Railroad Nation

GARIBALDI, Ore. — Two locomotives will return to steam as part of a unique agreement between West Coast preservation groups in which a California tourist line will trade a three truck Heisler to an Oregon tourist road for boiler work on another engine.

The agreement, reached earlier this month after two years of negotiations, is between the Pacific Locomotive Association, which runs the Niles Canyon Railway near the Bay Area of California, and the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad in Garibaldi.

In return for boiler work to return the association’s Sierra Railway 2-6-2 No. 30 to operation, Oregon Coast will take ownership of 85-ton Sunset Timber Co. Heisler No. 1. The 1913 engine was last operated by the Pickering Lumber Co. of Standard, Calif., and sold to an individual who partially dismantled the engine and moved it to Monterey, Calif., then donated the engine to the association. The association moved the engine to Fremont, Calif., where it has been in storage.

Besides operating a two-truck 55-ton Heisler on the Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad, the Oregon Coast has two non-operational Heislers and the remains of the world’s oldest surviving Shay locomotive. Each of these locomotives is under restoration under Chief Mechanical Officer Scott Wickert.

The PLA has operated steam locomotives since it was organized in 1961, and its operating fleet consists of two Alco 2-6-2Ts. The association is also restoring to operation a 2-6-6-2 T logging Mallet under the direction of CMO Alan Siegwarth.

The boiler and the Heisler will move to Chehalis, Wash., later this fall. — Martin E. Hansen

For more on Oregon Train Rides, visit:
http://www.scenicrailexcursions.com/oregon_trainrides.php

For more on California Train Rides, visit:

http://www.scenicrailexcursions.com/california_trainrides.php

NORTH FREEDOM, Wis. — One of the long-time steam stars at Wisconsin’s Mid-Continent Railway Museum is nearing a return to operation after nine years of inactivity. The boiler for privately owned Saginaw Timber Co. 2-8-2 No. 2 was at Milwaukee Boiler International on Thursday, where co-owner Skip Lichter and worker Dave Wurtz were busy drilling mudring holes.

The boiler has been inverted (turned upside down) to make the work easier, much as many British preservation railway shops have done for easier access to boiler parts. Mid-Continent leased the engine after it arrived in 1983, and it last operated in February 2000. Baldwin built the 70-ton logging Mikado type in December 1912 for Saginaw Timber in Washington State. The engine later worked for Polson Brothers and Rayonier before it went to Michigan’s Cadillac & Lake City in 1962.

In addition to 302 new 2-inch tubes, the engine is getting a new firebox, throat sheet, and boiler braces. Operating pressure will be set at 180 psi. Lichter says he expects boiler work to be completed within the next two months; after that, the engine will go by truck to North Freedom for re-assembly and steam operation in 2010.

For more on Wisconsin train rides and attractions, visit:

www.scenicrailexcursions.com/wisconsin_trainrides.php

STRASBURG, Pa. — The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is raising money to restore its Pennsylvania Railroad E6 Atlantic in a special matching funds campaign with the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society. The society has agreed to match up to $50,000, funds raised for No. 460, known as the Lindbergh Engine, now through March 15, 2010.

Although the non-profit Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania organization has already raised nearly $50,000, the restoration is estimated to cost around $310,000.

Built in 1914 at the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Juniata, Pa., Shops, No. 460 is also the sole survivor of the fleet of 83 4-4-2s in its class. The engine powered distinguished trains such as the Broadway Limited, and spent most of World War II working on the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Atlantic Division before retirement in 1955.

Its most notable run took place June 11, 1927, the day U.S. President Calvin Coolidge made aviator Charles A. Lindbergh a colonel during a presidential medal of honor ceremony, following Lindbergh’s non-stop solo flight from Long Island to Paris. Several newsreel companies filmed the ceremony on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. One newsreel company put its film on an airplane for New York to be processed and rushed to theaters. The International News Reel Co. sent its footage on a train with No. 460 on the point, complete with a special B60 baggage car outfitted with a darkroom.

While the film was being processed on board the train, No. 460 covered the 216 miles to Manhattan Transfer in an amazing 174 minutes. At one point, while crossing New Jersey, its speed exceeded 115 mph. Although the airplane landed before the train arrived, the International News Reel Co.’s film was ready for theaters when it reached New York. Ever since, No. 460 has been known as the Lindbergh Engine.

Restoration will include lead paint removal, repair of rust damage to the cab and tender, and installation of piping, jacketing and running gear.

Work starts in November and is estimated to take 6,500 man-hours, and volunteers are needed. Donation may be made on line on the museum’s Web site at www.rrmuseumpa.org. Contributions also may be forwarded to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania’s advancement office, P.O. Box 125, Strasburg, PA 17579.

For more on Pennsylvania train rides, visit:

http://www.scenicrailexcursions.com/pennsylvania_trainrides.php

One day until America’s Celebration of Railroading kicks off in Owosso, MI. All 8 steam locomotives are on the property ready for the public. Gates will open at 9:00am on Thursday and close daily at 6:00pm until Sunday July 26th.

This is a once in a lifetime event. No other exhibition of trains has 8 or more steam locomotive gathered in the East since the late 1940’s. You will not want to miss this festival. Hundreds of vendors, miniature trains, big train and steam powered train rides await thousands of visitors.

You can see a sneak peek at the Michigan ABC Station. Click here to see video!

Something to remember, your ticket purchase goes back to preserve the Pere Marquette #1225 for another generation. The #1225 will go done for routine maintenance next year. Please come out and support Steam for another generation!

LINDSTROM, Minn. -A little known tourist railroad in the Midwest began steam locomotive  operations on June 20. The Iron Horse Central Railroad Museum near Lindstrom began it’s initial run of the  former Dresser Trap Rock H. K. Porter 0-4-0 No. 4 running on Sunday June 20.  This was the first of two public runs scheduled for this year; the other will be on Saturday Aug. 1.

No. 4 was built in 1923 as a tank engine. It was first used in the construction of the Tallahassee Power dam in Tennessee. It was then sold to the Dresser Traprock Co. in Dresser, Wis., where it was used to haul rock to the crusher. The museum acquired the tank engine in 1963, and removed the tank and added a tender in 1981.

The Iron Horse Central is a private museum with several wooden freight and passenger cars, a former Northern Pacific depot and steam locomotive, a Baldwin diesel, and a home-built motorcar dubbed the “Bumblebee.”

More details can be found at www.ironhorsecentral.com.

For more information on Minnesota train rides, visit:

www.scenicrailexcursions.com/minnesota_trainrides.php

OMAHA, Neb. – Cheyenne, Wyo.-based Union Pacific 4-8-4 No. 844 will visit Omaha and Council Bluffs, Iowa, as part of the railroad days celebration. The event occurs June 20 and 21. Your whole family can board the train for only $10. This will be an event of a life time for you and your children together  to truly experience the golden era of the steam locomotive passenger service, for only $10! Even in today’s economy, that is a tough deal to pass up.

Omaha was the launching point for the new Union Pacific as part of its effort to complete a transcontinental railroad. The railroad days will celebrate the area’s rich railroad heritage. For more information, visit www.omaharailroaddays.com.

No. 844 will be on display both days at the Durham Museum. Visitors will be able to look inside the engine’s operating cab.

You can follow  the   Union Pacific 844 after being requested to host the opening of the new Dispatch Center in Omaha and pull the Union Pacific Railroad Board of Directors on a special dinner train in this 1989 video. The passenger coaches are already in Omaha, so 844 pulls regular freight trains 500 miles over a two day span to Omaha. Then at Omaha we see 844 pull the evening dinner train, with some nice low light shots.

After the event is over, 844 has to head home to Cheyenne and pulls two more freight trains over a 2-day span, making for a total of 5 different trains on the video, and 4 are freights complete with a caboose. On the return we are also treated to some nice 65 mph pacing scenes next to the engine. You’ll enjoy the Nebraska landscape as we hit the major spots along the way, and even see  844 on the turntable in Council Bluffs,  Iowa. This was the first run of 844, and GSVP was the only video company there.

The Union Pacific Railroad maintains the only steam locomotive that was never retired, No. 844.  Built by Alco in 1944, it has been  rebuilt twice, in 1999 and 2004. It is currently the largest running Northern weighing in at 486,340 pounds. www.scenicrailexcursions.com/wyoming_trainrides.php

ABILENE, Kan. – After a four-year restoration project by the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad, former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 4-6-2 No. 3415 was back in service May 23 hauling passengers on the Kansas tourist operation. First fired up in late 2008, the 1919-built Baldwin sat in an Abilene park from 1954 until 1996 .
Now that the restoration is complete, the railroad plans to begin once-monthly rides behind the locomotive over A&SV’s five-mile ex-Rock Island route to Enterprise, Kan., according to a story in the Wichita Eagle. Steam engine runs are scheduled through August, as well as two round trip cab rides available for each run.

For more information on the 3415’s schedule, <click here>

Newly Restored Santa Fe 3415 hits the rails once again! – The …

ABILENE, Kan. – After a successful test run in December, the Wichita Eagle is reporting that the tourist hauler Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad.

Publish Date: 06/19/2009 3:00

http://www.thewhistlepost.com/forums/atchison-topeka-santa-fe/10139-newly-restored-santa-fe-3415-hits-rails-once-again.html

Alive and Steaming – salina.com – an online service of the Salina …

Joe Minick, chief mechanical and operations officer for the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad smiles down from the controls of the restored Santa Fe 3415 steam engine on Saturday, May 23, 2009 in Old Abilene Town before the inagural run …

Publish Date: 05/24/2009 3:26

http://www.saljournal.com/news/story/Steam-Engine-at-Abilene-052409

For more Train rides in Kansas along with the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad.

GROVEPORT, Ohio…Railroad Nation would like to extend our best wishes to the  American Steam Railroad Preservation Association, Inc. and the efforts of their current Chairman and CEO Steven M Harvey, with the announcement of their new website  dedicated to the preservation of steam locomotives and vintage railroad equipment.

They are also very pleased to announce that they have entered into an agreement to take on St. Louis – San Francisco Railway (Frisco) 2-8-2 Mikado type steam locomotive #1352 as their first large project. Hopefully this will be the first in a long line of exciting plans for the fledgling organization.

Additionally, they have announced that they are an official sponsor of TrainFestival 2009 in Owosso, Michigan. Taking place July 24 – 26, 2009, TrainFestival 2009 will be America’s largest celebration of railroading, with attractions for the entire family. The event will feature 8 operating steam locomotives, model trains, railroad art, vendors and more!

The American Steam Railroad will kick off its first annual membership drive at TrainFestival 2009. Anyone who signs up for a monthly membership ($13.52/mo) or annual one-time payment membership during TrainFestival 2009 will receive a free 1352 hat and number pin as a special thanks for supporting this project. Remember that since ASR is a 501c3 non-profit organization, all donations are tax deductable.
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Santa-Fe-3415 Abilene, Kansas, in 2000

ABILENE, Kan. – After a successful test run in December, the Wichita Eagle is reporting that the tourist hauler Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad will steam  the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 4-6-2 “Pacific” No. 3415 for the first time in more than 50 years on May 23. It will be the start of once-monthly rides behind the engine over A&SV’s five-mile ex-Rock Island route to Enterprise, Kan.

The 1919-built Baldwin sat in an Abilene park from 1954 until 1996. Volunteers restored it over the past four years at a cost of around $300,000.  Engine 3415 will become one of only three operational former Santa Fe steam locomotives in the nation, and the only one in Kansas.

A ticket for the inaugural run will cost $100 and will be available through the railroad’s Web site at www.asvrr.org. Other rides on the steam locomotive that weekend will be offered for $45 for adults and $30 for children ages 3 to 11. Children under 2 can ride free.

Union Pacific Steam Excursion plans for 2009 include a month-long (April-May), 32 day 4 state tour operating from Cheyenne-California and returning again to Cheyenne. The round trip  excursion includes 8 scheduled stops in Roseville and Portola, Calif.; Ogden, Utah; and Medicine Bow, Wyo., for respective Centennial celebrations; a Railroad Days visit to Omaha, Neb.; and returning for the annual Cheyenne Frontier Days excursion the weekend of July 16-19.

For the full schedule go to:

http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/excurs/schedule.shtml

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