Chicago, Burlington & Quincy #9911A Silver Pilot at the Illinois Railway Museum in 2004

Silver Pilot is the silver locomotive in the center.

Silver Pilot is an E5A built by General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division (EMD) in 1940 for general passenger service on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (aka the Burlington Route). It produces 2000 horsepower from two 12 cylinder engines. E5 locomotives were purchased only by the Burlington, and were notable for being the only EMD E-units with stainless steel fluting on their sides. Later Burlington passenger locomotives had smooth stainless sides. This locomotive was assigned to the Nebraska Zephyr between Chicago and Lincoln, Nebraska at or shortly after the train’s inception in December 1947. Though the locomotive’s assignment never changed, reshuffling within the CB&Q led to Silver Pilot being owned by Burlington subsidiary Fort Worth & Denver as their #9982A and later becoming #9952A of the Colorado & Southern, another Burlington subsidiary. Silver Pilot was donated to the Illinois Railway Museum with the Nebraska Zephyr on September 21, 1968. Of 11 E5As and 5 cabless E5B boosters, Silver Pilot is the only survivor.

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