Santa Fe 3415
Santa Fe 3415 is a preserved class 3400 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built in 1919 by Baldwin for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Retired in 1954, it sat in Eisenhower Park in Abilene, Kansas until 1996. At that point, it was put on display in the Abilene and Smoky Valley yard. Restoration began in 2005 and was completed in early 2009. Today, No. 3415 operated in excursion service by the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad. History. Service on the Santa Fe. No. 3415 was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania in June 1919 as the sixteenth member of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's fifty 3400 class locomotives. This class of steam locomotives was designed by John Purcell, and this was also the last class of 4-6-2s bought by the Santa Fe. The 3400 class was similar to the United States Railroad Administration (USRA)'s Heavy Pacific in its tube and flue counts but fitted with a grate close in size to the USRA's Light Pacific and delivered with drivers close in size to the latter. The first forty locomotives initially burned coal, but  were later converted to coal while being rebuilt between 1936 and 1947. No. 3415 was initially assigned to pull passenger trains throughout the midwest, particularly through the Kansas City-La Junta and Newton-Galveston divisions, until diesel locomotives began to replace steam on the Santa Fe. No. 3415 was subsequently reassigned to pull freight and mail trains throughout Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, until it was retired in 1954. Instead of being sold for scrap, the Santa Fe donated No. 3415 to the city of Abilene on December 9, 1955 for static display in Eisenhower Park. Preservation. In April 1996, the  city of Abilene decided to redevelop the park, and they removed No. 3415 from its display location and donated it to the nearby Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad, who put it on display near their depot. In 2005, the A&SVR decided to restore No. 3415 to operating condition for use on their tourist excursions. The locomotive was moved inside the A&SVR's locomotive facility, and restoration work was started by Wasatch Railroad Contractors from Cheyenne, Wyoming. After three years of work, No. 3415 was test fired on December 1, 2008, and was officially restored for excursion service by 2009. The  locomotive subsequently spent the next twelve years pulling tourist trains over the A&SVR's ex-Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific trackage between Abilene and Enterprise. However, it did not go faster than fifteen miles per hour, due to how poorly maintained the trackage is. Historical significance. No. 3415 was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 16, 2012.