The 0-8-0 GTW steam Locomotive 8374 that had been sitting in Galt Illinois for the last 25 years, has been loaded onto to a trailer (Boiler & Cab section) and will be leaving the area on Monday, traveling by semi trailer through Iowa on Interstate 80 to Geneva Nebraska. If you are traveling on this route Monday you may see this rare move.
The locomotive was bought by a private individual last year. He has been preparing for this move for the last 9 months. The Tender was moved about a month ago, and now the Boiler and Cab will be moved. The Running gear is still in Galt and will be moved in the next month or so.
If you get any photos I would like to see them.
Later Bill
P.S. I am in the process of posting photos of the loading of the boiler, I will leave the link here when finished.
Here are some of the photos from loading the boiler onto the trailer.
http://trailryder.rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=9774&Page=2
enjoy
Later Bill
Thanks for the photos, Bill. The last time I visited Galt (except for the derailment), there were two 0-8-0s with one tender sitting between the locomotives. It looked like a Vanderbilt style tender. I also noticed what appeared to be asbestos falling out of rusted sheathing on the steam chests of the front loco. From your photos, it looks like they removed the smokestack and both sand domes.
Since there are no visible engine numbers (at least in my photos), can I assume the one that was sold was the farthest east (closest to the highway in front of the elevator)?
'Tis a shame the city of Sterling is letting No.73 succumb to rust and decay in the park in town. If they don’t want to at least maintain the exterior, why not deed it to someone who will? They only made so many of these, and when they’re gone, they’re gone.
Almost makes a grown man wanna cry.
… and some of us remember when these 0-8-0s were in steam at NSW, up to the very early 1980s.
Dave Nelson
I think these 0-8-0s are the last of what Illinois Rail Museum got from NSW, which got them from GTW. They were sold by GTW to be scrapped, but were better than what NSW was currently using in its yard, so the GTW locos took over and the others were scrapped.
Some of the politicians from Sterling ought to take a ride down to Amboy and see what a well-cared-for GTW 0-8-0 looks like.
A major portion of the CB&Q’s fleet of steamers met their end at NSW. I’ve seen photos of rows of them in various stages of being cut apart with torches, and it isn’t pretty. They’re still around, though, in different form – many of them were melted down and used to make the nails that helped fuel the house building boom in Chicago’s suburbs.
The engine that was moved was the one closest to the road. The new owner removed anything that could have fallen off or been damaged before it was moved, all the domes, stacks, piping, loose sheeting will be replaced when it is restored.
According to my source the Venderbilt tender will be moved to Chicago this year and the Last Steam engine GTW 8305 will be going to the Buffalo Bill Museum in Iowa sometime this year. Finally all the engines will have good homes…
…Actually #73 in Sterling was repainted and a roof was constructed to shelter the engine, tender and caboose just last year. Whiteside County celebrated 150 years for Railroading in 2005, they had a week long celebration in July, one of the benifits was #73 got a new paint job and the roof.
Amboy’s GTW 8376 was also repainted in 2004.
both engines look pretty good right now.
If you have photos of these engines when they were running I am very interested in seeing them. please contact me if you have photos. Video would also be cool.
Later Bill
trailrider@essex1.com
Northwestern Steel and Wire finally shut down its steam “program” with the former Grand Trunk Western 0-8-0s in the early 1980s. The Illinois Rail Museum ended up with six, but only one (8380) made it to the Union, Ill. musuem grounds. (www.irm.org).
According to www.steamlocomotive.com in 1988 the IRM wanted to save Richard Jensen’s former CB&Q 2-8-2 (4963), which was about to be scrapped. IRM traded five of the 0-8-0s (8306, 8328, 8372, 8375, and 8379) to the scrap dealer in exchange for 4963. Fortunately, 4963 is now safe at the IRM. It is ironic that these 0-8-0s which at NSW dragged so many fine steamers to their demise in the early 1960s met their end saving a mainline engine from the torch.
I’ve seen photos of the 0-8-0s in action at NSW, but can’t remember where.
Here is a photo of one of the GTW 0-8-0s from the same group (8377) on a 1955 fan trip in Battle Creek, Mich.:
Here’s a recent article on this, gleaned from the UTU website today (Chris, this answers your questions about who Ken Marks is):
| Man realizes dream, buys locomotive |
He’s able to split locomotives in two, capable of moving tracks singlehandedly, efficient at loading up trains for transport without a crane and moving them from Illinois to Nebraska with little help, according to the Associated Press.
Who is this superhero? Spiderman? Superman? No, it’s Ken Marks of Lincoln, who has had big ideas and dreams ever since he was a young boy. Marks has just turned one of his big ideas into reality by accomplishing all of the above.
His latest project has been buying a steam locomotive and tender (coal car) in Illinois, bringing it home to Nebraska and getting it ready for display at his family business, Aero Manufacturing Co., in Geneva.
Marks said his love for steam locomotives and trains began when he was 5 years old. He lived on an acreage northeast of Lincoln on U.S. Highway 6 with his parents, Howard and Lorena Marks and his brother, Norman.
They lived right beside the main Burlington Railroad route that ran between Lincoln and Omaha.
Those were the days when steam locomotives were in decline. Today, just 100 or so are in use in the United States - most pulling tourist trains.
“At first I would stand outside and see the steam engines going by, but by age 9 I wouldn’t see any others than those going to the salvage yard because the diesel engine had taken over,” said Marks, now 55. “It made me sad to see them cut up. I was a little kid, but I had big ideas. Way back then I wished I could have one of them.”
Nearly a half-century later, Marks’ dream came true as he purchased a 1929 Baldwin steam locomotive with tender.
Every year in August, Marks drives to Union, Ill.,
|
Is there any industrial switching still active in Sterling? I nosed around the UP a bit over the weekend, but didn’t look for anything else.
I believe Azcon Steel uses some of the old NSW facility. There are still yard crews for UP at Sterling.
Ah hah! Thanks for bringing this one back up, Carl. Seems I missed it when it was originally posted. Now I can sleep better at night knowing who Ken Marks is!
For those who don’t know, last November I made a trip back to IL. While there, I took some shots of the former NWSW 0-8-0’s and found one with this painted on the side rod:
I must say that I might almost miss the rusting loco’s, though. They were awfully photogenic. Oh well, perhaps they’ll be more photogenic in a new way now.