page_title: St. Louis–San Francisco 4018
section_title: Retirement
hierarchical_section_title: St. Louis–San Francisco 4018 / Retirement
caption_attribution_description: English: Front View of SLSF 4018 is a class USRA Light 2-8-2 "Mikado" steam locomotive
context_page_description: St. Louis–San Francisco 4018 is a class USRA Light 2-8-2 "Mikado" steam locomotive which operated for three decades hauling freight between Bessemer and Birmingham, Alabama, on the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway. It went on display at the Alabama State Fairgrounds in 1952 and is one of only a few locomotives of its type that survive.
context_section_description: At the request of then-Birmingham mayor J. W. Morgan, the locomotive was saved from the scrap-yard and given a full cosmetic overhaul before making its final five-mile (8 km) run to Birmingham on February 29, 1952. A. M. Ball, assistant to the president of the Frisco, was in attendance for the occasion.
  The engine was turned over to the city on May 29 of that year. It traveled on Atlantic Coast Line Railroad trackage to the vicinity of the fairgrounds. From there a special spur was constructed of panel track to deliver it the selected spot near the "Kiddieland" amusement park. Despite one derailment, the locomotive was brought safely to its new home and a metal shed was built over it. Frisco employees were regularly sent over in the ensuing years to keep the engine in good condition.
  Efforts to have the train moved to the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in the 1970s broke down. A later group entered negotiations to secure the locomotive for restoration and possible use on steam excursions, but were also unsuccessful.
  In the late 1980s a cosmetic restoration was begun by a group of area railroad enthusiasts volunteering their labor. The bell and headlight were removed for safe-keeping during the work, which involved sheet-metal patches over rusted areas and repainting. A new front coupler knuckle was donated and installed. The effort ran out of steam, however, and was never completed - partly for lack of security at the site.
  As the city of Birmingham planned a major redevelopment of the fairgrounds area in 2009, fund-raising began for moving the engine and tender to Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark. The move took place February 19–21, 2009. Since the move, a cosmetic restoration has been completed.
  Its sister, Frisco 4003 is on the National Register of Historic Places, on display at the Fort Smith Trolley Museum in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
caption: The cosmetically restored Steam locomotive SLSF 4018 is displayed at Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama.
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