Mississippi Eastern No. 303

The Mississippi Eastern No. 303 is a 4-6-0 "Ten-Wheeler" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1916. This locomotive is one of three surviving pieces from the collection of ill-fated steam preservationist Richard Jensen.
== History ==
The 303 is a Baldwin Class 10-32-D 4-6-0 "Ten-Wheeler" that was built for the Mississippi Eastern Railroad, a shortline based out of Quitman, MS that hauled lumber from the various forests in the area. By 1933, most of the forests had been cleared, and the Mississippi Eastern ceased operations.
In 1934, No. 303 was sold to a railroad equipment dealer, who sold it to the Lancaster & Chester Railway in Lancaster, SC. The L&C renumbered the locomotive to No. 32, and sold it to the Hampton & Branchville Railroad in 1946.
The H&B retired the locomotive in 1958 and sold it to Byron Andrews of York, PA in 1963. Andrews restored the locomotive as York Southern No. 1 and operated it for a few months on the Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad before the M&P operation changed ownership. The locomotive was placed in storage and later sold to a local scrapyard.
In 1970, Chicago-area steam preservationist Richard Jensen purchased the locomotive and moved it on its own wheels to Chicago. The locomotive was stored on a rented siding along the Chicago, West Pullman & Southern Railroad in the south suburbs for many years before Jensen, suffering from legal and financial troubles, sold it to William Latham of Rockford, IL in July 1986 along with several other pieces of equipment.
At one time, it was stored with two tenders from Illinois Central 2600 Series Nos. 2612 and 2613. In 2000, No. 1 was donated to the Monticello Railway Museum of Monticello, IL, where it resides today. While still painted as York Southern No. 1, the museum refers to it as Mississippi Eastern No. 303 and plans to cosmetically restore it to its original appearance in the near future.
== Gallery ==
File:ICRR 4-6-0 "Ten-Wheeler".jpg|Mississippi Eastern No. 303 (which was York Southern Railroad No. 1 at the time) at Rockford, Illinois, circa 1988 with the tenders of Illinois Central 2600 Series Nos. 2612 and 2613
File:ICRR 4-6-0 "Ten-Wheeler" - 10570808516.jpg
== See also ==
* Baldwin Class 10-32-D
Category:American locomotives
Category:4-6-0 locomotives
Category:4-6-0 steam locomotives
Category:Baldwin locomotives
Category:Logging locomotives
Category:Six-coupled locomotives
Category:Preserved locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:American steam locomotives
Category:Built in 1916
Category:Preserved steam locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:United States
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Baldwin Class 10-32-D Locomotives
Category:Monticello Railway Museum
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:Standard gauge locomotives of the United States