I thought maybe it’d be cool if we all shared what preserved locomotives/rolling stock or just plain flat out interesting locomotives/rolling stock are in our areas. Just give us a picture if you can, a description, and if it runs or not. I’ll go first…
That’s Pere Marquette 2-8-4 Berkshire #1223 and all her glory, sitting in Grand Haven, MI. She was built for the PM in the early 40s and served a few years on the C&O until her retirement. Curently the group that owns her (which I’m a member of) is talking of restoring her. A test was run a few years ago and the locomotive is in surprisingly good shape.
I would have a tough time doing a better job of showing local preserved engines than their official websites–but then I’m lucky enough to have a first-class railroad museum in my backyard, and a great one just a stretch down the highway.
I don’t know if URL image linking works, but I’ll try. This isn’t exactly a beast, or even steam for that matter, but a shorline owned high hood GP9 that’s been well taken care of and still operates a local here in my home town once a week. Kinda proud that the old Southern RR branchline is still in operation.
This is CNR 4-6-2 5114, built by MLW in 1919. Yes, I know it’s a bad picture, but it’s the only one I could find. It is preserved in Melville, Saskatchewan (home to a big CN yard, about 45 minutes from where I live) alongside an old station. This is the Melville Railway Museum. It never seems to be open, though. The only time I actually got inside was when I was 3 years old or so my parents tell me.
This is CNR 4-6-2 5093, built by MLW in 1918. It’s on display in Regina (2 hours and 15 minutes from where I live) in front of Casino Regina. The Casino is housed in the city’s old Union Station. There’s also a CN dining car in front that is connected to the casino. A year or so ago, I heard that they wanted to get rid of it and were willing to give it to whoever wanted it. Apparently there was a town with an old factory that made the bricks used in locomotive fireboxes that was interested, but I haven’t heard anything since.
This is CPR 4-8-4 3101, which is preserved at the IPSCO steel smelting plant, just outside of Regina. This was one of only two Northerns that CP had, both built in 1928. IPSCO melts down a lot of steel that comes from scrapyards located right beside it and many years ago this “scrap” included steam locomotives.
This is CPR 4-6-2 2634, built by MLW in 1912. It is at the Western Development Museum of Transportation in Moose Jaw (3 hours from where I live). The museum also has a narrow gauge 0-4-0ST that they operate on weekends in summer. I couldn’t find a picture of it.
The only other preserved trains close to me are in Saskatoon and Winnipeg. Both cities are about a 4-hour drive from my town
Comox, Vancouver Island, a 2-6-2T made by Baldwin. Was used until middle of the last century as a logging op locomotive. There is a lot of coal in the area, so I think it burned coal.
this one is a bit small to qualify as a beast, but it has gone places,
it has been build in 1943 for the US Transportation Corps, and is now preserved
in Goes, a town 15 miles from here
this loco is a black 5 number 45407 and it’s seen here at home on the East lancs railway in the UK, it’s out on an excursion this weekend
this loco’s also from the East lancs and is also out on an excursion this weekend, it’s number 71000 a class 8 pacific
Here’s a really good place to get up close and friendly with some old equipment. Not far from where I live. .www.oerm.org It is the Orange Empire Railroad Museum.
Sask. so thats where C.P.R. 4-8-4 3101 is located eh? seems a little too close to a smelting plant for Canada’s best looking steam locomotive (it’s not that dinky royal hudson thing) Is this loco being preserved or looked after and why is it in a scrapyard?
