt for freight service.

Some of the models have small detail glitches that need to be corrected. The real work begins with the units being tested in MSTS. I plan to pay attention to a lot of things I let slide in the past. I'm hoping I can make the Quill set my best models to date.

That’s about all for now…Thanks for listening.