Datasets:
HHazard
/
continuous-learning

Dataset card Data Studio Files
xet
Community
1
text
stringlengths
13
991
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.
On the RGSR, the little consolidation would find, yet, another steam powered running mate; Southern Pacific 1901-built 2-6-0 'Mogul' No. 1744, a locomotive that also returned to steam in 2007, but was taken out of service after only four months, as firebox repairs needed to be done. While in operation, the 18 did be part of some occasional late or morning photoshoots either alone, or with the railroad's fp7 and f40ph diesel units. The 18 even occasionally operated during the freezing weather, just like how it often did so on the GCRY. In September 2012, the 18 travelled westbound to Walsenburg for a night photo session alongside Union Pacific 4-8-4 “Northern” 844, which was in the course of pulling “UP 150” at the time.
No. 18 was the subject for Berkshire Productions' "Climbing to the Canyon", hauling passenger trains along a snow-covered Grand Canyon Railway around the New Year season of 1990. Footage from this VHS program was subsequently featured in the "I Love Toy Trains" series as well as the "Shining Time Station" Christmas Special, "Tis a Gift".
The Great Northern F-8 is a class of 125 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotives built by the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works, their corporate successor the American Locomotive Company, and Baldwin Locomotive Works between 1901 and 1907 and operated by the Great Northern Railway until the mid 1950s. They operated throughout the Great Northern pulling freight trains with some being rebuilt with larger cylinders and higher boiler pressure, giving them more tractive effort. Retirement of the F-8s started as early as 1932, but some would last and continue to pull freight until 1956, when the last F-8 was retired.
Berlin Mills Railway 7 is a steam locomotive at Steamtown National Historic Site. It was built in 1911 by the Vulcan Iron Works for the Berlin Mills Railway, an industrial line in Berlin, New Hampshire. Number 7 worked there as a switcher until November 1944, when it was sold to the Groveton Papers Company of Groveton, New Hampshire. In 1956, it was finally replaced by a diesel locomotive, ending 45 years of use. After a few years of idleness, though, the locomotive was leased to the Woodsville, Blackmount and Haverhill Steam Railroad, a new tourist railroad near Haverhill. Number 7 operated as the only locomotive for this company until it folded after 1963. It was ultimately donated to Steamtown by the Groveton Paper Company in 1969.
Denver and Rio Grande Western No. 168 is a class "T-12" “Ten Wheeler” type narrow-gauge steam railway locomotive. It is one of twelve similar locomotives built for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG) by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1883. It was built as a passenger locomotive, with drivers, the largest drivers used on any three foot gauge D&RGW locomotive. The large drivers made it suitable for relatively fast passenger service.
As is the case with many small, early locomotives, we know little of their operating history. In the case of 168, what we know comes entirely from photographs taken of it. The first shows it in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River in 1904. The second pair show it in Montrose, Colorado, west of Gunnison, at the head of a special train taking President William Howard Taft to the opening of the Gunnison Tunnel which, at the time, was the longest irrigation tunnel in the world. There are also photographs, taken by Otto Perry, showing it in Alamosa in 1923 and Salida in 1929. It was retired in 1938 after a service life of 55 years, later than most of its class.
The railroad gave it to the City of Colorado Springs on August 1, 1938. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Rio Grande Engine No. 168 in 1979. Although it sat in Antlers Park, unprotected from the elements, behind a low fence, for so many years, it appeared to be in immaculate cosmetic condition when removed for restoration to operating condition in early 2016.
The city has entered into an agreement with the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad (C&TSRR) to have the engine restored to working order. The locomotive is now located in Antonito, Colorado.
Restoration was completed in October 2019. The restoration project was headed up by Cumbres and Toltec Special Projects department and lead by Assistant General Manager Efstathios Papas. The project cost $508,000 and took 27 months to complete. The railroad intends to use this engine frequently and put it into normal service as much as possible.
In 1993, No. 14 was selected as the locomotive used to be recorded in the "Arrowhead" region for the 1994 "Walt Disney" film "Iron Will", which starred Mackenzie Astin and was directed by Charles Haid. It is a fictionalized account of a 1917 cross-country sled dog race sponsored by the Great Northern Railway. In some scenes, No. 14 would appear in its original livery, and in other scenes, including many of the racing scenes, it would masquerade as Great Northern No. 807 with a golden smoke stack and a red number plate. Although, the original GN 807 was a 4-8-0 "Mastodon", not a 2-8-2.
No. 14 is the only surviving locomotive ever owned by the D&NM, and it is the only surviving 2-8-2 that was ever owned by the LS&I. It was also the last steam locomotive to ever operate in regular service in the state of Michigan.
Canadian Pacific 2317 is a class "G-3c" 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built in June 1923 by the Montreal Locomotive Works for the Canadian Pacific Railway. As a member of the G-3 Class, the 2317 was in use in fast passenger service until being retired in 1959 after having its duties taken over by diesel locomotives. The locomotive was placed in storage until 1965 when it was purchased for display in the Steamtown, U.S.A. collection in Bellows Falls, Vermont. In 1978, the locomotive was restored to operating condition for the purpose of pulling excursion trains for Steamtown until it was taken out of service in 2010. Currently, the 2317 is stored awaiting a future overhaul.
2317 was built in 1923 for the Canadian Pacific Railway for fast express passenger trains. While little is known about its career on Canadian Pacific, it is known that it was stationed in Winnipeg, Manitoba for a good portion of its working life. Upon its retirement from active service in 1959, it was placed into storage. In 1965, seafood magnate and steam locomotive enthusiast F. Nelson Blount purchased the locomotive and moved it to Bellows Falls, Vermont with the rest of his Steamtown, U.S.A. collection.
In 1978, 2317 was restored to operating condition and joined Steamtown's operating fleet, painted in the Canadian Pacific gray-blue and Tuscan red livery (which it never wore in regular service). 2317 was moved with the rest of the Steamtown collection to Scranton, Pennsylvania, arriving on 31 January 1984. The 2317 was fired up four days later for the "Grand Entrance Ceremony" on February 4, 1984. 2317 was fired up once more on September 1, 1984 for the first Steamtown excursion in Scranton which ran on the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western mainline between Scranton and Elmhurst, Pennsylvania.
In 1986, 2317 was painted in the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's "Pocono Mountain Route" livery. It remained this way until after the National Park Service took over Steamtown in 1987 when it was repainted into the livery it wore in active service with Canadian Pacific.
2317 was present at the grand opening of Steamtown National Historic Site along with Baldwin Locomotive Works 26 and Canadian National 3254 and ran several excursions on the former Lackawanna main line. 2317 then settled down and would often pull Steamtown's excursions in tandem with 3254 until 2004 when problems with its trailing truck, dry pipe and tires were found. Between 2004 and 2007, 2317 only ran the "Scranton Limited" yard shuttle trains. New tires were installed in 2007, which allowed 2317 to pull a few of the longer excursions to East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania and the Delaware Water Gap.
After the end of the 2009 operating season, 2317 was used only sparingly as its flue-time was running short. 2317 last ran during Steamtown's 2010 Lackawanna Railfest. After which, 2317 was placed into storage in the Steamtown Roundhouse where it is viewable to the public. 2317 currently awaits Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) mandated repairs before it can operate again. According to Steamtown, they plan to restore 2317 once the restoration project on Boston and Maine 3713 was finished.