Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific E57B

Facts and Figures

Current Number	E57B
Railway Represented	Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific
Builder	General Electric
Built In	1915
Builder's order id	5110
Currently in (State)	Montana
--(Locality)	Harlowton
Totally out of svc date	1974
(Initial retirement date)
Car Type	locomotive
-subtype	half of freight boxcab set
-designation	Class ES-3
Status	displayed inoperable
More info
Gauge	4'8.5"
Construction	steel
Roof type	AR
Ended	SE
Length	56'0"
Width	10'0"
Height	14'11"
Weight	288000
#Seats	n/a
#Wheels/Conf.	12
Total HP	1670
Trucks	1-piece cast
Brakes	14EL (K14)
Compressor
Control	GE M
Motors	GE 253A (4)
Voltage (if not 600DC)	3000vDC

Locomotive E57B on display in Harlowton, Montana, in 2023
Flickr
photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/190098207@N07/52759200808/

Locomotive E57B on display in Harlowton, Montana, in 2017
Flickr
photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/56878150@N04/36153760945/

Car History by

Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific E57B Milwaukee Road E57B is one of only three surviving boxcabs from the railroad's original order for electric locomotives. Built for the electrification of the Mountain Division in 1915, E57B was originally 10207B and was paired with 10207A, forming one of the Milwaukee Road's 42 class EF-1 two-unit sets. Though intended to be operated in pairs, these boxcabs were designed so that sets could be separated and each unit run singly without problems. These locomotives were the state-of-the-art when built and could outperform contemporary steam engines of similar size; most of them operated for over half a century. Set E57AB was assigned to the Mountain Division, running between Deer Lodge, Montana and Avery, Idaho in freight service from 1939 until 1950. In 1950, E57AB was split up and E57B became a single-unit boxcab of class ES-3 assigned to switching duties in the yard at Harlowton. This was done because the Milwaukee Road's steeplecabs could not handle the larger trains coming into use, so the more poweful boxcabs were needed to do switching. E57B, often paired with another single-unit boxcab, E34C, operated in switching and local service in Harlowton later than any of the other 1915 boxcabs. It was still running on the day the power was turned off on the Milwaukee Road electrification, June 15, 1974, after which it was put on display in a park in Harlowton where it still sits.

Ownership History

Owner	Car Num	From	To	Preservation?	Loan?
Chicago Milwaukee & St. Paul (Wisconsin, Milwaukee)	10211B	1915	1927	NO	NO
Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific (Wisconsin, Milwaukee)	10211B	1927	1939	NO	NO
Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific (Wisconsin, Milwaukee)	E57B	1939	1974	NO	NO
City of Harlowton (Montana, Harlowton)	E57B	1974	present	YES	NO

Additional Media

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Walkaround tour of locomotive E57B from 2017
YouTube
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tya81hB8jE&t