Pere Marquette No. 1223

Pere Marquette No. 1223 is a 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built by Lima in 1941 for the Pere Marquette railroad.
No. 1223 hauled freight trains between Toledo and Chicago in the years immediately before and after World War II.
Its weight, however, restricted it and all the other PM Berkshires to the lines from Toledo, OH, to Saginaw, MI, Detroit to Grand Rapids, MI, and Grand Rapids to Chicago, IL.
When Pere Marquette was absorbed by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, 1223 was assigned number 2657 but never had the new number applied. The locomotive was not paid off at the time and the merger agreement stated that equipment still under trust was to remain in Pere Marquette livery.
The locomotive was withdrawn from service in 1951 and it was put in storage.
After retirement, 1223 was moved to New Buffalo, Michigan to be scrapped. However she was repainted and moved in 1960 for display at the state fairgrounds in Detroit. The money for that was provided by the donations collected by schoolchildren around the Detroit area.
In 1980, Michigan State Fair officials wanted to expand the grandstands, but 1223 stood in the way. The City of Grand Haven won the bidding process and, with the help of the Michigan National Guard, as well as the Grand Trunk Western and Chessie System railroads, #1223 was moved to Grand Haven on 1 September 1981.
Today, the locomotive is on static display at a park in Grand Haven, Michigan.
==Trivia==
*No parts from 1223 were used to restore sister engine 1225 to operating condition, due to the objections of the Michigan Railroad Club, then unofficial custodians of the engine.
*She is one of two surviving Pere Marquette 2-8-4 (Berkshire) engines.
==See also==
*Gallery
Category:2-8-4 steam locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Lima locomotives
Category:2-8-4 locomotives
Category:Eight-coupled locomotives
Category:American locomotives
Category:Chesapeake & Ohio locomotives
Category:Built in 1941
Category:Freight locomotives
Category:Passenger locomotives
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:Restored locomotives
Category:Pere Marquette Locomotives
Category:Pere Marquette Railway
Category:PM Locomotives
Category:Preserved steam locomotives