By Lloyd E. Stagner and TRAINS Magazine

The first district of the Panhandle Division, Wellington-Waynoka, 107 miles, was covered in running times as fast as 2 hours, 30 minutes nonstop. Water was usually taken at Kiowa, Kans., since a water stop at Alva made it necessary to start the train at the foot of a .6 per cent, 15-mile grade. A check of a train sheet for January 20, 1952, shows 10 westbound freight trains powered with 4-8-4's, handling an average of 3825 tons per train at an average running time of 2 hours, 54 minutes. The only diesel-powered train, Advance 81 with FT 173LAB, a 4050 h.p. set, handled 3825 tons in 3 hours, 15 minutes.

When 4-8-4's operated west of Waynoka over the Plains Division, one water stop was necessary, usually at Shattuck, Okla. At Canadian, a mainline servicing facility allowed oil, water, sand, and lubrication to be taken and performed simultaneously, without uncoupling from the train. Canadian was eliminated as a crew change point in 1954. The prevailing .6 per cent grade to Amarillo made a water stop at Pampa necessary. At Amarillo, the engine cut off to go the roundhouse for service, and the power was relayed. Between Amarillo and Clovis, the .6 per cent grade continued, and one stop was made for water. Eastbound over the Plains Division, Clovis-Amarillo was quite often run without taking water, and sometimes Amarillo-Canadian would be run nonstop. Canadian-Waynoka always required a stop due to the hard pull from Canadian to Coburn, Tex., on Clear Creek hill.

On the Panhandle Division, no-water-stop runs eastbound were normal, but delays waiting in sidings for westbound redballs and passenger trains often resulted in an opportunity to take water without delay. No engine crew enjoyed cutting off and running to the next tank if the supply ran short, and officials took a dim view of this practice.

President Fred Gurley said in the 1952 AT&SF annual report: "By the end of 1953, all operations will be dieselized except the Argentine-Clovis through freight service, where the best of the steam engines, i.e., the 2-10-4 and 4-8-4 classifications, are in service." The winter of 1953 found 10 3765's, 4 3751's, and the first 2900 (No. 2916) in LUG (Laid-Up-Good) status by March. New black-and-silver GP7's were sent to the Gulf Lines to release 100-class FTs for service out of Argentine. By April., a daily average of only six through freights played Argentine-Waynoka behind 4-8-4's. Five 3776's and the 3770 were working the Slaton Division, and occasionally a 2900 was called for a special passenger train between Kansas City and Belen or La Junta. Three 3751's were in steam at La Junta for protection/fill-in work.

June,July 1953 was the last big 4-8-4 show, indeed the last for all AT&SF steam. Sixty-four 4-8-4's made mileages of 350,343 in June and 343,627 in July. The 3785 was at Albuquerque waiting delivery of a new welded boiler shell that was never applied. A bumper California potato crop, summer fruit traffic, and the Oklahoma-Kansas wheat harvest kept the 4-8-4 fleet busy between Argentine and Waynoka, and more often between Waynoka and Clovis, as 2-10-4's replaced 6000 h.p. F7 sets between Clovis and Belen. Argentine-Belen freight service was almost 100 per cent steam from early June to mid-July. During June, 12,299 reefers of perishables moved east through Wellington, with a peak of 654 cars June 15 and 615 cars June 22. On peak days, 15 through freights were dispatched in each direction through Wellington. The movement of 23 special Boy Scout trains to and from their jamboree in Santa Ana, Calif, in July put 4-8-4's on the point of about one-third of these specials. Several National Guard and other special trains also operated during July.

After July, the number of 4-8-4's decreased to 56 in August, to 37 in September and October (engine mileage increased from 102,790 miles in September to 113,403 in October) to 34 in November and 27 in December. A 10 per cent drop in freight tonnage in December from 1952 hastened the withdrawl of steam. Several 4-8-4's handled military holiday furlough trains and mail-express specials before Christmas. After the holiday, the 2926 and 2929 were laid up at Belen off helper assignments December 26; the 2912 handled a special train from Newton to Kansas City Christmas night and worked from Argentine to Albuquerque December 27-29 for shopping. No. 2903 moved from Argentine to Newton December 30 for protection, and No. 3776 was the last 4-8-4 on the Slaton Division, coming into Clovis December 30 on the GCF to wind up steam operations.

Gurley was able to report in the 1953 annual report that no steam engines were in active service on the last day of the year, but steam engines in good condition were available for 1954 peak movements and that no additional diesel power would be acquired.

Six 4-8-4's were in Albuquerque shop on the last day of 1953, and classified repairs were completed to 3780 (Class 5H) on January 4; 3770 (Class 3) on January 11; 2908 (Class 3-X) on February 15; 2925 (Class 5-H) on February 26; and to 2911 and 2912 (both Class 5-H) in March, when the shop was closed.