St. Louis-San Francisco Railway 1630

Frisco 1630

Frisco 1630 in between excursions at the Illinois Railway Museum in July 2014
Type and origin
Power type Steam
Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works
Build date 1918
Specifications
Configuration:
 ​
 • Whyte 2-10-0
Length 71 ft 0 in (22 m)
Height 16 ft 2 in (5 m)
Axle load 37,000 lb (17,000 kg)
Adhesive weight 185,000 lb (84,000 kg)
Loco weight 210,000 lb (95,000 kg)
Fuel type Coal
Boiler pressure 180 psi (1 MPa)
Cylinder size 24 in × 28 in (610 mm × 711 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort 48,454 lbf (216 kN)
Career
Operators Pennsylvania Railroad, St. Louis–San Francisco Railway, Eagle-Picher, Illinois Railway Museum
Numbers SLSF 1630, Eagle-Picher 1630, USRA 1147, Pennsylvania 1147
Retired 1967
Restored 1974
Current owner Illinois Railway Museum
Disposition Operational, in excursion service based in Union, Illinois.

St. Louis-San Francisco Railway 1630 is a 2-10-0 (decapod) steam locomotive.[1] That currently works at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.

History

The locomotive was built in 1918 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for use in Russia as a class Ye locomotive. However, it, along with approximately 200 other locomotives, remained in the United States, due to the inability of the Bolshevik government to pay for them, following the Russian Revolution. 1630 was converted from 5 ft (1,524 mm) Russian track gauge to 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge. After being re-gauged, #1630 was sold to the USRA and was numbered 1147. Shortly after, 1147 was briefly leased for use on the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1920, the locomotive was sold to the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway, where it was used as a mixed traffic engine. In 1951, the locomotive was sold to Eagle-Picher, who used it to haul lead ore from a mine to their smelter. In 1967, the locomotive was donated to the Illinois Railway Museum, in Union, Illinois, where they began restoring it in 1972, it returned to operating condition in 1974 and made its first revenue run.[2] Sometime after arriving at the museum, 1630 was restored from her Eagle Picher appearance back to her Frisco appearance. In an episode the 1982 TV series American Playhouse named "Any Friend of Nicholas Nickelby is a Friend of Mine," the decapod was used for some sequences. In 1991, the locomotive appeared in the movie The Babe in the transportation scenes, which were filmed at IRM.[3] 1630 was taken out of service in 2004, and after more than six years undergoing repairs and a federally mandated rebuild, it was returned to operational condition on October 30, 2013.[4] On Memorial Day weekend 2014, the locomotive returned to excursion service. In 2016, the locomotive received a cylinder overhaul, which according to Steam department curator, Nigel Bennett, made the locomotive, "probably more powerful than she has been since he [sic] first arrival at IRM in the 1970’s." The locomotive, during Memorial Day weekend 2016, pulled 137 empty coal cars as what was considered to be one of the longest revenue freight trains powered by a steam locomotive in at least 25 years as said by IRM's Steam department curator.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad 1630". Illinois Railway Museum.
  2. ↑ "St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad 1630 Ownership History". Steam Locomotive Information.
  3. ↑ "On the Set at IRM". Illinois Railway Museum.
  4. ↑ Bennett, Nigel (October 31, 2013). "Steam Department 10-30-13 Extremes of high and low". Illinois Railway Museum.
  5. ↑ Bennett, Nigel (June 19, 2016). "Steam Department update - Spring 2016". Illinois Railway Museum.


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