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The depot is the oldest train station on the west coast. The track in front of the depot is the former Southern Pacific, currently Union Pacific, "Coast Line", and also UP's Newhall Yard, where freight trains are made up and change crews. Both passenger and freight trains pass the depot. They include Caltrain, the Altamont Corridor Express, the Amtrak "Capitol Corridor", the Amtrak "Coast Starlight", and various UP freight trains.
Inside the museum there is a library, artifact displays, 2 large model railroad layouts (HO and N scale), and a boardroom that is available to rent. The museum is open on Tuesdays from 5PM to 8PM, and Saturdays from 10AM to 3PM.
The Northern California Bluegrass Society (NCBS) and the South Bay Historic Railroad Society sponsor a free bluegrass and related music jam at the Edward Peterman Museum at the Santa Clara Historic Train Depot on most 2nd Saturdays of the month from 12-3pm.
The US National Railroad Hall of Fame was established in 2003 and recognized by Congressional resolutions in 2003 and 2004. The main offices of the hall of fame are in Galesburg, Illinois.
The National Railroad Hall of Fame has three categories for inductees:
Established in 1982, the California Trolley and Railroad Corporation (CTRC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to preserve and reflect the rich legacy of rail transportation in the Santa Clara Valley for the educational and recreational benefit of current and future generations.
Among the numerous projects underway is the complete restoration of Southern Pacific 2479 and the static restoration of Southern Pacific 1215. The California Trolley and Railroad Corporation has restored for operation a number of historic trolley cars at History Park at Kelley Park. In August 2009 the Corporation opened the Happy Hollow line extension allowing trolley service to the Japanese Friendship Garden and the Happy Hollow Zoo in Kelley Park.
A major undertaking is the creation of the San Jose Steam Railroad Museum with the focal point becoming the former six-stall Lenzen Roundhouse and turntable.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society (PRRTHS) is a railroad historical society founded in 1974 and organized as a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation and recognized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization by the United States Internal Revenue Service.
The Society defines its mission as bringing together those interested in the Pennsylvania Railroad and its predecessors and subsidiaries for the purpose of preserving and recording all information available about them.
The society is recognized as the source for PRR information by railroad periodicals such as RailModel Journal,
The PRRTHS has published a quarterly illustrated journal, "The Keystone", since 1968. The journal contains researched articles on topics related to the PRR, as well as reader questions and answers, news items of PRR interest, and reviews of PRR-related publications.
Volunteer Railroaders Association (aka VRA) is a New Jersey-based non-profit group of volunteers. The VRA runs fund-raising train rides for children in NJ. They operate and own six motor cars. One, is a rare Lehigh & New England Railroad Sheffield Corporation model 40B.
The VRA members operate motor cars trips. The children's events are fundraiser are to benefit the creation of the NJ State Transportation Museum and other railroad related preservation activities. The VRA is a member of the NJ-based United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey, aka URHS of NJ. Many local (NJ) chapters of the National Railway Historical Society are also members of the URHS of NJ.
The VRA has quarterly meetings at 7:00 pm on the third Thursday of the month (February, May, August and November). Meetings are held at the St. Clements Church in Hawthorne, New Jersey.
In the beginning this group had the honor of being the exclusive volunteer group for the Susquehanna 142 steam program in New Jersey in 1993 and were known as the Susquehanna Volunteer Association. When the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway moved the program to New York this group was left with nothing to do. So the group decided to run passenger trains for the enjoyment of the public and to raise funds for local historic railroad related items. Since that time the group has run many trips carrying thousands of people. In 1997 the group changed its name to what it is today. This change was to better reflect what they are all about.
The Boca Express Train Museum, operated by the Boca Raton Historical Society, is housed in a restored 1930 Florida East Coast Railway train station in Boca Raton, Florida. designed by Chester G. Henninger, built for Clarence H. Geist. It is located at 747 South Dixie Highway, off U.S. 1 (Federal Highway). On October 24, 1980, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Service on the line is planned to be restored by Virgin Trains USA (operating as Brightline), with a station north of the museum, scheduled to open in 2021.
The Museum contains two restored and unique 1947 Seaboard Air Line streamlined rail cars, a dining and a lounge car, built by the Budd Company and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Boca Express Train Museum also includes a 1946 Atlantic Coast Line caboose and a 1930 Baldwin steam switch engine.
The Boca Raton Historical Society put the Train Museum up for sale in 2017, saying that maintaining two historic buildings (the other is the Society's home, Boca Raton's first city hall) is draining the nonprofit's resources.
PRR 460, nicknamed the "Lindbergh Engine", is a Pennsylvania Railroad E6s steam locomotive now located in the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. It was built in 1914 and became famous after racing an aircraft to New York City carrying newsreels of Charles Lindbergh's return to the United States after his transatlantic flight in 1927. In the late 1930s, No. 460 was operated by the Long Island Rail Road, and the Pennsylvania–Reading Seashore Lines in the early 1950s, before being retired in 1953. No. 460 is the only surviving locomotive of its class and was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1979. From 2010 to 2016, No. 460 underwent a restoration at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
An experimental Model E6 was developed in 1910 and, after two other "sample" locomotives and four years of tests, it was found that the 4-4-2 Atlantic's speed equaled that of the larger 4-6-2 Pacific's. An additional 80 E6 locomotives were ordered with superheaters and classified as the E6s.
No. 460 was the last of the E6s model to be built, out of a total of 80 locomotives. From their construction in 1914 until 1920, the E6s ran mostly on the corridor between New York City and Washington, D.C. After being replaced by the K4s model, the E6s locomotives were relegated to charter services because of their high speed.
McCloud Railway No. 18 is a 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works. The locomotive was purchased new by the McCloud River Railway Company in 1914 as a standalone purchase. No. 18 was bought by the Yreka Western Railroad in 1956 and bought back by the McCloud in 1998. It was restored to operation in McCloud during 1998 and operated there until it was sold in 2005 to Virginia and Truckee Railroad. The unit operated on the V&T until it was slated for FRA inspection in 2015. It is currently under restoration at the Virginia and Truckee.
McCloud Railway #18 was built in October 1914 at the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The unit was sent to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco during 1915. The display was jointly sponsored by McCloud Railway, Weed Lumber Company and Red River Lumber Company. The unit was then returned to McCloud, where it lived out most of its life. It has since been used in the film Water for Elephants.
In 1956, as McCloud Railway was acquiring newer diesels from Baldwin, they retired their elderly steam locomotive fleet (including 18). The unit was sold (like many McCloud steam locomotives at the time) to Yreka Western Railroad, a small, power-starved railroad also in Northern California. The unit was operated with sister #19 at Yreka until 1964, when the unit suffered a cylinder failure on a special trip and was sidelined. The unit languished in Yreka until 1998, when the McCloud Railway bought the unit to assist 25 in railfan trips.
The locomotive was restored to operation at McCloud in 1998, and quickly became the favorite unit as it was bigger and stronger than #25 and handled the large grades on the road better. In 2005, with the imminent demise of the McCloud Railway as a financial entity, the unit was sold to Virginia and Truckee Railroad as an excursion unit. They acquired the #18 in 2007, and it has been in use since 2010. It is slated to be renumbered to #31.
Milwaukee Road 261 is a class "S3" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady, New York in July 1944 for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road".
It was used for heavy mainline freight work until being retired by the railroad in 1956. Instead of being cut up for scrap, 261 was preserved and donated to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1958. Today, the locomotive is owned, operated and maintained by Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization Friends of the 261, which runs occasional and seasonal excursion trains using the locomotive. The steam engine, restored in 1993, has logged more than under its own power since that time.
Built by the American Locomotive Company in July 1944, 261 was originally operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, which was also known as the Milwaukee Road. The locomotive, weighing , is rated at a maximum of and maximum speed of , is coal fueled. It operated with the railroad pulling mostly freight trains on the eastern portions of the route and was assigned to the Milwaukee Division by March 1954. It was then retired in August 1956 and was eventually donated to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin. As the new museum's first acquisition, 261 was moved to the museum site in 1958.
In 1991, the newly formed "North Star Rail" selected 261 for restoration for mainline excursions. It was selected for a variety of reasons. The engine was large enough to handle the expected trains at track speed. It featured several modern features for a steam locomotive, including easier to maintain roller bearings. It also already had its asbestos lagging removed, which is very expensive to remove for environmental and safety reasons. Finally, 261's relatively short 10 year service life meant that the engine's boiler is more pristine, meaning it would take less work to rebuild the engine.
North Star Rail and the National Railroad Museum came to an agreement in November 1991 for a ten-year lease, which was later renewed ten years later. 261 was moved from Green Bay to Minneapolis to the GE shops at Humboldt Yard in September 1992. There, a full-time staff rebuilt the engine. Work progressed quickly, allowing for a hydrostatic test in June 1993, a test fireup in July, and the eventual restoration completion in September. After passing the FRA inspection on September 14, the engine deadheaded over Wisconsin Central Ltd. in time for its first public excursions on September 18–19, 1993. The engine later returned to its new home at the leased Burlington Northern Minneapolis Junction.
The following year, 261 had an extensive season, including excursions on Wisconsin Central and the Twin Cities and Western Railroad. Notable events included "Chocolate City Days" excursions, campaign trains, a movie shoot painted as "Lackawanna 1661", running over CSX tracks for the famed "New River Train", and a wrap up celebrating the engine's 50th birthday in 1994.
The year of 1998 presented 261 on its biggest assignment yet as it was the first steam engine to pull BNSF's Employee Appreciation Special. The engine led a BNSF locomotive and a dozen of BNSF's business fleet around the upper Midwest portion of BNSF's route. This brought the engine back to Chicago before heading north to North Dakota and Montana, then through Minneapolis into Iowa before the EAS concluded at Topeka Railroad Days. 261 ended the 1998 operating season after a few more days on BNSF tracks.
In the following months, some major changes were made to the Friends of the 261's operations. With insurance being too high to charge reasonable ticket prices, the group decided to team up with Amtrak. Amtrak is self insured, so the added cost of excursion insurance was much less. However, Amtrak requires that all equipment meet Amtrak certification. The engine became the second steam engine to become Amtrak certified, and the Friends of the 261 began to buy or rebuild coaches that would meet Amtrak specifications. The first team up with Amtrak occurred in October 2003 with the engine's return to old Milwaukee Road tracks between Minneapolis to Winona, Minnesota. These trips have been repeated each year until 2011.
261 ran an excursion from Minneapolis to Duluth via BNSF trackage in both 2005 and 2007.
Three June 2006 excursions were launched from Milwaukee: A dinner train in Friday 23 to Sturtevant, Wisconsin, and Saturday and Sunday excursions (24th and 25th) to Wisconsin Dells. For these runs, the train was turned at New Lisbon. These excursions would be repeated in August 2008.
In September 2006, 261 and its train visited Rock Island, Illinois as part of RiverWay 2006, a Quad Cities celebration of the 150th anniversary of the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River in 1856. As part of the festivities, 261's train was coupled to a pair of Chinese-built QJ 2-10-2 steam locomotives for a trip to Homestead, Iowa, on September 15, 2006. The next day, 261 was added to run a "triple-header" from Rock Island to Bureau Junction, Illinois; then, on the following day, the QJs pulled the train, without 261, to Muscatine, Iowa, and back. Diesels were not used on any of these excursions.
In September 2007, Canadian Pacific 2816 and 261 reunited for another doubleheader to Winona. No diesels or water cars were used on the trip. The Friends of the 261 had helped the Canadian Pacific Railway plan 2816's return to the United States, as well as providing half of the consist 2816 led.
In 2009, the work on 261 was halted to concentrate efforts on Southern Pacific 4449. The famed "Daylight" was to participate in TrainFestival 2009, and the Friends of the 261 played a major part in the engine being able to participate. The group provided several passenger cars for 4449's excursion from Portland, Oregon, to Owosso, Michigan, that started on July 3, 2009, as well as TrainFestival 2009. After being away for three months, the 4449 arrived in Portland on October 20, 2009.
In November 2009, the Friends of the 261 and the National Railroad Museum had problems with negotiations over lease agreements. The museum was asking too much for the Friends to pay, especially while in the middle of a large overhaul. The Friends of the 261 decided to end the lease with the National Railroad Museum citing the high costs, and began looking for another locomotive to restore.
On September 29, 2012, 261 was test fired and ran under its own power once again for the first time since 2008.
In April 2013, it successfully operated a test train on the Twin Cities and Western Railroad. It ran normally from Minneapolis and then operated tender-first back to Minneapolis.
On May 11, 2013 (National Train Day), 261 ran on an excursion north from Minneapolis to Duluth, where it met Soo Line 2719 for the first time. 261 stayed in Duluth overnight and had a photo shoot with 2719. On May 12, 261 returned to Minneapolis. Amtrak P42DC #17 joined 261 for this trip.
On October 12, 2013 261 made a round trip fall color excursion to Willmar, Minnesota. On October 13, 2013, 261 made a second round trip excursion to Boylston, Wisconsin. Amtrak P40DC #824 joined 261 for these trips.
On September 27, 2014, 261 ran on a round trip Fall Colors Excursion to Duluth, returning to Minneapolis on September 28. The excursion traveled on BNSF's Hinckley Subdivision. Amtrak P42DC #174 joined 261 for this trip.
In 2014, it operated the Inaugural "North Pole Express" in St. Paul.
In October 2015, 261 attended the 2015 Railway Interchange Show in Minneapolis on October 4–7. On October 10, 261 pulled a daytime round-trip excursion to Boylston, WI, where it was wyed and returned to Minneapolis. The next day 261 did the same to Willmar, MN on October 11, but used a turntable to face forward for the return to Minneapolis. Amtrak's Phase IV heritage unit #184 joined 261 for both trips.
261 traveled to St. Paul Union Depot under steam to be displayed along other equipment for "Union Depot Train Days", celebrating the 90th anniversary of the building. It was featured in a night photo shoot with Soo Line 2500, an EMD FP7.
On June 4, 2016, 261 ran a round trip to Duluth, Minnesota, returning to Minneapolis on June 5. Amtrak has been power short as of recent, so 261 performed this trip on its own. In September 2016, 261 operated on Twin Cities and Western Railroad and Minnesota Prairie Line trackage. The Minnesota Prairie Line is former Chicago and North Western Railway trackage that originally belonged to the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway. 261 operated as far west as Winthrop, Minnesota. It was the first time in 60 years that a steam engine operated on the Minnesota Prairie Line. The same route was operated in the fall of 2017.
In October 2016, 261 operated three round trips from Minneapolis on the Twin Cities and Western Railroad, running on former Milwaukee Road tracks. 261 operated without a diesel helper except to be pulled back to Minneapolis as there were no places to turn the train around.
In June 2017, 261 operated on the Red River Valley and Western Railroad in North Dakota.
Due to changes made to Amtrak's policy for charter trains in 2018, 261 was unable to perform a majority of excursions, including an excursion to Duluth that was supposed to take place in June of that year.
On September 8 and 9, 2018, Friends of the 261 operated two excursions for Fall Color and Gourmet Express where they operates west from Minneapolis to Glencoe, Minnesota on Twin Cities and Western trackage with a stop near Norwood Young America, Minnesota for the gourmet food and wine and a photo runby.
On September 22, 2018, for the 25th anniversary of the first excursion in 1993, 261 pulled a special train for the annual convention of the American Association of Railroad Private Car Owners or AAPRCO.
In May 2019, after an agreement settled in January, Friends of the 261 acquired former Milwaukee Road EMD E9 #32A from the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad, which is owned by Watco Companies. First showcased at Union Depot Day from May 31 to June 2, it pulled its first excursion on June 22, still painted in Wisconsin and Southern colors minus the former lettering.
In June 2019, 261 pulled two excursions for the Milwaukee Road Historical Association convention being held in Minneapolis called 261 Hiawatha. On June 22, 2019, the train operated from Minneapolis to Brownton, Minnesota on the Twin Cities and Western. On June 23, 2019, the train traveled between Minneapolis and Norwood Young America on TC&W, then from Norwood to Winthrop on TC&W subsidiary Minnesota Prairie Line, a rare mileage trip for 261.
On September 21 and 22, 2019, there were two excursions for the Gourmet Express.
On March 11, 2021, a $200,000 proposal was made to convert 261 from burning coal to burning oil. However, this is not the first time an S3 class was converted to oil, as Nos. 262, 263, 267 and 269 were converted to oil in their revenue career.
In December 2014, for two weekends, 261 operated out of St. Paul Union Depot pulling short trips decorated as the "North Pole Express". The train consisted of 4 coach class cars and operated on a long track on the Depot grounds. 261 even posed next to Canadian Pacific's Holiday Train when it also visited the depot.
It reprised its role as the locomotive for the "North Pole Express at St. Paul Union Depot" in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, operating two weekends in December.
The Milwaukee Road's 4-8-4's were known for their distinctive Mars Light above the headlight, and 261 was no exception. When its second restoration was completed in 2013, it was put in its "as delivered" appearance, meaning that the Mars Light was not included on 261. In 2016, the light was reinstalled.
Most 261 excursions are assisted by modern diesel-electric locomotives, required by Amtrak. These engines can help pull longer trains or provide motive power if 261 were to break down en route. The diesel also provides head end power for the passenger cars. In recent years, these have usually been GE P42DC locomotives. Sometimes, Amtrak heritage locomotives are requested, though such locomotives are not always available. In 2019, The Friends of 261 purchased a former Milwaukee Road EMD E9 to assist 261 for future non Amtrak insured excursions.
Part of the success of the Friends of the 261 has been the purchase of numerous passenger cars for use on excursions. One that fans might recognize is the first tool car, the "Earling". The car was built by the Milwaukee Road as a "Beaver-tail" observation car in 1939, but was rebuilt into a tool car in 1959. The car was donated in 1992, and was the main tool car until 2003. The car's age made it expensive to upgrade to Amtrak specifications, so a new tool car, "Grand Canyon", was bought and repainted.
Another notable passenger car is the "Silver Palace" Dome coach. It was formerly owned by Western Pacific for use on the California Zephyr. All of the Western Pacific dome coaches were sold to the original Auto-Train where the car worked, until service was discontinued in April 1981. "Silver Palace" passed through several owners, including the late country and western star Merle Haggard, and along the way was reconfigured into a lounge/private car. Wisconsin Central Ltd. acquired the car for its former Algoma Central passenger service, and was conveyed to Canadian National Railway when they absorbed WC.
The "Fox River Valley" was built in 1952 for the Pennsylvania Railroad's Congressional between New York and Washington as the parlor car "Henry Hudson". It was acquired by Amtrak in 1971, and converted to a buffet/table car in 1986. After being sold by Amtrak, the car ran in charter service through Mid-America Railcar, wearing the names Henry Hudson and "Keystone Grill". Paxrail acquired the car in October 2013, and renamed it "Warriors Rest". Purchased in 2017 by Friends of the 261, the Warriors Rest was extensively refurbished into a luxury lounge car and renamed the "Fox River Valley".
The "Golden Valley" was built by Pullman-Standard in 1958 as a 73 foot baggage express car for Northern Pacific as #220. It ran on the North Coast Limited and Mainstreeter along with other Northern Pacific passenger trains. After it was retired, it was obtained by the St. Louis Steam Train Association, operator of Frisco 1522. It was repainted in the Frisco Meteor passenger train paint scheme and named "Black Gold". It operated with SL-SF until that locomotive was re-retired and the car was subsequently purchased by Friends of the 261.
Non-Amtrak certified coaches include the "Earling" (1938), and the "Milwaukee" business car. Though the cars are not Amtrak certified, they are used for added capacity for non-Amtrak insured excursions. In addition, the Friends of the 261 owns a water car, #250002. The water car was once a tender used behind a Louisville and Nashville "Big Emma" 2-8-4, and later became a water car for the Southern and Norfolk Southern steam program. The water car was bought at an auction in 1995 when NS ended its steam program.
Trains pulled by 261 usually feature the distinctive Skytop Lounge Cedar Rapids, created by the noted industrial designer Brooks Stevens, and built by the Milwaukee Road shops for "Hiawatha" service in 1948. This car, completely upgraded in 2004, and an interior restoration in 2014, is equipped with 24 Rota-Cline seats, 12 seats in the Solarium, and one drawing room/kitchenette. It is commonly paired with a 54-seat full length dome, Super Dome #53, built by Pullman-Standard for Milwaukee Road in 1952.
Here is a list of the cars now owned by Friends of the 261. All are painted in the Milwaukee Road's famed "Hiawatha" orange and maroon unless otherwise noted.
The "Glenbrook" is a , Mogul type, narrow-gauge steam railway locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1875 for the Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company's narrow-gauge railroad.
The "Glenbrook" and its sister, #2, The "Tahoe" were built to haul cordwood and lumber from Glenbrook, Nevada on the east shore of Lake Tahoe to Spooner Summit, at the crest of the Carson Range. At the summit, the logs and lumber were put in a flume which carried it to the south end of Carson City. There it was loaded onto flatcars of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad which carried it to Virginia City for use in construction of the town, as mine timbers, and as boiler fuel.
The area was fairly well logged out by 1890 and the Bliss family, the owners sold The "Tahoe" to the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad (NCNG). In 1899, they took up the two lines and moved all of the equipment and rails to Tahoe City, California, on the northwest shore of the lake. From there they built a new railroad about to the Southern Pacific Railroad station at Truckee, California, just east of Donner Pass. The new line, the Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation (LTR&T) carried freight and passengers and connected with the lake steamer SS Tahoe. The Bliss family sold the LTR&T to the Southern Pacific in 1926. The larger road immediately converted its new branch to standard gauge.
The Bliss family had kept #1 out of the sale and stored it at Tahoe City until 1937 when they sold it to the Nevada County Narrow Gauge, which used it largely for parts for "Tahoe". The NCNG shut down in 1942, but Hope Bliss convinced her family to buy the locomotive back from the NCNG and presented it to the Nevada State Museum and to the Nevada State Railroad Museum where it underwent major work. It was announced that it would go back into service in May 2015 and was unveiled to the public on 23 May 2015.
The "Glenbrook" was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.
Great Northern Railway 1355 is a standard gauge steam railway locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1909 for the Great Northern Railway in the United States. It was built as a 4-6-0, Ten-Wheeler, type, but it had an extensive rebuild in 1924 when it became a 4-6-2, Pacific, type. During its career, it pulled both freight and passenger trains, including the Great Northern's crack Empire Builder and Oriental Limited.
It was built as one of 25 class E14 Ten-Wheelers and passed its inspections at the GN's Dale Street Shops in St. Paul, Minnesota on November 19, 1909. It spent its first ten years near Hillyard, Washington and then in 1919, was sent to Spokane, both in passenger service.
On February 19, 1924, it returned to the Dale Street Shops for a major rebuild. It's not clear whether this was actually a rebuild or virtually a new engine. New parts included a Belpaire firebox, longer boiler, type A superheater, new solid leading wheels, a Delta trailing truck which made it a 4-6-2, new brakes, and one of its four conversions between oil and coal fuel. It left the shop on May 29 and was sent to the Willmar, Minnesota division for passenger work.
The following January, it was back in the shop to receive a booster engine on its trailing truck. This was removed in 1929. It was renumbered again, to 1355, in April 1926 and converted from coal to oil. It was then dispatched to the Butte, Montana division, where it principally handled the Oriental Limited. It spent the last two years of its working life, 1953–55, hauling iron ore on the Mesabi Range.
In late 1954, the city of Sioux City, Iowa asked the Great Northern for a steam locomotive. Sioux City was at very southern end of the GN's operations and in July, 1955, 1355 was delivered to the city. In 1995, the locomotive was moved to the former Milwaukee Road Shops and Roundhouse, where it has undergone extensive cosmetic restoration.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 as Great Northern Railway Steam Locomotive No. 1355 and Tender 1451.
Reading 2124 is a preserved American class "T-1" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive that was built by the Reading Company in January 1947 using parts from "I-10sa" class 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type locomotive number 2044, which was originally built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1924.
The locomotive that became 2124 was originally built as Reading Company class "I-10sa" 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type locomotive number 2044 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1924. Starting in 1945, Reading began building a new class of 4-8-4 "Northern" type locomotives using the boilers and fireboxes from the I-10sas, designating these new locomotive the T-1 class. 2044 underwent this rebuild in late 1946 and emerged in January 1947 as the number 2124.
For the majority of its working life, the 2124 was used on freight trains, primarily coal trains throughout various parts of the Reading's network before being retired from active service in 1956.
The 2124 was brought back into service in October 1959 to pull a series of railfan excursions known as the "Iron Horse Rambles." In December 1959, shortly after the beginning of the Iron Horse Rambles, 2124 was filmed at the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal for the Mark Robson film, From the Terrace. In 1963, 2124's flue time ran out and it was retired from active service and was sold to locomotive collector and owner of Blount Seafood, F. Nelson Blount for his Steamtown, U.S.A., museum in North Walpole, New Hampshire, later relocated across the Connecticut River to Bellows Falls, Vermont.
The 2124 was displayed in Vermont until Steamtown moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania, during the winter of 1983–84. In 1986, Steamtown was taken over by the National Park Service and became Steamtown National Historic Site. 2124 was placed on display near the entrance to the park and was one of the first things visitors would see upon entering the park. In 2010, the 2124 was removed from its longtime display spot and moved into Steamtown's back-shops in order to have its asbestos insulation removed. The 2124 also received a cosmetic restoration in 2019 and was returned to the parking lot display track.
Great Northern 2584 is a 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in March 1930 for the Great Northern Railway (GN) as a member of the S-2 class.
The locomotive was built for fast passenger service and was assigned to pull the Great Northern's mainline passenger trains such as the "Empire Builder" and "Oriental Limited". It was then retired in December 1957 and donated to the Havre depot in Havre, Montana for display in May 1964. It is the sole surviving Great Northern S-2 Class "Northern", the sole surviving Great Northern "Northern" type and the largest surviving Great Northern steam locomotive.
In late 1956, 2584 made its final run and was stored in a roundhouse in Superior, Wisconsin and had its journal boxes painted red and sat there for years.
On August 9, 1945, No. 2584 was involved in a wreck, however, the locomotive was undamaged, as the rear of its train was rear-ended by sister locomotive No. 2588 at 45 mph. No. 2584's tender, however, had suffered from a hot box and has stopped at Petersburg, North Dakota and again at Michigan, North Dakota prior to the wreck. After the hot box and accident were resolved, both 2584 and 2588 were returned to service.
2584 was retired in December 1957 and on March 21, 1958, the Great Northern had decided to hold it for historical purposes and it was eventually repainted to its original Glacier Green paint scheme. On May 15, 1964, the locomotive was put on display at the Havre depot in Havre, Montana and was dedicated there. As of today, it still resides there on display. It also has a marker describing the locomotive and the S-2 class in general on the engineer's side of the locomotive's tender.
759 was built in August 1944 by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, better known as the "Nickel Plate Road". The 759 was one of 80 2-8-4 Berkshire type steam locomotives built for the Nickel Plate between 1934 and 1949 for fast freight duties. The Nickel Plate had 4 sub-classes of 2-8-4s corresponding to which order the locomotive was in, these were designated S through S-3, 759, is a member of the third order of 2-8-4s, classified S-2.
Much of 759's original career on the Nickel Plate is obscure at best, but it is known that in May 1958, 759 entered the Nickel Plate's Conneaut, Ohio shops for a complete overhaul which turned out to be the last overhaul of a steam locomotive on the Nickel Plate. After the overhaul was completed, 759 was never fired up and instead was put into storage.
759 was purchased by steam locomotive enthusiast, F. Nelson Blount on October 16, 1962 and subsequently moved to Steamtown, U.S.A. in North Walpole, New Hampshire with the rest of his collection. It would later be moved across the Connecticut River to Bellows Falls, Vermont.
In 1967 a commodities broker from New York named Ross Rowland, who had previously leased another one of Blount's locomotives, made a deal that would return the 759 to service for steam powered fan trips hosted by Rowland's High Iron Company. 759 was taken to the Norfolk & Western Railroad's former Nickel Plate roundhouse in Conneaut, OH, the same place the 759 was last serviced. After a short restoration and subsequent testing, 759 pulled its first excursion for the High Iron Company on August 30, 1968 when she pulled a 15 car excursion to Buffalo, New York.
In 1969, 759 was painted blue and gold for a special train celebrating the 100th anniversary of the driving of the golden spike. This train, dubbed the Golden Spike Centennial Limited, would take 759 as far away as Omaha, Nebraska. After returning home from the Golden Spike Centennial Limited, 759 was returned to her Nickel Plate Road livery and ran two excursions for Steamtown, one of which was to Scranton, Pennsylvania, Steamtown's future home.
The 759 would join the rest of the Steamtown collection in 1984 when it was moved from Bellows Falls, Vermont to Scranton, Pennsylvania. After the move to Scranton, 759 would be placed on display in the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western rail yard with the rest of the collection. In 1988, Steamtown and most of its collection became part of the newly formed Steamtown National Historic Site.
Nickel Plate Road 759 is now a static display at Steamtown, more often than not being on display inside the refurbished DL&W roundhouse. 759 is easily seen from the walk way Steamtown put inside the roundhouse to allow visitors to see the work going on. It is also the largest locomotive in the roundhouse with only a foot or two of clearance at either end making it notoriously difficult if not impossible to get a photo of the whole locomotive.
759 was one of the two American built steam locomotives considered by Steamtown to be restored to operating condition, the other being Boston and Maine 3713, which was ultimately chosen over 759, most likely due to clearance issues on the turntable (in order for 759 to fit, all of the safety railings that surround the turntable pit in the areas open to visitors have to be removed).
In 2010, 759 was among the several steam locomotives in Steamtown's collection to undergo removal of her asbestos insulation. Asbestos was used by railroads and locomotive manufacturers as boiler insulation. In addition to having the asbestos removed, 759 had all new jacketing (cladding in UK terminology) applied as well as her bell, which had been in storage re-installed.