Hello everyone! It’s time for one more steam train video for 2019. One question I get a
lot is can I talk more about some of the different steam locomotives in my videos. Since this
is the last steam video of the year, I thought it would be neat to do something a little
different and go through all the locomotives I saw running this year and give you a brief
history of each one. I saw 17 different steam locomotives running in 2019, most of which
I had never seen operational before, so we have a lot to get to! Let’s dive right in!
The first steam locomotive I saw in 2019 was the Pere Marquette Railway number 1225. This
is a big, 2-8-4 “Berkshire” type locomotive that ran all over the upper midwest from the
time it was built by the Lima Locomotive Works in 1941 until it was retired just 10 years
later in 1951. 1225 was donated to Michigan State University in 1955 and placed on display.
It was restored to operating condition in 1985 and since then, has had a successful
second career pulling mainline excursions. Today, it is stored and operated out of Owosso,
Michigan by the Steam Railroading institute. An interesting fact about the 1225 is that
it was actually the basis for the train seen in the book “The Polar Express” by Chris
Val Allsburg and later, in the CGI movie of the same title.
After visiting the 1225 in Owosso, I traveled to Flint Michigan to see two steam locomotives
operating on a short tourist line known as the Huckleberry Railroad. The first locomotive,
Denver and Rio Grand number 464, was built in 1903 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works as
a 2-8-2 wheel arrangement, K-27 class “Mikado” locomotive. It pulled freight and passenger
trains over the rails of the Rio Grande Narrow Gauge system, finishing off in the early 1960s
as the Durango, Colorado yard switcher. It was retired and sold to Knott’s Berry Farm
Theme Park in Buena Park, California where it was supposed to pull trains around the
park - that is until it was discovered that the locomotive did not like to turn too well
around the tight curves on the Knott’s Berry Farm track. It was sold to the Huckleberry
Railroad in 1981 and returned to operation in 1989.
The other locomotive at the Huckleberry Railroad is Alaska Railroad number 152. This is a 4-6-0
type narrow gauge locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1920. The locomotive
was used on a number of different railroads in Alaska before being retired following World
War 2 and moved to Washington State for sale. 152 eventually ended up at the Huckleberry
Railroad in 1974 and was restored to operation two years later.
Next, I visited the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad in Garibaldi, Oregon where I saw three different
logging locomotives. Polson Logging Company number 2 was built in 1912 by the Baldwin
Locomotive Works with a 2-8-2 wheel arrangement. Originally, it operated for Saginaw Timber
in Washington state, pulling lumber trains. It would go on to serve several different
logging railroads in the Pacific Northwest. In 1980, it was donated to the Illinois Railroad
Museum and then sold into private ownership in 1982. Today, this locomotive is stored
at the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad and used for special events.
McCloud Railway number 25 spent most of its life in the shadows of Mount Shasta in Northern
California, operating on first the McCloud River Railroad and later, the McCloud Railroad.
Built by the American Locomotive Company in 1925 as a 2-6-2 Prairie type, it ran primarily
in freight service until it was retired in 1955. In 1962, it was brought back to life
for a long tourist and movie career, including a brief appearance in the film Stand By Me.
When the McCloud Railroad shut its doors for good in 2008, the 25 was sold to the Oregon
Coast Scenic Railroad for tourist excursion service.
The third and final locomotive I saw at the Oregon Coast Scenic was the Columbia River
Belt Line number 7, nicknamed the “Skookum”. The "Skookum" is a very unique 2-4-4-2 type
articulated locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1909, designed to traverse
the tight curves of many logging railroads. It spent most of its working career in the
Pacific Northwest pulling log trains for two different railroads. In 1955, the locomotive
was involved in a serious derailment, leading to its retirement. A year later, the Skookum
was dragged out of the forest by a railroad enthusiast hoping to restore it to operation.
Skookum changed ownership several times before finally arriving at the Oregon Coast Scenic
in 2005 and undergoing a lengthy restoration that lasted until late 2018. It is now located
in California under private ownership.
Next, I was off to Durango, Colorado to see Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge 18. This locomotive
operated on the Southern Pacific narrow gauge system out of Owenyo, California. It was built
in 1911 by the Baldwin Locomotive works with a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement for the Nevada-California-Oregon
Railway, sold to the Southern Pacific in 1926, and retired from service in 1955 at which
time it was donated to the town of Independence, California. Restored to operation in 2017
by the Carson and Colorado Railway Group, the number 18 was in Durango for oil fire
testing in preparation for the Durango and Silverton’s conversion of some of their
locomotives from coal to oil for fuel.
With Durango done, it was off to Texas for a visit to the Texas State Railroad. Tremont
and Gulf Railway number 30, a 2-8-2 mikado, was built in 1917 by the Baldwin Locomotive
Works, operating over a short 50 mile long railroad out of Tremont, Louisiana. It was
later sold to the Magma Arizona Railroad and given the number 7, operating there for another
decade and a half. In 1974, it was sold to the Texas State Railroad and restored as their
number 400. More recently, the locomotive has been returned to the number 30 and lettered
once again for the Tremont and Gulf Railroad.
The next locomotive was by far the most anticipated of the year - the Union Pacific 4014 Big Boy.
As I mentioned in my two videos I did this year about the locomotive, the 4014 is the
largest steam locomotive operating in the world. It was built in 1941 by the American
Locomotive Company, also known as ALCO, to pull long freight trains over the mountains
of Utah and Wyoming. This 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement locomotive was among the largest ever constructed
in the world. It was retired in 1959 and donated to the Rail Giants Train Museum in 1961 where
it was displayed for over 50 years. In 2013, is was reacquired by the Union Pacific to
join their “Heritage Fleet” of locomotives. Restoration on the Big Boy finished in the
Spring of 2019, just in time to pull a special excursion from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Ogden
Utah for the 150th Anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.
Along with the Big Boy on this excursion was the Union Pacific 844, a 4-8-4 northern type.
It was built in 1944 by ALCO and was the last new steam locomotive purchased by the Union
Pacific Railroad. It was used in both passenger and freight service until the end of steam
on the Union Pacific in the late 1950s. However, unlike other steam locomotives, the 844 has
the distinction of being the only steam locomotive to never be retired from service by a major
freight railroad. Instead, 844 became part of the Union Pacific “Heritage Fleet”
program and has been traveling around the Union Pacific system as a public relations
tool ever since.
Also as part of the 150 Transcontinental Railroad celebration, the Union Pacific 119 and Central
Pacific 60 were fired up for display at the Golden Spike National Historic Park. These
are both replicas of the original locomotives at the completion ceremony. They were built
in 1979 by O’Connor Engineering Laboratories in Costa Mesa, California for the National
Park Service.
In the fall, I traveled to the Strasburg Railroad in Pennsylvania for the Norfolk and Western
Steam Locomotive Reunion. The staring attraction, Norfolk and Western number 611, was built
by the Norfolk and Western Railroad in 1950 as a “Class J” 4-8-4 locomotive in their
shops in Roanoke, Virginia. The 611, a streamlined passenger locomotive, pulled trains over the
N&W until retirement in 1959. It was moved to the Virginia Museum of Transportation in
Roanoke until 1982 when it was brought out of retirement by the newly formed Norfolk
Southern Railroad for their original steam program. When the program was discontinued
in 1994, the 611 was returned to the museum where it spent the next 20 years until once
again being restored for excursion service in 2015.
The Norfolk and Western 475 is currently owned and operated by the Strasburg Railroad. It
was built by Baldwin in 1906 with a 4-8-0 wheel arrangement. 475 spent most of its time
on the Norfolk and western pulling freight trains, finally retired in 1956. After nearly
being scrapped in Roanoke, Virginia, it was saved and stored in various places, including
at the Illinois Railroad Museum, before finally being purchased by the Strasburg Railroad
in 1991 and returning to operation in 1993.
While I was at the Strasburg Railroad, I also saw Great Western 90 pulling some of their
regular trains. 90 was built by Baldwin in 1924 with a 2-10-0 wheel arrangement. It pulled
freight trains on the Great Western Railroad in eastern Colorado until purchased by the
Strasburg Railroad in 1967. Today, the 90 rolls through the farmland of Pennsylvania
Dutch country, pulling thousands of visitors each year.
My last steam trip of the year was to the Cass Scenic Railroad in Cass, West Virginia.
I saw several operable steam locomotives there, but I will focus on the two that I actually
saw pulling trains. The star of the show was Cass 3 truck Climax locomotive number 9, formerly
Moore and Keppel Company number 6. Built in 1919, the number 9 spent its entire life in
West Virginia, first pulling trains of lumber and later coal. The locomotive was retired
in 1960 and sold to the state of West Virginia, arriving at the Cass Scenic Railroad in 1970.
In the early 2000s, a full restoration began on the locomotive. Many parts needed to be
completely replaced, returning the locomotive to a near-new condition. Restoration was completed
in the fall of 2019 after a near 20 year effort. Cass renumbered the locomotive from 6 to 9,
since they already have a locomotive in service with the number 6.
The last steam locomotive I saw in 2019 was Cass Scenic Railroad number 5. This is the
oldest operational shay locomotive in the world, built by the Lima Locomotive works
in 1905 to a three truck design. 5 is also the state locomotive of West Virginia. The
5 was built for the Greenbriar and Elk River Railroad, the original operator of the logging
railroad located at Cass, West Virginia. When the state of West Virginia took over Cass
as a tourist railroad and state historic park, the number 5 continued on in tourist excursion
service, pulling and pushing visitors through the same mountains where it had been working
since the beginning of the 20th century.
Well, that’s it! We are done! 17 locomotives, 10 of which I had never before seen under
steam! What a year! Well, thanks for joining me for this look back at a year full of steam.
If you want to see me do more videos like this in the future, please let me know in
the comments below and hit that like button too! If you’re not already, subscribe to
the channel and click on the bell so that youtube will at least in theory notify you
every time I upload a new video. I have posted videos of 1225, Skookum, and the Big Boy this
year so if you haven’t seen those, be sure to take a look at those as well! That’s
it for now. Until next time, I’m Mike Armstrong. I’ll see you down the line! Thanks for watching!