After retirement from service in 1956, the SP&S 700 was donated to the City of Portland, Oregon in 1958. It was on static public display at Oaks Amusement Park until 1987, then moved to private quarters for the continuation of work to restore it to operating condition Since 1988/1989. It began making occasional excursion runs in 1990. In 2012, the 700 was moved to a new facility where it can again be viewed by the public, the Oregon Rail Heritage Center.


700 was delivered on June 21, 1938, joining the 702 pulling overnight passenger trains between Spokane and Vancouver, Washington, along the north shore of the Columbia River, with the 701 providing backup and pulling freight. Owing to an undersized turntable, the Northerns didn't reach Portland, Oregon until 1944.


By 1947, the Great Northern Railway had begun to streamline its premier passenger train, The "Empire Builder", and had started adding diesels to the locomotive mix. SP&S also started purchasing diesels at this time, but they arrived after the streamlined cars were brought into service and for a few months, the 700s pulled the Portland section of Great Northern's "Empire Builder" and Northern Pacific's "North Coast Limited".


In 1947, the 700 suffered a catastrophic derailment and fell on her side while pulling a passenger train in Washington. It is unknown if the engineer, fireman, or leading brakeman were injured or killed.


Through the late 1940s and early 1950s, the E-1s continued to pull secondary passenger trains, but by 1954, the diesels had completely replaced steam for passenger service and the E-1s were relegated to pulling freight trains until 1955.


Finally, on May 20, 1956, a spruced-up 700, with its normally grey smokebox painted silver, pulled its last passenger train. The "Farewell To Steam" run had a total of 21 cars carrying 1,400 passengers from Portland, Oregon to Wishram, Washington, in the heart of the Columbia Gorge, and back again.


After the trip, the 700, 701, 702, Challengers and other SP&S locomotives were sent to the scrap line. At the same time, however, Union Pacific Railroad was offering to donate a steam locomotive to the city of Portland, Oregon, and not to be outdone, the SP&S offered the 700. The two locomotives (SP&S 700 and OR&N 197) were moved into Oaks Park along the Willamette River in 1958 and were soon joined by SP 4449 where they sat for nearly 20 years.


For nearly 20 years the 700, along with the other two locomotives, sat behind chain link fences, slowly fading and rusting away. Only the attention of a single Southern Pacific Railroad employee, Jack Holst, saved the locomotives from complete uselessness. Mr. Holst regularly visited the locomotives and kept the bearings and rods well greased and oiled. Unfortunately, Mr. Holst died in 1972, before the first locomotive, SP 4449, was removed from Oaks Park and restored. In 1975, 15-year-old Chris McLarney started working on the 700, cleaning and oiling various parts. He founded the PRPA (Pacific Railroad Preservation Association) in 1977 to provide support for the preservation work.


Between 1987 and 1989, the SP&S 700 was moved from Oaks Park to the Southern Pacific's Brooklyn Roundhouse, in southeast Portland, for the continuation of restoration work. With the support of many individuals and the Burlington Northern Railroad, No. 700 returned to operation on May 15, 1990.


The 700 was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 25, 2006, as the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Steam Locomotive.


Until June 2012, the 700 and its two companions resided at the Brooklyn Roundhouse. The City of Portland was leasing the roundhouse from its owner, Union Pacific Railroad (UP), but after the railroad announced plans to demolish the roundhouse to allow expansion of the yard, the engines needed to find a new home. The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, with significant support from the City of Portland, raised funds for a new restoration and visitor center adjacent to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry to provide the city's steam locomotives with a permanent and publicly accessible home before the closure of the roundhouse.


Strasburg Rail Road (Canadian National) No. 7312, also known as Strasburg Rail Road No. 31, is an 0-6-0 "Switcher" type steam locomotive originally built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in August 1908 for the Canadian National Railway. It is owned and previously operated by the Strasburg Rail Road outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania. As of 2021, No. 7312 is currently undergoing restoration back to operating condition, however, the restoration progress has currently been put on hold for the foreseeable future. Whether or not No. 7312 will run again is still yet to be determined.


No. 7312 was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in August 1908 for the Grand Trunk Railway as number 118. The 118 was renumbered 1708 in September 1919. In January 1923, the Grand Trunk Railway was merged into the Canadian National Railway. Three months after the creation of Canadian National, 1708 was renumbered 7157, a number the locomotive carried until February 1952 when it was renumbered 7240. In 1957, the locomotive received its final CN number of 7312. In July 1958, No. 7312 was retired at Stratford, Ontario where it had been working as the shop switcher.


Sierra Railway 28 is a 2-8-0 steam locomotive owned and operated by Sierra Railway in California.


2-8-0 Consolidation number 28 was built in January 1922 for the Sierra Railroad by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in response to the increase of freight traffic on the Sierra with the construction of the Don Pedro and O'Shaughnessy Dams requiring carloads of rock and cement. After the dam projects were finished, the 28 was assigned to freight traffic on the Sierra's lower division between Oakdale and Jamestown, California.


In the mid 1930s, the 28 was used in the upgrade of the O'Shaughnessy Dam and frequently ran on the Hetch Hetchy Railroad, which was operated by the Sierra Railway under contract from the city of San Francisco. The 28 also ran mixed freights between Oakdale and Tuolumne until 31 August 1938 when passenger service on the Sierra Railway was discontinued.


By the 1940s, the 28 was one of only six remaining locomotives on the Sierra's roster and continued to handle freight and railfan excursions until 1955 when the Sierra dieselized. However, the Sierra kept the 28 along with 4-6-0 number 3, 2-8-0 number 18, 2-8-2 number 34 and 2-8-2 number 36 for occasional railfan trips and movie work. The railfan excursions were ended in October 1963 after the 28 derailed in the Jamestown yard.


The 28 also made a few brief cameo appearances in several movies and TV show during this time including Overland Trail, Nichols, Little House on the Prairie, Bound for Glory and The World's Greatest Lover.


On October 19, 1963 the locomotive derailed backing through a switch in Jamestown effectively ending all excursion trains on the railroad until the opening of Railtown 1897. In May 1971, the Sierra Railway opened its Jamestown shops and yards to the public in the form of Railtown 1897. The 28 quickly became the workhorse of this new tourist operation. In 1979, Crocker Industries, which owned the Sierra Railroad and Railtown 1897 decided to sell Railtown 1897 and all of its assets, including the 28, to the California Department of Parks and Recreation, which reorganized Railtown 1897 as Railtown 1897 State Historic Park.


After the State of California took over Railtown's operations, 28 continued to serve as its locomotive, operating seasonally. In February 2009, the 28 was taken out of service after its crown sheet and other parts of the firebox were found to be too thin for legal operation. 28 sat stored in public view in the Jamestown roundhouse awaiting funds until August 2013 when it was torn down for repairs to its firebox along with new flues and Staybolts.


After being out of service for a 5-year restoration, the 28 returned to operation on June 1, 2019.


The Baltimore and Ohio’s P-7 class was a class of 20 Pacific type locomotives built in 1927. Named for the first 20 Presidents of the United States, they were the prime motive power for the B&O’s top passenger trains for 31 years. One example, No. 5300, “President Washington”, has been preserved.


The P7s were rather simple locomotives when built. Bearing a considerable resemblance to the Pennsylvania Railroad’s K4s, the two designs did differ in their style of firebox and boiler pressure. The engines produced an impressive 50,000 lbs. of starting tractive effort and could pull heavyweight passenger trains up to 80 miles an hour. Water scoops mounted on the underside of the tender allowed the locomotives to refill their 11,000-gallon tanks without stopping. The cabs of the locomotives were equipped with automatic train control, which improved safety by forcibly applying the brakes if the engineer failed to acknowledge an unfavorable signal.


The engines would receive upgrades over their 31-year careers and some locomotives received streamlined shrouds, but the class never saw a major rebuild . In 1937 locomotive 5304 was rebuilt by the B&O into a Class P-7a streamlined locomotive. In 1942 locomotive 5306 was rebuilt into a Class P-7b streamlined locomotive. In 1944 locomotives 5305, 5308, 5309, 5318 were rebuilt into Class P-7c. In 1946 locomotives 5301-5303 were rebuilt into Class P-7d’s. Locomotive 5304 was also rebuilt to Class P-7d in 1946 .


"*The entries in this column are the numbers assigned to the locomotives when built. Some engines were renumbered before being retired."


With the introduction of the P-7 class into its passenger fleet, the B&O sought to distinguish itself from its competitors, mainly the Pennsylvania Railroad. To accomplish this, instead of the usual simplistic black paint scheme, each of the P-7s would be adorned with names after the first 20 Presidents of the United States (a single locomotive, “President Adams”, symbolized both John Adams and John Quincy Adams).  Combined with a vibrant green paint scheme and gold trim, the railroad hoped to make the class more distinctive and memorable. The locomotives were put on display frequently for public relations, with the class making its debut performance at the Fair of the Iron Horse, which celebrated the railroad’s 100th anniversary in 1927.


The locomotives were used throughout the B&O’s network in the eastern US, with their most famous efforts being the Royal Blue, a high-speed train connecting Washington DC and Jersey City. Also used between Baltimore and Philadelphia, the engines were used mainly in the Midwest leading up to their retirement.


Being an early adopter of diesel power, the B&O retired the P7s by the late 1950s. In 1957, the President of the B&O Howard Simpson ordered the first P-7 built, No. 5300, to be saved from scrapping. The locomotive received a cosmetic restoration to its as-built appearance. Currently on static display at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, it is the only "Pacific" type locomotive built for the B&O to have been preserved.


The Class P7 also made appearances in Thomas & Friends as the engine Caitlin is based on the streamlined P7, more specifically engine No. 5304 “President Washington”.


Norfolk and Western Railway class J (1941)


The Norfolk and Western class J was a class of fourteen 4-8-4 "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives built by the railway's Roanoke Shops located in Roanoke, Virginia from 1941 to 1950. They were operated by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) in revenue service until the late 1950s.


These locomotives were built to run on the N&W main line between Norfolk, Virginia and Cincinnati, Ohio, pulling the "Powhatan Arrow", the "Pocahontas" and the "Cavalier" passenger trains as well as ferrying the Southern Railway's the "Birmingham Special", the "Pelican" and the "Tennessean" between Monroe, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee. The class J, with the class A and class Y freight locomotives, became the Norfolk and Western's "Big Three" considered to be at the pinnacle of steam technology.


Only one class J locomotive, no. 611, survives. It was retired in 1959 from revenue passenger service and moved to the Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT) in 1962. It has been restored twice: once as part of the Norfolk Southern Railway's steam program in 1982 and again as part of the VMT's "Fire up 611!" campaign in 2015.


The Js' distinctive streamlining was designed by N&W's Tool Supervisor, Franklin C. Noel.


The first class J locomotives (nos. 600–610) had 275 pounds per square inch (psi) boilers, driving wheels, and Timken roller bearings on all wheels, rods, valve gear and wrist pins. After 1945, the boiler pressure was raised to . Calculated tractive effort was – the most powerful 4-8-4 without a booster. The driving wheels were small for a locomotive that was able to pull trains at more than . To overcome the limitation, the wheelbase was made extremely rigid, lightweight rods were used, and the counterbalancing was precise – so precise that it could theoretically allow the locomotives to reach speeds up to without the rail damage that could have occurred with conventional designs.


As delivered, the class J locomotives had duplex (two) coupling rods between the main (second) and third drivers (tandem rods), but in the 1950s Norfolk and Western's engineers deemed them unnecessary a single coupling rod was substituted between the main and third drivers. The negative effect of the J's highly engineered powertrain was that it made the locomotives sensitive to substandard track.


While on loan in 1945, no. 610 hauled a 1015-ton passenger train with 15 cars at speeds of more than over a section of flat, straight track on the Pennsylvania Railroad, known as the "racetrack", in the Fort Wayne Division.


The class J locomotives were built with automatic lubricators at 220 points, allowing them to operate up to between refills. Despite their comparatively small driving wheels, they rode very smoothly at all speeds: the Pennsylvania Railroad's inspector stated that it rode better than any of their own steam locomotives except for the 6-4-4-6 class S1.


The first five locomotives (nos. 600–604) were outshopped between October 1941 and January 1942, costing the railroad US$167,000 apiece. The second batch of six locomotives was delivered in 1943 without either shrouding or lightweight side rods, due to the limitations on the use of certain materials during the war; they were classified J1. When N&W showed the War Production Board the reduced availability numbers because of this, the Board allowed the J1s to be re-fitted in 1945 as Js with the lightweight rods and shrouding. The last batch of three locomotives was rolled out in summer 1950: they were to be the last steam passenger locomotives built in the United States.


The class Js pulled the network's prominent passenger trains, such as the "Powhatan Arrow", the "Pocahontas", and the "Cavalier" between Norfolk, Virginia and Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as ferrying Southern Railway's the "Birmingham Special", the "Pelican", and the "Tennessean" between Monroe, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee. Because of their power and speed, the class Js were among the most reliable engines, running as many as per month, even on the mountainous and relatively short route of the N&W.


In the late 1950s, N&W began purchasing first-generation diesel locomotives, experimenting with fuel and maintenance cost. They leased several sets of EMD E6s, E7s, E8s from the Atlantic Coast Line and Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroads. As a result, the class Js were retired from passenger service. Doghouses were installed on their tenders to accommodate the head-end brakemen when the class Js were reassigned to freight service until they were all retired between 1958 and 1959.


One locomotive, no. 611, has been preserved. Its survival was in part due to its excellent condition after its 1956 derailment and subsequent repair, and also in part to the efforts of photographer O. Winston Link, who offered to purchase 611 himself rather than see it scrapped. The locomotive was donated to the Roanoke Transportation Museum in 1962, where it sat dormant for two decades. Since then, it has had two excursion careers: from 1982 to 1994, after Norfolk Southern Railway restored the locomotive, and in 2015 (by Norfolk Southern) and afterwards by the VMT.


Atlantic Coast Line 1504 is a 4-6-2 USRA Light Pacific steam locomotive built by the Richmond Locomotive Works in Richmond, Virginia in August 1919 for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) as a member of the P-5-A class.


The locomotive was built for passenger service and was assigned to pull the ACL's mainline passenger trains such as the "Florida Special" and the "South Wind" until being retired in 1952 and donated to Jacksonville for display.


The locomotive pulled passenger trains, including the "Miamian", the "Florida Special", "Palmetto Limited", the "Southland", the "South Wind" and the "Dixie Flyer". By the late 1940s, the railroad had dieselised its passenger trains and the locomotive was assigned to fast freight service and spent its last years in the Tampa, Florida area before 1952, the year it was retired and put into storage.


1504 was chosen for preservation by ACL president Champion Davis and the Head of ACL's Mechanical Department, John W. Hawthornethe. In 1960, after some years in storage, the locomotive was given a thorough mechanical overhaul and then placed on display in front of the then new ACL General Office Building in Jacksonville. In 1986, CSX presented the locomotive to the city of Jacksonville, Florida. It was cosmetically restored and put on display at the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, where it currently resides. It is the only surviving original USRA Light Pacific steam locomotive and is in almost original condition.


The locomotive was designated as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1990. It is also on the National Register of Historic Places.


In the late 1930s, when looking for heavier steam power to move freight and passenger trains swiftly, the New York Central looked at a dual service steam locomotive. The modern 1940 L3a from ALCo was able to move both heavy passenger trains and freights with relative ease. So, the NYC acquired both the L-3 and L-4 classes of Mohawks from the American Locomotive Company and Lima Locomotive Works from 1940 to 1943.


As of 2021, No. 3001 is on display at the National New York Central Railroad Museum. Whether or not the locomotive would be restored to operating condition is up for debate.


Southern Railway "Maud" 1509 is the oldest surviving steam locomotive of the Southern Railway. The engine was built by Baldwin in 1880 for the Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railway, originally numbered 27 and named "Talullah". The railroad was later absorbed by the Richmond and Danville Railroad which itself became the Southern Railway, with the engines being renumbered, and as such, "Talullah" ultimately became Southern #1509.


A misprint in one of the Southern's early locomotive rosters had confused the engine with number 1101, a Baldwin 4-6-0. As a result, many believed the engine was originally built as a 4-6-0 for the Washington City, Virginia Midland, and Great Southern Railway (presumably 1101's original owner). Such mistakes were quite common from the Southern Railway's formation to the 1903 renumbering, with much of the locomotive records during that time being either incomplete or containing conflicting information. Thus very little of the 1509's early career is known, however, most railroad historians have concluded that the 1509 had most likely been built either as a 0-4-4T or possibly as a 0-4-0, as opposed to the larger 4-6-0 design.


Southern rebuilt the engine in 1925, and from then until retirement, it served as a switcher for the railway's Pegram Shops in Atlanta. There, it was given the name, "Maud" by the shop employees. "Maud" was retired in 1949, and moved to Inman, Georgia, where it was to be scrapped. However, the shop's workers had favored "Maud", and wrote to then Southern Railway president E. E. Norris requesting the engine be preserved. Norris obliged, and "Maud" was placed on display outside of the shops until 1960. That year, the engine was donated to the Atlanta chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, who had placed it in their Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, Georgia.


As of November 2020, Southern Railway 1509 is stored, disassembled outside the Southeastern Railway Museum's shops, where it is awaiting restoration.


Canadian National 3254 is a class "S-1-b" 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotive built in 1917 for the Canadian National Railway by the Canadian Locomotive Company as a member of the Canadian National class S-1-b. It used to be a part of the operating fleet at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania until being indefinitely retired from excursion service in 2012 due to serious frame issues, being replaced by Boston and Maine 4-6-2 #3713 as part of Steamtown's operating fleet for use on excursion trains.


Canadian National 3254 was built in 1917 by the Canadian Locomotive Company for the Canadian Government Railways where it was numbered 2854. In 1918, the Canadian Government Railways combined with the Canadian Northern Railway formed the Canadian National Railways. The 3254 had considerable pulling power, could climb grades with ease, and was used to handle very heavy freight trains. On July 24, 1941, No. 3254 collided head on with Great Northern H-5 4-6-2 No. 1351 at North Road cut. This accident caused the locomotive's frame horns to be bent and the frame is also bowed to one side, causing the cab to sit off-center. Despite the bent frame, the Canadian National loosely repaired the locomotive, and it continued service, until it was retired in 1958.


Steamtown also owns a Canadian National class S-1-d "Mikado", No. 3377 as a static display piece. No. 3377 was the target of copper thieves during her trip to Scranton. The locomotive was never repaired and became a spare parts provider for No. 3254, including the tender, which replaced the 3254's tender in 2010 due to rust leaks and 3254’s old tender was scrapped.


As a result of issues with either the boiler/firebox or the frame, combined with other needed maintenance which made further operation impractical, No. 3254 was taken out of service indefinitely after the 2012 season. The early retirement is likely attributed to its 1941 collision. She has frequently been described as a "rough rider," and had been chewing up bearings at an accelerated rate. It also consumed a staggering amount of coal compared to the amount consumed by No. 2317. As a result, No. 3254 will be replaced by Boston and Maine 4-6-2 No. 3713 as part of Steamtown's operating fleet for use on excursion trains. As of 2021, No. 3254 is unlikely to run again anytime soon due to its poor mechanical condition.


Nahma and Northern Railway Locomotive No. 5


The Nahma and Northern Railway Locomotive #5 is a locomotive located at the corner of Main Street and River Street in Nahma Township, Michigan.


The town of Nahma was established in 1881 by the Bay De Noquet Lumber Company as the base for its upper Michigan lumbering operations. The company began harvesting softwoods, but as the supply decreased, it was forced to turn to hardwood logging. In 1901, the Bay De Noquet Lumber Company began construction of a railroad system, the Nahma and Northern, leading from Nahma into the surrounding forest and various lumber camps. The railway eventually had 75 miles of track, The Nahma and Northern had seven locomotives, one caboose, and over 100 Russell Cars for hauling timber.


The railroad was abandoned in 1948. In 1951, the town of Nahma was sold to the American Playground Device Co. for development into a resort. The planned resort, however, never got off the ground.


This locomotive is a 2-6-2 coal-burning locomotive, built by the Baldwin Company of Philadelphia in 1912.


Gov. Stanford is a 4-4-0 steam locomotive originally built in 1862 by Norris Locomotive Works. Following construction, it was disassembled and hauled by the ship "Herald of the Morning" around Cape Horn to California, then up the rivers aboard the schooner "Artful Dodger", arriving in Sacramento on October 6, 1863. With a dedication ceremony that included artillery discharge, it entered service on November 9, 1863, and it was used in the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad in North America by Central Pacific Railroad bearing road number 1. It was Central Pacific's first locomotive and it is named in honor of the road's first president and ex-California governor, Leland Stanford.


Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) 2579 is a heavy 2-8-0 type steam locomotives built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1906, a typical example of over 350 locomotives called "Consolidations". 2579 was retired from service in 1956 and is currently in display in the Veterans Memorial Park in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Last used in revenue service in November 1956, 2579 was donated to the City of Klamath Falls on September 1957.


Locomotive #2579 is a typical example of steam locomotives called "consolidations" that were used by the Southern Pacific Railroad. It worked on many different duties for the Southern Pacific system from the early 20th century well into 1956, even handling passenger trains on rare occasions. At nearly 400,000 pounds and at 71 feet in length, #2579 was utilized for freight on the SP's Portland, Sacramento, Shasta, and Western Divisions. It was retired from steam freight operations in November 1956 and vacated from the active roster of locomotives in May 1957.


Southern Pacific Locomotive #2579 was donated to the City of Klamath Falls on September 8, 1957. Since then, SP2579 has been on display in Veterans Memorial Park along the shores of Lake Ewauna, near the junction of Main Street and US97.


C. P. Huntington is a 4-2-4T steam locomotive on static display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California, USA. It is the first locomotive purchased by the Southern Pacific Railroad, carrying that railroad's number 1. The locomotive is named in honor of Collis P. Huntington, the third president of the Southern Pacific Company (parent company of Southern Pacific Railroad).


"C. P. Huntington" was originally purchased by Central Pacific Railroad (CP) in 1863 as that railroad's number 3, along with its sister engine "T. D. Judah" (CP no. 4). It was CP's third locomotive after "Gov. Stanford" (number 1, built by Norris Locomotive Works) and "Pacific" (number 2, built by Mason Machine Works). CP used the locomotive beginning on April 15, 1864, during construction of the western portion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in North America.


Southern Pacific (SP) purchased "C. P. Huntington" from CP on February 5, 1871, gave it their number 1, and used it in light service in northern California. It was rebuilt twice, first in 1873 with new valves and again in 1888 with a new boiler built by CP's Sacramento shops. In 1888 the locomotive was also put on public display for the first time in Sacramento.


In SP's 1891 renumbering plan, "C. P. Huntington" was assigned road number 1001. The locomotive was placed in storage for some time until it was rebuilt for use as a lineside weed burner in 1901. Its use as a weed burner proved unsatisfactory and the locomotive was again removed from active service. In 1910, "C. P. Huntington" was again rebuilt and it was then kept at SP's machine shops where it remained for a few years. The locomotive was nearly scrapped in 1914; it was spared this fate by SP management so that it could be displayed at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915 after a cosmetic restoration.


On May 3, 1939, "C. P. Huntington" participated in the grand opening ceremonies for the Los Angeles Union Station. Operating under her own steam, the "Huntington" was paraded past large, cheering crowds to the newly completed passenger terminal, along with several other engines, including the famous 4-4-0, Virginia & Truckee 22, the "Inyo" (still painted in Union Pacific livery, from the filming of Cecil B. DeMille's 1939 movie of the same name, which premiered two days later), and Southern Pacific 4120, a massive AC-5 class 4-8-8-2 cab forward. The moment was captured on film by Disney animator and lifelong train enthusiast, Ward Kimball, and may be some of the only known footage of the engine under steam.


Southern Pacific donated the engine to the State of California in 1964. The locomotive was placed on display at the old state fairgrounds on Stockton Boulevard, in Sacramento, where it remained until a 1970 refurbishing at Southern Pacific's Sacramento Shops, when it was placed in the Central Pacific Railroad Passenger Station in Old Sacramento in 1979. In 1981 it was moved into the newly opened California State Railroad Museum, where it now remains on static display.


The first "C. P. Huntington" locomotive was delivered to the now-defunct Joyland Amusement Park in Wichita, Kansas. This replaced the original miniature train that has operated since 1933. As the first locomotive, it carries the serial number 1 from the factory.


There are three "C.P. Huntington" replicas operating the perimeter track at the Santa Barbara Zoo.


Story Land in Glen, NH operates four "C.P. Huntington" locomotives.


Pullen Park, a park run since 1887 in Raleigh, NC, has a CP Huntington train with millions of riders to ride on it since 1950.


The Baton Rouge Zoo also runs a "C.P. Huntington" locomotive around the perimeter of its zoo. It was donated by the local Coca-Cola plant.


Landa Park in New Braunfels, TX operates a gas powered version through the park surrounding the springs and headwaters of the Comal River.


The Downtown Aquarium in Houston became the first operator of an electric version of the locomotive.


Storyland & Playland in Roeding Park located in Fresno, CA, runs a Chance Rides C.P. Huntington locomotive between the two themed parks pulling a total of 6 passenger cars.


As of 2018, Chance Rides has built over 400 different "C. P. Huntington" locomotives and coaches for customers around the world - such as "Window on China" in Taiwan that run 2 of these locomotives. Prices for locomotives run just under $200,000 and coaches run about $60,000 each. Locomotives and coaches can be customized in a variety of ways.


The unique design of the "C. P. Huntington" inspired the appearance of "The Little Engine That Could" in most storybook renderings.


Atlanta and West Point 290 is a steam locomotive built in 1926 by the Lima Locomotive Works (LLW) for the Atlanta and West Point Railroad. The engine is a 4-6-2 heavy "Pacific" type steam locomotive, remarkably similar to Southern Railway's Ps-4 class. With sister locomotive No. 190 built for the Western Railway of Alabama, the 290 pulled the "Crescent" passenger train from Atlanta, Georgia to Montgomery, Alabama until the engine's retirement from revenue-producing service in 1954.


The engine entered service for the West Point Route in 1926, pulling the "Crescent" from Atlanta, Georgia, to Montgomery, Alabama.


When the locomotive was taken out of service in 1954, fans of 290 established the "290 Club" which succeeded in persuading the Atlanta and West Point Railroad to preserve the locomotive rather than sell it for scrap. The locomotive remained on static display for several years before it was donated to the Atlanta Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society in 1961.


In the late 1980s, the New Georgia Railroad, an Atlanta-based steam excursion railroad, needed another locomotive and 290 was quickly restored. Under steam again for the first time in 1989, 290 pulled regular excursions in the Atlanta vicinity and made several longer excursions to other cities including a historic trip to Montgomery in 1992.


In 1991, 290 traveled to Norfolk Southern Norris Yard Steam Shop in Irondale, Alabama, for running-gear maintenance work to resolve hot-running bearings. Work was largely done by New Georgia Railroad personnel led by mechanic/engineer Bill Magee(GBA Director-New Georgia Railroad), utilizing Norfolk Southern's shop equipment. Shortly thereafter, the New Georgia Railroad stopped operating steam locomotives when the state government discontinued its funding. The engine operated for three more years until 1992, were it was once again retired from service.


Today, the 290 resides at the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, Georgia, awaiting for cosmetic restoration. There have been no legitimate opportunities to operate the locomotive in such a manner that justifies restoring her to operation. Therefore, she will be placed back on display once the work is completed until such an opportunity presents itself to the engine to return to the rails once again.


The locomotive was the subject of Pentrex's "New Georgia Steam Excursions: A&WP #290", a film appealing to railfans covering a ceremonial run between Atlanta and Montgomery over 290's home rails. The engine itself also made a cameo appearance in the motion picture Fried Green Tomatoes.


Southern Pacific 2706 is a 2-8-0 "Consolidation" Class C-8 steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1904 for the Southern Pacific Transportation Company (SP). It is one of three surviving members of its class, and one of many preserved SP 2-8-0s.


2706 was retired along with the remaining Southern Pacific steam fleet in the late 1950s at the Bayshore Yard near Brisbane, California. After retirement, it was moved to Watsonville in 1962, and it was purchased by Rick Hammond and the Eccles and eastern railroad company it was moved to Santa Cruz on the day of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, where it was purchased by John Manley in 1999 (from Mike Hart) and subsequently moved to Colusa in 2007. Previously, Manley had worked on the team which restored SP 2467.


A new shop was constructed in 2012 to accommodate work on 2706.


Chicago and North Western 1385 is a standard gauge class "R-1" 4-6-0 "Ten Wheeler" type steam railway locomotive built in March 1907 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for the Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW). It was used for hauling freight and passenger trains on the C&NW trackage until its retirement in 1956. In 1961, it was purchased by a preservation group that is known today as the Mid-Continent Railway Museum, and they have operated No. 1385 on several excursions on their tourist railroad, as well as the C&NW mainline, until 1998. As of 2021, No. 1385 is currently being rebuilt for operational purposes.


Between 1901 and 1908, the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, also known as the North Western, ordered 325 4-6-0 ten wheelers from the American Locomotive Company (ALCO), which were classified as the R-1 class. C&NW owned more R-1s than any other steam locomotive class. No. 1385 was one of the second to last ones built in March 1907.


Although principally used for fast freight, the R-1 class also was used for slower passenger service and occasional switching over the North Western's extensive system, which at its peak extended through nine states from Illinois to Wyoming. When new, it was large, modern power, and required strengthening and enlarging turntables, engine houses, and bridges wherever used.


No. 1385 was retired in 1956 and was used to thaw out ore cars during severe winters. The locomotive was then purchased by the Historical Society of Milwaukee in 1961 for $2600. The society purchased an abandoned line in North Freedom, Wisconsin, from the C&NW in 1963, moved No. 1385 there and the society changed its name to Mid-Continent Railway Museum.


The locomotive operated on the Mid-Continent’s tourist railroad since 1963, but from 1983 to 1995, No. 1385 was also used to operate mainline excursion trips on the CN&W. In 1985, the locomotive pulled the Circus World Museum’s train from Baraboo to Milwaukee. There were plans to operate No. 1385 all the way to Chicago, Illinois to take part in the 1993 National Railway Historical Society’s convention, which would have put it side by side with a few other steam stars, including Nickel Plate Road 2-8-2 No. 587 and Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 No. 3985 on the convention’s last day. However, Midwest flooding has gotten in the way between North-Freedom and Chicago. Thus, No. 1385 never participated in the convention.


After the Union Pacific purchased the C&NW in 1995, No. 1385 could no longer operate on the main line, since the UP has a policy against foreign steam locomotives. It has remained operational only for the Mid-Continent’s tourist railroad, until it’s flue ticket expired in 1998. As a locomotive that has turned 90 to 100 years old, no. 1385 has operated for so long with very little to no repairs, that running under its own power has taken its toll on the locomotive. It has sat idle at the Mid-Continent’s property for several years until 2011, when it was announced that No. 1385 would receive a complete rebuild for operational purposes.


As of 2021, the boiler has been completely replaced, the frame has been refurbished, and several of the smaller components, including the steam dome, the air compressors, the running gear, and the cab have been rebuilt and cleaned to meet up with FRA’s standards.


No. 1385 was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 as Steam Locomotive #1385.


Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 3759 is a class 3751 standard gauge 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam railway locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1928. It is on display in Locomotive Park, located between Andy Devine Avenue and Beale Street in Kingman, Arizona. The park was established in August 1957 with AT&SF 3759 donated to the City of Kingman in recognition of Kingman's history with the railroad. The locomotive erroneously is termed a Mountain type on the nearby information plaque, and also in the City's descriptive material.


3759 was delivered in 1928 as a 3751 class "Northern" 4-8-4 passenger locomotive. Originally a coal-burning locomotive with 73-inch drivers, the fleet was converted to oil in 1936 and rebuilt between 1938 and 1941 with 80-inch drivers. Its regular service was pulling passenger trains on the Santa Fe's main line through Kingman, which was a water stop. Retired in 1953, the engine had traveled over 2,585,000 miles.


In February 1955, 3759 was brought out of retirement at the request of the Railway Club of Southern California for a special excursion run, dubbed "Farewell to Steam." This special ran on February 6, a round trip between Los Angeles Union Station and Barstow, California with stops in Pasadena and San Bernardino and was the last Santa Fe revenue steam train to leave Los Angeles and to traverse Cajon Pass. After this trip, 3759 went back into storage, until Santa Fe donated the locomotive to the city of Kingman in 1957.


The locomotive was added to the National Register of Historic Places as AT & SF Locomotive in 1986, reference number 86001113. In 1987 caboose 999520 was retired and donated to Kingman to be added behind 3759. The residents of Kingman pulled the locomotive forward to make room for the caboose.


In January 1991, Grand Canyon Railway owner Max Biegert sent a letter to Kingman city officials of his proposal to lease AT&SF 3759 to operation and donate his engine No. 19 to the city. 3759 would have run in the Grand Canyon Railway and an "Orient Express"-styled train between Los Angeles and Williams, Arizona. The community reacted negatively to the plan and it did not go forward.


On the F&CC it was numbered 3 and named "Elkton". After the demise of the F&CC in 1915, the locomotive and sister locomotives sat unused in storage until the Denver & Rio Grande purchased it and four others in 1917 to help with war traffic. In D&RG service it was renumbered to No. 425, but was later renumbered to No. 315 when the Denver & Rio Grande reorganized/merged with the Rio Grande Western and became the Denver and Rio Grande Western in 1921.


It began its service on the D&RG at Alamosa, Colorado and was leased to the Rio Grande Southern for 1926-27 and then spent most of the next decade on the Gunnison Division, in Salida, Colorado, on the line to Montrose and on the branch to Ouray.


As larger locomotives such as the K-27, K-36 and K-37 Mikado Locomotives were introduced to line, smaller engines like No. 315 were given yard switching duties or scrapped. No. 315 spent several periods in the Alamosa shops during the early 1940s, notably with a broken main rod and then later for flue work and to replace its pilot with a switch engine pilot where it was assigned to yard switching duties at Durango, Colorado. The locomotive was then taken out of service in 1949.


The Durango area became known as Hollywood of the Rockies for a Period of time thanks to the scenery and the railroad, and No. 315 managed to score some roles on the silver screen. First appearing in the movie "Colorado Territory" in 1948, a year before its retirement.


The scraping of C-18 No. 319 was postponed by a year to make an appearance in the 1952 film "Denver & Rio Grande" where the 319 and C-19 No. 345 were filmed in a head on collision. That could've easily been No. 315 had there been no attempt save it.


After speaking with city officials, the first work session was held in October 1998. The project was assisted by the D&SNG's Museum Curator Jeff Ellingson who redid the lettering and also evaluated No. 315's overall condition. Later on the SJLS' Board of Directors decided the project would be too big to perform under the club name, and formed the "315 Committee." Later in 1999, the Committee reconsidered the end goal of the restoration and also decided to reorganize as a Non-Profit Organization under the name of the "Durango Railroad Historical Society".


In 2002 the boiler received a Hydrostatic and Ultrasonic test and was deemed to be in good condition for returning the Locomotive to operational condition. It was then decided that the DRHS would go through with performing a complete restoration of No. 315. On August 24, 2007, a fire was lit inside No. 315's firebox at the D&S Roundhouse and that evening the locomotive moved under its own power for the first time in 58 years. The Locomotive first ran at the D&SNG after fixing some minor issues and having to borrow D&RGW 223's tender trucks. It made its official shake down run on September 7th and pulled its first excursions in late September.


No. 315 was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Locomotive No. 315 in 2008 and the City of Durango transferred ownership of the locomotive to the DRHS in 2014.


When the locomotive isn't out running on the D&SNG or at the C&TS, it is stored in the original Silverton Northern Railroad Engine house. The DRHS has teamed up with the San Juan County Historical Society to restore the structure and turn the area into a historic, informational park. Rails were laid back inside the engine house in 2009 and since then the DRHS and SJCHS has rebuilt an amount of track on the original SNRR Grade with the help of the D&SNG, also tying into D&S Trackage on the Shenandoah loop for easy access to the D&SNG. In 2019, two spurs were built to display their collection of restored D&RGW Freight and MOW equipment. The DRHS has currently restored:


Soo Line 2713 is an H-21 class 4-6-2 steam locomotive that was built for the Wisconsin Central Railway in May 1911. The WC had fallen under the control of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway (“Soo Line”) in 1909, and the locomotive fleets of both railroads were operated in a single pool.


The 2713 was used to power the Soo Line and Wisconsin Central passenger trains in Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota. It was retired in 1955, and since 1957 has been on display in Veterans Memorial Park in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States. With it is Soo Line Caboose 99052, built in 1908 for the Wisconsin Central Railway, their No. 158.


Norfolk and Western 611, also known as the "Spirit of Roanoke" and the "Queen of Steam", is a preserved class "J" "Northern" type steam locomotive built and operated by the Norfolk and Western Railway from 1950 to 1959. Built at the Roanoke Shops in May 1950, No. 611 is the only surviving example of fourteen class "J" locomotives.


No. 611, along with the other class "J"s, pulled the Norfolk and Western's prominent passenger trains, such as the "Powhatan Arrow", the "Pocahontas" and the "Cavalier" between Norfolk, Virginia and Cincinnati, Ohio as well as ferrying Southern Railway's the "Birmingham Special", the "Pelican" and the "Tennessean" between Monroe, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee. Because of their power and speed, the class "J"s were among the most reliable engines, running as many as per month, even on the mountainous and relatively short route of the N&W.


In the late 1950s, N&W began purchasing first-generation diesel locomotives, experimenting with fuel and maintenance cost. They leased several sets of EMD E6s, E7s, E8s from the Atlantic Coast Line and Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroads. The diesels proved to be cheaper in maintenance and fuel cost, but several were required to equal the power of a steam locomotive. In the end, with steam parts suppliers closing due to other railroads switching to diesel power, the N&W purchase some new diesel locomotives and retired their fleet of steam locomotives. In 1958 and 1959, the railroad ran several Farewell To Steam excursions, with No. 611 pulling the very last one in October 1959.


Due to the efforts of several men, the 611 was saved. This was in part due to the locomotive's excellent condition after its 1956 derailment and subsequent repair, and also in part to the efforts of railway photographer O. Winston Link, who offered to purchase 611 himself rather than see it scrapped. The locomotive was donated to the Roanoke Transportation Museum in Roanoke, Virginia in 1962, where it sat dormant for two decades. The 611 was also a possible candidate for the American Freedom Train; however, Reading 2101, Southern Pacific 4449 and Texas and Pacific 610 were ultimately chosen instead.


In the early 1980s, Robert Claytor, president of Norfolk and Western in its last months, had his eye on 611. His brother, W. Graham Claytor, once president of the Southern Railway, was in charge of the railway's steam program. This program had been around since 1966 with class "Ms" 2-8-2 "Mikado" type No. 4501, sending steaming ambassadors system wide. Robert Claytor envisioned a similar program for the N&W. He made a lease with the museum, and in 1981, 611 was sent to Southern Railway's Norris Yard Steam Shop in Birmingham, Alabama for an overhaul.


The steam program looked for a stronger locomotive to pull the longer and heavier excursion trains by adding Norfolk & Western 1218, a simple articulated 2-6-6-4. The two continued to pull the systems' trains, with 611 even participating in a triple-header with N&W 1218 and Southern Railway 4501, until 1994, when another disastrous blow hit. In September 1994, there was a switching accident in Lynchburg, VA, involving the passenger cars of an excursion consist that 611 was about to pull the next day. This damaged several cars, causing a shortage and the consequent need for more cars. A month later, NS executives terminated the steam program due to rising insurance costs, increasing cost of maintenance, and low spare system capacity.


The last steam excursion was on December 3, 1994 from Birmingham, Alabama to Chattanooga, Tennessee and back, pulled by 611. The next day, 611 set off on a three-day trek home to Roanoke. Between Salisbury, North Carolina and Roanoke, 611 displayed black flags on the last run of December 7. That evening, upon arrival at Shaffer's Crossing in Roanoke, 611 had its fire put out for the last time in the 20th century.


In 1995, 611 was put back in the museum, now known as the Virginia Museum of Transportation, under a new train shed. In 2003, a major renovation of the railyard brought a bigger train shed (The Robert B. Claytor and W. Graham Claytor Jr. Pavilion) and 611 was joined by twice former stable-mate, No. 1218.


As one of the last, most prominent, and most distinctive locomotives assembled in Roanoke, the 611 often serves as a symbol for Roanoke and its railroad history. It is also depicted on the Commonwealth of Virginia's "Railway Heritage" license plate.


On April 2, 2012, The City of Roanoke officially donated both 611 & 1218 to the Virginia Museum of Transportation.


In 2011, the Norfolk Southern brought back their steam program, under the name 21st Century Steam, leading to speculation among some about a possible restoration of 611. On February 22, 2013, the Virginia Museum of Transportation formed the "Fire Up 611!" committee to conduct a feasibility study with the goal of returning the 611 to active service.


On June 28, 2013, museum officials launched the "Fire Up 611!" Capital Campaign to raise enough money to restore the 611. The restoration work would include repairing the engine truck, preparing a tool car and an auxiliary water tender, applying new safety appliances such as in-cab signals and an event recorder, installing new flues, boiler work, and hydro and fire testing, as well as test runs, inspection, and repairs of the tender, running gears, and air brakes.


On March 31, 2015, the 611 was fired up with its maximum working boiler pressure of 300 psi and the crew open the throttle up to blow steam out of the cylinders' piston valves. The test fire was a complete success and the 611 was steamed up for the first time in nearly twenty-one years.


On May 21, 2015, 611 made a brief test run from Spencer to Greensboro, North Carolina, pulling her auxiliary tender and tool car along with eight Norfolk Southern passenger cars behind her.


On May 28, 2015, the North Carolina Transportation Museum held photo runbys with 611 leading passenger and freight consists, plus night photo session.


The locomotive was scheduled to run several excursions during the summer of 2015 such as "The American" from Manassas, Virginia to Front Royal, Virginia on June 6 and 7, "The Cavalier" from Lynchburg, Virginia to Petersburg, Virginia on June 13 and 14, "The Powhatan Arrow" from Roanoke to Lynchburg and "The Pelican" from Roanoke to Radford, Virginia on July 3, 4, and 5.


On April 9, 2016, the 611 ran "The Virginian" from Spencer, North Carolina to Lynchburg, Virginia and "The Blue Ridge Special" from Spencer to Asheville, North Carolina the next day. On April 23 and 24, 2016, the locomotive ran "The Roanoker" from Greensboro, NC to Roanoke, VA. on the ex-Virginian Railway main line.


In late spring 2016, the 611 ran the excursions that it did last year such as "The Powhatan Arrow", "The Pelican, and "The American". After that, the 611 stayed at the North Carolina Transportation Museum for the summer and moved back to Roanoke on August 8 and back to Spencer again on September 7 until October 24.


On April 8, 2017, the locomotive ran "The Virginian" round-trip excursion again and the next day's "The Charlotte Special" round-trip excursion from Spencer to Charlotte, NC in the morning and a second round-trip excursion "The Piedmont Limited" from Spencer to Greensboro, North Carolina in the afternoon.


In 2018, 611 was unable to perform any major excursions due to Amtrak's newest restrictions on private charter trips. However, The Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT) was able to put on alternate events for 611, and the locomotive made a visit to the North Carolina Transportation Museum for routine maintenance. Moreover, the VMT is presently in negotiations and talks with various entities in order to set up excursions and events for 611. Presently, one key concern is the gradual introduction of the Positive train control (PTC) to the US railroad network, for which the VMT is asking for donations.


In fall 2019, No. 611 visited the Strasburg Rail Road in Strasburg, Pennsylvania for the five weekend "N&W Reunion of Steam" events in late September and the rest of October along with a reunion with another N&W steam locomotive, 4-8-0 No. 475.


In 2020, No. 611 was unable to perform any special events due to the COVID-19 pandemic as it was on display and occasionally operates at the North Carolina Transportation Museum.


In 2021, the locomotive went under routine maintenance at the North Carolina Transportation Museum again. Afterwards, the locomotive will return to the Strasburg Rail Road starting in May running on selected weekends up until early October 2021. However, the 611's arrival in Strasburg was delayed due to the locomotive having some mechanical issues to its mechanical stoker which lead the May 21-23 excursion trips to be cancelled.


The 611 was featured in the 2016 feature-length documentary, "611: American Icon" which documented the history of the locomotive and its restoration.


Soo Line 1003 is a class "L-1" 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in March 1913 as a member of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad ("Soo Line") L-1 class. It was retired from regular revenue service in 1954 and restored to operating condition on October 27, 1996. Today, it is occasionally operated on the major railroads of the American Upper Midwest.


The locomotive was built in 1913 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). It was used by the Soo Line until retirement in 1954, when it went into serviceable storage in Gladstone, Michigan as part of the railroad's strategic reserve. In December 1959, the railroad donated the locomotive to the city of Superior, Wisconsin where it was put on public display. In the mid 1970s, Superior Shortline Steam Railroad Ltd. was organized to restore the locomotive to operations.


It made a few short runs in 1983 in Superior, WI before going back in for a major overhaul. The work slowed due to a lack of money and some notable errors (including ordering boiler flues that were three quarters of an inch too short). The locomotive was sold partially disassembled in 1994 to Wisconsin Railway Preservation Trust (WRPT), another organization whose goal was to return the locomotive to operations. WRPT raised $250,000 for the locomotive's restoration. It was originally hoped that the locomotive could be used for excursion trips on the weekend of October 5, 1996, but boiler tests showed the engine to not be ready in time.


No. 1003's first run after restoration under its own power occurred on October 27, 1996, when it steamed up the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway's Proctor Hill. It performed a few more test runs before its first public excursion in 1997. In 1998 it ran the "triple-header" excursion with Northern Pacific 328 and Soo Line 2719.


The locomotive made its final journey under its FRA-mandated 15-year boiler certificate on November 13, 2010. But shortly afterwards, the operators raised funds to have the engine overhauled and certified for another 15 years of operation. No. 1003 returned to service in September 2012, but flue problems delayed its first excursion run until November 2014.


Norfolk & Western 2156 is a four-cylinder compound articulated class "Y6a" "Mallet" type steam locomotive with a 2-8-8-2 (Whyte notation) wheel arrangement. The Norfolk & Western Railway built it in 1942 at its Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia as a member of the N&W's Y6a class. It is the strongest-pulling extant steam locomotive in the world, although it is not operational. It was retired from regular rail service in July 1959 and is now owned by the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri.


In 2014, the museum leased it for five years to the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia. It was towed from St. Louis to Roanoke on May 10, 2015 and towed back to St. Louis on June 10, 2020.


Norfolk & Western 2156 is the sole survivor of the railroad's Y5, Y6, Y6a and Y6b classes (in final form referred to as the "Improved Y5/Y6 class"). These locomotives developed 152,206 lbs of tractive effort when built, with later modifications bringing them closer to 170,000 lbs. By comparison, the Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives developed of tractive effort. The only successful steam locomotives that developed somewhat more tractive effort, the Virginian AE class 2-10-10-2s, pulled trains at about 8 mph (13 km/h), while the N&W Y6's regularly pulled trains 50 mph (80 km/h), and some anecdotal evidence exists that they pulled trains up to 63 mph (101 km/h).


N&W 2156 is also one of the Y6a's that received a new firebox with an extended combustion chamber of the type used on the Y6b class, which increased drawbar horsepower from 4400 hp (3.3 MW) at 20 mph (32 km/h) to 5600 hp (4.2 MW) at 25 mph (40 km/h).


Steam versus diesel tests, upgrades, and controversies.


Coal traffic was N&W's largest source of revenue, and it had arguably the most modern and efficient steam locomotives of any major U.S. railroad. Accordingly, N&W resisted conversion from coal-burning steam locomotives to oil-burning diesels longer than most. In 1952, N&W tested its A-class and Y6b-class locomotives against a four-unit Electro-Motive Division (at that time, of General Motors) F7 diesel set. The tests indicated that fuel costs and similar items were roughly the same, and the test was considered a tie. However, diesels eventually won out for lower maintenance and other operational costs.


Retrospective analyses of these tests have led to suggestions that diesel locomotive builder EMD and N&W cheated in the competition by using locomotives with secret modifications unsuited for daily work. However, the greater weight of evidence and analysis indicates that N&W did not cheat on these tests, and that the only improvements were the ones N&W publicized and later incorporated into many locomotives. Also, the major participants in this debate all appear to agree that N&W did ultimately modify most of its Y5, Y6, Y6a, and Y6b locomotives (including N&W 2156) with a new "intercepting/reducing valve" and ballast on the front engine, which increased their tractive effort.


Norfolk & Western used 2156 and the other Y6-class locomotives primarily for slower, heavy freight trains in the more mountainous districts in the Pocahontas, Radford and Shenandoah Divisions. They mostly hauled manifest freight and coal trains.


When diesel locomotives took over the mainline steam operations, the Y6-type locomotives spent their last two years mostly on mine and other coal-field runs.


In July 1959, N&W donated 2156 to the St. Louis Museum of Transportation.


The museum cosmetically restored the locomotive in 1985.


In 2014, the museum agreed to lease the locomotive to Norfolk Southern and the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia, in return for an EMD FT B unit. On May 9–12, 2015, the locomotive was towed to its temporary home.


On May 31, 2015, 2156 was reunited with N&W Class A No. 1218 and the recently restored Class J No. 611 as N&W's "The Big Three".


On June 10, 2020, 2156 left the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, VA to go back to the St. Louis Museum of Transportation. It arrived back at the St. Louis Museum of Transportation on June 15, 2020.


SP 4460 was built in July 1943 and was used during World War II. The engine was the first GS-6 ever manufactured and is famous for pulling the last steam-powered passenger train and being the last operational steam locomotive on the Southern Pacific Railroad in October 1958. That final run was from Sacramento, California to Sparks, Nevada, and return, with no diesel assistance except for when 4460 developed a hot bearing. A local Boy Scout Bugler from the Bay Area Council, played taps for the funeral of the 4460, staged by the Southern Pacific Railroad.


Following the final excursion, SP 4460 was donated to the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 16, 1959, where the engine has since sat along with many other historic steam and diesel locomotives from around the country. Besides having the nicknames "Black Daylight" and "War Baby", it is also known as the "Forgotten Daylight" as it has not seen the fame sister locomotive SP 4449 has when that engine was restored to operating condition. A full restoration to the operation of 4460 is unlikely to happen in the near future.


California Western Railroad No. 45 is an operating logging "Mikado" type steam locomotive, located at the California Western Railroad, a.k.a. the world-famous Skunk Train, in Fort Bragg, California. The locomotive was built in 1924, by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Owen-Oregon Lumber Company, (Brownlee-Olds Lumber Co., later the Medford Corporation). The Medford Corporation sold No. 45 to the California Western Railroad in 1965. The Mendocino Railway, a subsidiary of Sierra Northern, purchased the railroad in 2003 after the California Western filed for bankruptcy.


Between 1965 and 1980, No. 45, along with stablemate No. 46, (a Mallet), pulled the railroad's Fort Bragg - Willits summer steam excursion train, the "Super Skunk". The California Western discontinued steam service in 1981. In 1984, No. 46 was donated to the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum, as a result of high maintenance costs, and the opinion that the locomotive was too light on its feet. (No. 46 was a saddle-tank locomotive, before California Western added a tender and removed the aforementioned tank.)


In 1983, after two-year operational hiatus, the locomotive briefly returned to service, and was renumbered No. 44 for a role in "Racing with the Moon". The locomotive retained this number for several months.


In 2001, the locomotive was removed from service for an overhaul. The locomotive returned to service in May 2004, and currently operates regular "Skunk Train" service to Northspur Wednesday through Saturday, May through October. No. 45 began to show its age, and, as a result, the Sierra Railroad discontinued the "Super Skunk" service to Willits. No. 45 occasionally travels to Willits for special events, although a diesel helper is required for additional power and dynamic braking. In fact, there are currently no trains that traverse the entire route; passengers must transfer at Northspur.


Black River and Western Railroad (Great Western) No. 60 is a 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive built in September 1937 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady, New York. It currently operates on the Black River and Western Railroad (BR&W) in Ringoes, New Jersey


Locomotive No. 60 originally operated on the Great Western Railroad (GW) in Colorado where it pulled sugar beet and molasses trains. During World War II, a smokebox extension was added to allow the use of poor quality coal because of war-time restrictions. In 1963, No. 60 was purchased by the newly formed short line Black River and Western Railroad for tourist excursion service. It pulled the first train out of Flemington in May of 1965.


During its tenure running on the Black River & Western, 60 has undergone several cosmetic changes through the years. The current paint scheme resembles a mid-sized freight locomotive, with a graphite smokebox and black drivers.


While 60 has called the Black River & Western home since 1963, it has ventured off the railroad several times. In 1967, the locomotive ran excursions on the Long Island Railroad out of Jamaica, NY. It is rumored that she reached a speed of 55MPH with a 14-car long train during these trips. 60 also visited the Whippany Railway Museum in 1994 for a railroad festival along side NYSW 142.


The locomotive was used as the primary motive power for the railroad when in service. The locomotive was taken out of service in November of 2000 for a mandatory 1472 inspection which took almost 12 years to complete. The locomotive returned to service in August of 2012.


Pennsylvania Railroad No. 7002 is a class "E7s" 4-4-2 "Atlantic" type steam locomotive built for the Pennsylvania Railroad by their own Altoona Works in August 1902. Today, it is now on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Originally No. 8063, the PRR renumbered it to No. 7002 after the original, claimed to be a land-speed-record-setter, was scrapped. It is the only survivor of its class and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.


The E7s-class was created by replacing the slide valves above the cylinders on the E2a, E2b and E2c-classes with piston valves. Unlike the E2, the E2a, b, c and subsequent E7s class used Belpaire firebox instead of a "radial stay" firebox.


The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway No. 2716 is a class "K-4" 2-8-4 "Kanawha" (Berkshire) type steam locomotive built in 1943 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O). While most railroads referred to these 2-8-4 type locomotives as "Berkshires", the C&O referred to them as "Kanawhas" after the Kanawha River which flows through West Virginia. Used as a dual service locomotive, No. 2716 and its classmates served the C&O in a variety of duties until being retired from revenue service in 1957.


Donated to the Kentucky Railway Museum of New Haven, Kentucky in 1959, No. 2716 has been restored to operation in excursion service twice since its retirement from the C&O, first in 1981 for the Southern Railway's steam program until 1982, and again in 1996 for a few brief excursions for the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society (FWRHS) in New Haven, Indiana. Today, the locomotive is undergoing an extensive rebuild to operating condition for a third excursion career, under lease by the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation. The rebuild is currently estimated to be completed sometime around 2021.


No. 2716 was the seventeenth member of ninety class "K-4" "Kanawhas" built for the C&O by both the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and the Lima Locomotive Works (LLW) between 1943 and 1947. These locomotives were used for heavy freight trains, as well as fast passenger trains. After only thirteen years in revenue service, the C&O retired No. 2716 in 1957 in light of dieselization. With the exception of thirteen, including No. 2716, the C&O withdrawn most of their "Kanawhas" in 1961.


In May 1959, the locomotive was donated to the Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven, Kentucky, where it sat on display. Twenty years later, the Clinchfield Railroad leased No. 2716 for their steam program. However, as the locomotive was taken apart for restoration, the Clinchfield steam program was cancelled due to its parent company, the Seaboard Coast Line Industries oust the Clinchfield Railroad General Manager Thomas D. Moore Jr. Moore was fired for participating in a scandal of misappropriated money, the result of returning the disassembled No. 2716 to the Kentucky Railway Museum.


Luckily in 1980, No. 2716 was leased by the Southern Railway to pull the longer and heavier passenger trains for their popular steam excursion program. Southern brought the locomotive to their Irondale, Alabama steam shops, where some modifications were made to No. 2716 by


Purdie's general idea was to make the locomotive appear if the Southern would have purchased a 2-8-4 type from new; No. 2716 was painted black with gold pinstriping as well as its headlight moved from its pilot to the center of its smokebox door, decorated with brass flag holders, and General Counsel Jim Bistline's brass eagle. In addition, No. 2716 had its bell swinging from the top of its smokebox, and carried the round "SR" emblems on its air pump shields.


After operating on a test run on October 10 and 11, 1981, No. 2716 pulled its first Southern Railway excursions on October 17 and 18, running a round-trip from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Rockwood, Tennessee. In November, No. 2716 pulled excursion trains in Alabama and Georgia. In April 1982, the locomotive resumed its excursion duties, pulling trains through North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. But three months later, a very inexperienced fireman damaged the locomotive's firebox, resulting No. 2716 to be taken out of excursion service for repairs and Nickel Plate Road No. 765, another 2-8-4, based in Indiana, was called into service as a replacement.


Following the merger between the Southern Railway and the Norfolk and Western to form the new Norfolk Southern Railway, No. 2716 was retired in favor of N&W No. 611 in 1982, along with N&W No. 1218 later on in 1987, serving as the main motive power for the steam program. The former was put into storage at the Irondale Steam Shop in 1985, after attempts to weld cracks in the firebox failed.


After Norfolk Southern ended their steam program in late 1994, the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society (FWRHS), same owner as NKP No. 765, moved No. 2716 to their facilities a year later. In July 1996, the FWRHS restored it to its original C&O appearance, repaired its firebox, and operated it on brief push-pull excursions through Logansport, Indiana before the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) inspectors ordered to give either No. 2716 new flues, or No. 765 a complete overhaul; the latter was the end result. The FWRHS decided to return the former back to its display site at the Kentucky Railway Museum in 2001.


On February 7, 2016, the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation (KSHC) was formed and announced that it had signed a long-term lease with the Kentucky Railway Museum to restore and operate No. 2716.


By May 2018, the KSHC partnered with the CSX Transportation to move the locomotive to a former Louisville and Nashville rail yard in Ravenna, Kentucky to build a new rail-based tourist and community development center.


In November 2018, the KSHC acquired three items of rolling stock from the Indiana Transportation Museum (ITM) such as an auxiliary tender No. 251958, which was originally used behind Norfolk & Western 611 in the 1980s, and went to ITM in 1988 for use behind Nickel Plate Road 587. In addition, the KSHC purchased a railway post office car No. 6565 and baggage car No. 9036, which were both originally owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad.


In early 2019, the Big Rivers Electric Corporation in Henderson, Kentucky salvaged a pair of Buckeye three-axle, roller bearing trucks from a flatcar, which was abandoned at their facility property in Hawesville, Kentucky; and donated them to the KSHC to replace the old friction bearing trucks underneath No. 2716's tender.


From July 26th to 28th, 2019, No. 2716 was moved out of the Kentucky Railway Museum for the first time in 18 years and went to Ravenna, Kentucky for restoration along with the help of CSX Transportation and R.J. Corman Railroad Group. The locomotive was officially moved into the Ravenna workshop on July 31st and the restoration work on No. 2716 started shortly after. The restoration of 2716 is currently expected to be completed in 2021 if all work goes as planned.


By 2008, almost all the Ex-LS&I 2-8-0s rostered by the GCRY were sold off. No. 19 was sold to the city of Frisco, Texas, where it resides today in Frisco livery. In 2007, the GCRY purchased Ex-Spokane Portland and Seattle 2-8-2 No. 539 from Brian Fleming with the hopes of refurbishing it to operation, and in exchange, Nos 18 and 20 were transferred to the Mount Hood Railroad in Oregon. Then, they ended up at the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad in Alamosa, Colorado, where No. 18 is put up for sale under the Ozark Mountain Railcar Equipment. No. 20 was sold to the City of Allen, Texas, in October 2020, where it also stays put with Frisco lettering.


The 4960 received multiple modifications from as early her revenue career for the CB&Q in the late 1930s to as recent as her excursion career for the GCRY in the late 2000s.


While No. 4960 was sold to the Circus World Museum, Nos 4963 and 5632 were sold to steam locomotive caretaker, Richard Jensen, who moved them to the Chicago and Western Indiana roundhouse for storage. In 1969, both locomotives were moved to a Chicago scrapyard, where No. 5632 was scrapped, after derailing on a switch. After Richard Jensen passed away in 1991, No. 4963, which was still in dead storage at a Chicago scrapyard, was acquired by the Illinois Railway Museum, who moved it to their property in Union, Illinois for static display. The 4963 still resides there today.


Chicago Burlington and Quincy 4978 was retired from revenue service in 1960 and sat idle in Galesburg for five years, until it was donated to the South County Historical Society to be placed on static display at Ottawa, Illinois. In 1997, it was relocated to Mendota Amtrak station in front of an Ex-CB&Q caboose No. 14451 in Mendota, Illinois, where it still remains on static display.


Chicago Burlington and Quincy 4994 is the youngest survivor of the CB&Q 2-8-2s. It was retired in 1960 and sat idle, until 1964. That year, it was acquired by the Texas Tech University, who put it on display on their property in Lubbock, Texas. Since then, it has been renumbered 401, in order to represent the CB&Q’s E-4 locomotives that operated on the Fort Worth and Denver Railway.


Southern Railway 154 is a 2-8-0 G class steam locomotive built in 1890 by Schenectady Locomotive Works for Southern Railway.


When Knoxville's 1982 World's Fair was being planned, restoration of the locomotive for local excursions was seriously considered. However, Southern Railway inspectors deemed the task too daunting and, as a result, unworthy of the expense. In 1989, the locomotive was given to the Old Smoky Railway Museum which donated the locomotive to the Gulf & Ohio Railway in August 2008. The City of Knoxville and Old Smoky Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society made plans to restore 154 and it became the oldest operating Southern Railway steam locomotive. On July 3, 2010, #154 made its debut at the Three Rivers Rambler and pulled its first passenger train on the Gulf & Ohio Railways.


However, in August 2013, #154's bell had been stolen by a thief who had climbed over the fence and cradled to the Gulf & Ohio Railway yard where the locomotive was parked last night. On January 20, 2015, #154's bell was finally recovered when the Knox County Sheriff's Office deputies investigate a house on Kimberlin Heights Road, recovering everything from stolen cars to lawn equipment.


Baldwin Locomotive Works 26 is an 0-6-0 "Switcher" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in March 1929 as one of several "stock" switchers equipped with a slope-backed tender. It is currently a part of the operating fleet at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania for use on excursion trains.


During the first 19 years of its existence, the 26 worked at the Baldwin Locomotive Works plant in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Painted in Baldwin's standard olive green with aluminum trim and lettering livery, the 26 labored hauling raw materials and completed locomotives around the plant with at least two other identical sister locomotives (numbers 21 and 24). Other locomotives of this design were built for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, Lehigh and New England Railroad, and General Steel Castings.


Following the end of World War II, the 26 was purchased by the Jackson Iron and Steel Company of Jackson, Ohio, becoming their number 3 in 1948. While working at JI&S, the locomotive's career is relatively unknown, but the locomotive's career is known to have lasted unusually late for a steam locomotive in revenue service, before being retired in the 1970s. In 1979, the locomotive was purchased by Jerry Jacobson who saved the locomotive from scrap with only hours to spare; the scrapper hired to cut up the locomotive already had his gear in the enginehouse in preparation to dismantle the locomotive.


In 1983, Jacobson had the locomotive moved from Jackson, first to Grand Rapids, Ohio, then to the Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum in Bellevue, Ohio where it was painted as Nickel Plate Road 17. Three years later in 1986, Jacobson traded the switcher with the Steamtown Foundation of Scranton, Pennsylvania for their ex Canadian National 4-6-0 No. 1551. Later that same year, Steamtown was taken over by the National Park Service becoming Steamtown National Historic Site. The locomotive arrived at Scranton in January 1990 and was renumbered back to Baldwin Locomotive Works 26.


After arriving at Steamtown, the 26 erroneously painted black with white lettering albeit in the same style as her original Baldwin Locomotive Works livery. Prior to the official opening of Steamtown National Historic Site, the 26 frequently ferried passengers between the temporary visitors center and the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad roundhouse and turntable complex then undergoing renovations to become the permanent visitors center, museum, and locomotive storage and servicing facility for the park. Following the completion of the museum complex in June 1995, 26 ceremonially "cut" a ribbon laid across one of the yard tracks during the official opening ceremony.


The Great Northern H-5 was a class of 25 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotives that were originally built as E-14 4-6-0 "Ten Wheelers" by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1909 and operated by the Great Northern Railway until the mid 1950s.


The locomotives hauled passenger trains on the Great Northern mainline, such as the "Empire Builder" and the "Oriental Limited".


Today, only one H-5 survives, No. 1355. It was retired in July 1955 and moved to the Milwaukee Road shops in Sioux City, Iowa where it still resides today.


Only one H-5 has been preserved, No. 1355. It was retired in July 1955 and put on display at the Milwaukee Road shops in Sioux City, Iowa, where it still resides today. It was also added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 as Great Northern Railway Steam Locomotive No. 1355 and Tender 1451. Furthermore, it is the sole surviving Great Northern "Pacific" type steam locomotive.


Great Northern 2507 is a 4-8-2 "Mountain" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in October 1923 for the Great Northern Railway (GN) as a member of the P-2 class.


Built for passenger service, the locomotive was assigned to pull the Great Northern's mainline passenger trains such as the "Empire Builder" and "Oriental Limited" until being retired in December 1957 and sold the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway. The locomotive is now on display at the Wishram depot in Wishram, Washington.


With the intention of passenger service, 2507 was used to pull the "Empire Builder" and "Oriental Limited" and has also pulled fast mail trains and other passenger trains, but as the main passenger trains were dieselized by 1949, it was reassigned to secondary passenger trains and freight service.


No. 2507, while pulling train #27, the Fast Mail, hit a landslide near Picnic Point, south of Mukilteo, Washington in the pre-dawn hours of February 18, 1948. The engineer and fireman survived, but were both injured when the slide rolled the engine, tender and a baggage car off the track and went over the rock sea wall into Puget Sound. The locomotive was eventually repaired and returned to service.


2507 was retired in December 1957 and sold to the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway, as it promised a steam locomotive to the county of Klickitat, Washington steamer to display at Maryhill State Park, overlooking the Columbia River eight miles east of the SP&S division point of Wishram. It was then moved to Pasco, Washington for restoration, but it didn't go through and on July 7, 2003, it was pulled by BNSF to its current home in Wishram, Washington and is displayed near the station.


Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) 2355 is one of 10 heavy 4-6-0 'Ten Wheel' steam locomotives built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1912, designated the T-31 class. 2355 was retired from service in 1957 and was converted to a static display at Pioneer Park in Mesa, Arizona.


The locomotive was fenced off for safety concerns in the 1990s. Since 2008, efforts have been underway to relocate 2355 within Pioneer Park and perform cosmetic restoration. Restoring the locomotive to a running state from its current condition is deemed to be cost-prohibitive.


Southern Pacific 2355 has one surviving sibling. Southern Pacific 2353 is on static display in Campo, California's Pacific Southwest Railway Museum.


Southern Pacific 2355 still sits where it was left in Pioneer Park. It was not relocated. The locomotive and tender have undergone a complete cosmetic restoration. Asbestos material and lead-based paint have been removed. Its paint was stripped completely using an environmentally-friendly blasting material. Polyurethane paint was applied and the train's electronics have been updated. Informational, interactive signage has been installed along with a completely new lighting arrangement. Cab control restorations continue. There also plans to mount plaques listing all the donors and persons helping with the train's restoration.


Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) 2353 is one of 10 heavy 4-6-0 'Ten Wheel' steam locomotives built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in August 1912, designated the T-31 class. It was delivered to Southern Pacific in October and the boiler was changed in 1917. In 1927, 2353 was leased to the San Diego & Arizona line, and later returned to Southern Pacific in 1939, serving in the San Francisco Bay Area. 2353 was retired from service on and displayed for the next 29 years at the California Mid-Winter Fairgrounds in Imperial, California.


In 1984, the Mid-Winter Fair's operator donated 2353 to the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum, with physical transfer of the locomotive occurring in summer 1986. Over the next ten years, volunteers restored 2353 to working order, with its first public appearance under steam happening on . 2353 was withdrawn from service again in 2001, with extensive boiler repairs required before it can run again. Since then 2353 has been on static display.


Southern Pacific 2353 has at least one surviving sibling. Southern Pacific 2355 has been on static display in Mesa, Arizona's Pioneer Park since 1958. Efforts to cosmetically restore 2355 have been underway since at least 2008.


The 2353 was used for a brief action scene in the 2001 movie "Pearl Harbor". The filming occurred on its last day of operation. The locomotive was also seen when the Irish girl group B*Witched filmed the music video of their hit single "Jesse Hold On" in 1999. And it can also be seen passing Barbara Stanwyck at the beginning of the film "Clash By Night" (1953).


The Norfolk and Western A was a class of 43 2-6-6-4 steam locomotives built by the railroad's own Roanoke Shops between 1936 and 1950 and operated until the late 1950s. The locomotives hauled fast and heavy freight trains for the railroad and only one has been preserved, No. 1218.


The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway ATSF 5011 Class locomotive, was the last class of steam locomotives to be purchased by AT&SF. The 5011 Class was introduced by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1944.


A total of 25 of these large engines were built. They were nicknamed "War Babies" by the AT&SF from being built and used during World War II.


The AT&SF ran the 25 locomotives from the mid-1940s to the mid-late 1950s. Despite being mainly freight haulers, their driving wheels were unusually tall for a "Texas" type, which led to them also being successful in passenger service.


Numbers 5011 to 5035, when built, were the largest and most powerful class of 2-10-4 "Texas"-type locomotives ever built.


The engines had a maximum output of , at a top speed of .


Four of the ATSF 5011 class locomotives were saved by the AT&SF for museums. The other 21 were scrapped.


Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) number 5021 is an SP-2 class 4-10-2 steam locomotive built in 1926 by ALCO at their Schenectady, New York, shops. It is the only member of this class of SP locomotives to be preserved, and it is one of only five 3-cylinder locomotives preserved in North America.


It was designed to haul mixed freight and passenger trains over the Sierra Nevada range between northern California and Nevada. Later in its career, 5021 was shifted to service in Oregon, until its retirement in 1955. SP donated 5021 to the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society on March 8, 1956. It was restored to operating condition in 1961 and ran until 1963 in the Pomona Fairplex. In the early 1970's, a Possible excursion career for the 5021 was being arranged by the Santa Fe, but the plans were scrapped. 5021 sat in San Bernardino till 1976 when it was moved back to the museum when Southern Pacific 4449 was on display with the American Freedom Train in the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds.


5021 is currently on static display at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona, California.


The engine itself made a cameo appearance in the 1994 Kidsongs Video: "Boppin' with the Biggles", and also played the ghost train in the 1991 film "Sometimes They Come Back".


No. 30 has received multiple modifications from as early as its revenue career in the early 1920s to as late as its excursion career in the late 2010s.


Strasburg Rail Road (Great Western) No. 90 is a 2-10-0 "Decapod" type steam locomotive owned and operated by the Strasburg Rail Road outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania. Built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1924, No. 90 originally pulled sugar beet trains for the Great Western Railway of Colorado. In 1967, No. 90 was sold to the Strasburg Rail Road where it now resides and operates today for use on excursion trains. Today, No. 90 is one of only two operational Decapod type steam locomotives in America, the other being Frisco No. 1630 at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.


By the late 1950s, the engine was occasionally used in excursion service on the Great Western. On one such excursion in 1963, Strasburg Rail Road's Chief Mechanical Officer, Huber Leath, met the Great Western's superintendent, a man who grew up in the vicinity of the Strasburg Rail Road and struck a deal in which the Great Western would contact the Strasburg Rail Road as soon as the engine was available for purchase. The Strasburg Rail Road purchased No. 90 on April 5, 1967 for a price of $23,000.00(~$175,000 in 2019) and the locomotive arrived on Strasburg's property a month later on May 5th.


As it was on the Great Western, the engine is also the most powerful of the four steam locomotives in operation at the Strasburg Rail Road in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, rated for 1,211 tons on the line. She is currently one of the only two operating Decapods in the United States, the other one is former Frisco No. 1630, which operates at the Illinois Railway Museum.


90 has undergone a number of modifications by the Strasburg in order to better suit their needs.


Other changes made include the addition of radio and the removal of a sheet metal cover on the pilot.


McCloud Railway No. 25 is a 2-6-2 "Prairie" type steam locomotive that worked on the McCloud River Railroad. It was purchased new from the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1925. Shortly after retirement, on July 3, 1955, the 25 ceremoniously opened the Burney Branch by bursting through a paper banner with a special excursion train. In 1962, No. 25 was restored for excursion service and served in that capacity until passenger service was once again terminated in 1975. It has since been used in the films Bound For Glory, Stand By Me and Changeling and is presently in Oregon, providing excursion service on the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad.


The 25 was one of four Prairies from ALCO, numbered 22–25, which were purchased for a total cost of $90,000. The 25 was the largest and last steam locomotive purchased by the McCloud River Railroad. At the time, the McCloud was a logging railway and the 25 was used in this function until June 1955, when it was replaced by GE 70-ton switcher No. 1.


It wasn't long, however, before the locomotive was brought out again on July 3, 1955 to open the Burney Branch by breaking a paper banner with a special excursion train. After this, however, the locomotive was truly retired, but it remained on the property—the only steam locomotive to do so.


In the following years, there were many requests for the 25 to be restored for excursion service. This was finally done in 1962. The locomotive ran special excursions, usually for railfan organizations. A contractor called the Mt. Shasta Alpine Scenic Railway ran regular excursions in the summer of 1964, and another contractor called the Shasta Huffen-Puff ran the service between 1967 and 1971, when equipment prices, insurance prices, and falling interest.


This era of excursions ended in 1975, when the locomotive travelled to the Tidewater Southern Railway to be used in "Bound for Glory". After that, it was retired for the second time.


The McCloud River Railroad came under new ownership in 1977, and the new owners ordered President Bill Herndon to scrap the 25, but he resisted.


Beginning in late spring of 1982, the 25 was put on long-term lease to the Great Western Railroad Museum, which ran it on the McCloud in several annual excursions. This third career also ended with a performance in a movie: "Stand by Me", filmed in 1986. Right after this, the Great Western Railroad Museum sued the McCloud River Railroad for Breach of Contract, and in the settlement, obtained possession of the locomotive. They did not do anything with it, however, keeping it in storage on the McCloud property.


The renewed McCloud Railway re-obtained the 25 in January 1996 and began restoration efforts. The locomotive's fourth career began on Labor Day in 1997. No. 25 again returned to occasional excursion service, but in February 2001, McCloud Railway 18 reentered service, and after a doubleheader excursion, the 18 replaced the 25. The 25 was stored again, and it was restored once again between the summer of 2007 and the summer of 2008. It made two excursions for railfan groups on November 1 and 2, but because most of the McCloud Railway is being abandoned, the locomotive ran on its homerails for the last time, and was put up for sale.


In late March, 2011, 25 was moved from McCloud, California to Tillamook, Oregon after it was purchased by the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad. The locomotive is stored in the World War II-era blimp hangar and was steamed up on May 20 with passenger excursions planned to begin in the summer. It was moved to the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad shop in Garibaldi, Oregon in July 2011 and is still in service as of 2020.


Southern Railway 1643 is a steam locomotive built in 1905 by the Pittsburgh Works of the American Locomotive Company for the Southern Railway. It is a 0-6-0 Switch engine of Southern's A-7 class.


In 1952, the engine was sold to the Morehead and North Fork Railroad in Morehead, Kentucky. Renumbered 12, the locomotive operated on the M&NF until the road dieselized on April 1, 1963. After the engine was retired, it remained stored in one of the road's engine sheds. In 2011, the engine was purchased by Jerry Jacobson, and moved to his Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugarcreek, Ohio. Here, the engine was restored to operating condition, and operated for the first time on 16 July, 2018.


Grand Trunk Western No. 4070 is a class "S-3-a" 2-8-2 type USRA Light Mikado steam locomotive originally built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in December 1918 for the Grand Trunk as No. 474, later re-numbered by Grand Trunk Western Railroad, after the GT was absorbed into Canadian National as GTW No. 3734. In the late 1950's the locomotive was given a larger tender, from an S-3-c, and re-numbered 4070. The locomotive has pulled passenger excursions in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania over the years. It also made a special "guest appearance" in the movie "The Natural", starring Robert Redford. That movie portion was filmed on the NY&LE railroad, in South Dayton, NY.


In 2011 the process started of restoring the locomotive to operational condition at the Midwest Railway Preservation Society in Cleveland, Ohio. The locomotive boiler and tender have both been tested using ultrasound. The locomotive must have its drypipe, and front and rear tube sheets replaced. In addition, the smokebox, firebox, frame, running gear, driving boxes, tender and many assorted parts all need major work before 4070 can be operational. The estimated cost of 4070's restoration is $1,290,000. When the money is funded, the restoration time would be set at around two years or more.


"Evening Before The Diesel" by Charles R. Foss


Elk River Coal and Lumber Company No. 10


Elk River Coal and Lumber No. 10 is a , Mikado type steam locomotive built by American Locomotive Company in 1924 and used by its owners to haul mine waste from Rich Run Mine in Widen, West Virginia. It was retired in 1959 and moved to its present location at Huntington, West Virginia, in 1977.


It was built for the Toledo Angola and Western as their No. 100 in 1924. It was purchased sometime thereafter by Elk River Coal and Lumber Company.


It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Elk River Coal and Lumber Company #10 Steam Locomotive in 2006.


In 1924, the LS&I received some additional 2-8-0s, including some more of 11's sister engines, after purchasing the Munising, Marquette and Southeastern Railway, so a renumbering system and reclassification system were in order, and 9–13 were reclassified as SC-4s and renumbered 18–25. No. 11 was renumbered 18, taking its new road number from an SC-1 class.


The following year, the railroad sold twelve of their 2-8-0s, as well as some of their passenger cars, to the Marquette and Huron Mountain Tourist Railroad. This was intended to give the old consolidations another chance on life. However, there are no known records of the 18 pulling any excursion trains for the M&HM. Only some of its sister engines, Nos 19, 22, 23, and 24, were known to pull tourist trains there between Marquette and Big Bay. Instead, the 18 sat with the rest of its sisters in the form of a 'scrapline', facing an uncertain future. The M&HM ran its last train and shut down in 1984, when the line's owner passed away.


In 1985, No. 18 was among a few of the SC 2-8-0s that were sold to the Ishpeming Steel Company. Within just a few months, it was sold several times; like the North American Railroad dealership, and the Harvey Corporation. It was finally sold by the end of 1985 to the Lake States Steam Association, who moved it to the Lumberjack Steam Train and Camp 5 Museum in Laona, Wisconsin. They supposedly did some boiler work on the locomotive, and yet, there are no known records of the locomotive operating for their tourist line.


In 1988, the Grand Canyon Railway, a former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway branch line lying between Williams, Arizona and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, was purchased by Max and Thelma Biegert, a couple from Phoenix. They purchased No. 18, as well as sister engines 19, 20, and 29 to operate on the line. Nos 19 and 20 were also being planned for operational restoration work for short-distance passenger service between the Williams depot and a four-mile branch linking from the GCRY's mainline and the nearby airport, but instead, they ended up receiving cosmetic restoration for static display.


No. 18 left Wisconsin and arrived in Williams on August 20, 1989, for restoration. During the process, No. 18 was given some modifications, including a centered headlight, a mounted bell, and a conversion to oil firing. On September 17, after twenty-eight days of restoration work, the little consolidation was restored to operating condition for the first time in twenty-seven years. That same day, the Grand Canyon line was re-inaugurated for public excursion service.


In April of the 1990, fellow LS&I sister engine, No. 29 was restored and both consolidations would operate for the new tourist railroad from Williams to the Grand Canyon Village and back. During the early years of GCR operations, steam trains would run year-round with at least one month dedicated to maintenance.


In February 1991, the 18 pulled a three-car special down the Santa Fe's Peavine line to Phoenix to take part in the "Union Station Days" to help promote rail awareness with the Arizona Rail Passenger Association. The engine stayed for three days before the event ended and then returned to Williams.


In 1993, sister engine No. 19 was sold to the MGM Grand Adventures Theme Park in Las Vegas, Nevada. The locomotive is now on display in Frisco, Texas to represent the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway's own fleet of 2-8-0s. In late 1989, the Grand Canyon Railway purchased ex-Chicago Burlington and Quincy 2-8-2 'Mikado' No. 4960. Rebuilding of this engine began in 1993 and ended in 1996, joining Nos. 18 and 29 as an operable stablemate and becoming the railway's flagship locomotive. In 1998, GCR began a six-year overhaul on No. 29, leaving the 18 and 4960 to manage the steam-hauled trains.


No. 18 participated in the National Railway Historical Society's 2002 convention in August along with No. 4960 and guest engine Santa Fe 3751. Highlights of the event included the three engines in a rare tripledheader and night photoshoots. Once the convention was over, the 3751 returned home, and the 18 and 4960 resumed regular service.


Throughout the early 2000s the Grand Canyon Railway passenger trains were becoming longer and exceeding the hauling capacity of No. 18. In January 2003, the 18 was removed from revenue service, and placed on static display in front of the Williams Depot. In 2007, the GCRY acquired Ex-Spokane Portland and Seattle 2-8-2 No. 539 from Brian Fleming with the hopes of restoring it to operation. In exchange, the Fleming received both the 18, and sister engine No. 20. The two consolidations were shipped on flatcars from Williams to Hood River, Oregon in June of that year. Shortly afterwards, the Grand Canyon Railway company was purchased by Xanterra Travel Collection at an undisclosed cost. Restoration of No. 539 never came to fruition.


In 2007, Fleming moved 18 and 20 to the Mount Hood Railroad, in Hood River, Oregon. On the tourist line, passengers get to have a good view Mount Hood. While the 20 was put on display still in GCRY livery, the Mount Hood Railroad 18 was once again back under steam, and ready to pull more tourist excursions between Hood River and Parkdale. Just one month after its return to steam, however, the 18's time on the MHRR was already cut short. The railroad ceased steam operations, because they, as many other American tourist railroads, just couldn't afford to keep steam locomotives operable or maintained.