Betterment cars are those modernized by the company for its own regular or pool use or for special assignment at request of certain roads and include some or all of the following-tight lock couplers, roller bearings, new lighting equipment, full width diaphragms, skirting, special exterior or modernized interior painting and decor, individualized and modernized appointments, two-piece vestibule doors. folding steps, streamlined roof, thermo-pane windows.

Lariat Crest was rebuilt to Plan 3973D from Gull Lake August 8, 1940. It was painted into CB&Q Streamline colors and given four tread folding steps at that time. It was repainted to Pullman paint diagram CED4217C Shadowline at an undetermined date. In Late July and early August 1940, six heavyweight Pullman sleepers were rebuilt and semi-streamlined for the joint Colorado and Southern / Fort Worth and Denver Texas Zephyr service. The 10 Section -1 Compartment -1 Drawing Room Lariat Crest and Lariat Range; 8 Section - 5 Double Bedroom Castle Crest and Castle Range; and 12 Section - 1 Drawing Room Spanish Crest and Spanish Range.

Note that the unit is painted in the CB&Q switcher paint scheme, lettered for the C&S and AT&SF. The C&S and AT&SF had an arrangement where each road supplied a few locomotives to a pool, and one crew (and locomotive) would handle the switching chores for both roads at Denver and at least as far as Coloroado Springs. Locomotives lettered C&S AT&SF (top to bottom, or, left to right) were owned by the C&S and manned by C&S crews. Locomotives lettered AT&SF C&S were AT&SF owned and manned.

The following information was derived from a duplicate color slide by Al Chione depicting the same scene: Colorado & Southern Railway 641, named SILVER STREAK, at Palmer Lake, Colorado on an unknown day in December 1961, photographer unknown.

As built the configuration was 10 parlor seats in the forward section, a buffet in the middle with a pair of card playing tables on either side located at the windows next to the blank in the middle, and 31 seats in the observation section. The rear warning light was modified at some time; it was delivered with a single light in that location. Although most of the original DZ trainset was articulated, the observation was not. Before this car left the Budd plant, Edward G. Budd had his photo taken in the observation section with several of his associates.

First 900 was destroyed in a wreck on the FW&D in 1928. With sale of 901 and the destruction of 900, the C&S found itself without a top-rate office car for its vice president and general manager. And as 1929 dawned, the road could ill afford to buy a new car from Pullman or AC&F. So the Q's Aurora shops came to the rescue, converting an old ( 1902 ) open platform parlor-lounge-observation car ( CB&Q 208, built as 301 and named IOWA ) into a new vice presidential car for Robert Rice. Completed in January 1930, the new car was assigned the number second 900 and remained through several upgradings as the principal C&S office car until 1967 when, with the discontinuance of passenger service on the C&S-FW&D, it was sold.

This locomotive was built as CB&Q 9914A and was involved in a collision with a crawler (IHC Model TD-18 TracTracTor weighing 23,945 pounds) that had just slipped off a flat car of a freight train passing in the opposite direction. The collision happened at Downers Grove, Illinois on April 3, 1947. The 9914A was the single locomotive powering Train No. 24 consisting of seven cars and was moving at approximately 70 mph at the point of collision. Upon impact the tractor was destroyed, the rear locomotive coupler was pulled out, the locomotive separated from its train and continued upright for 470 feet before hitting the Downers Grove passenger platform where it turned over on its right side, fatally injuring the Engineer. Meanwhile the passenger cars continued to roll and crashed into the station. Although the locomotive was extensively damaged, it was repaired and returned to service.