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 Brooklyn East District Terminal 0-6-0ST no. 15 on the move to West Medford, Massachusetts in 1963 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal 15 is a ST class 0-6-0 "Switcher" type steam locomotive, owned and operated by the Strasburg Rail Road outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania. [1] [2] [4]
The engine was built in March 1917 by the H.K. Porter, Inc. for Mesta Machine Works before being sold to the Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal in 1935; it has a wheel arrangement of 0-6-0ST. [3] The engine originally worked as a dockside switcher engine, hauling freight trains for boats and ships. [1] [3]
After years of service, No. 15 was retired and put out of service on December 25, 1963. It was purchased by the Southern Appalachian Railway in 1965, where it was rebuilt and operated in occasional service. [1] [2] [3]
In 1968, the Yancey Railroad offered steam trips between Micaville and Kona by using the No. 15 and two steel passenger coaches. This operation unfortunately was not a huge success and the locomotive along with the equipment was put into storage in Burnsville, North Carolina for several years before being sold. In 1975, the Toledo, Lake Erie and Western Railway purchased No. 15 and placed it on static display for the next twenty-three years. [1] The engine remained on display until 1998, when the Strasburg Rail Road purchased No. 15. [1] [2]
When film producer Britt Allcroft asked permission from Strasburg to film on their railroad for Thomas and the Magic Railroad , they brought an idea to her, about which she was thrilled; they proposed to restore the locomotive and convert it into a full-size operating replica of Thomas the Tank Engine. [1] [2]
Work subsequently began, and in the process, the railroad converted No. 15 from oil to coal firing. [2] [4] [5] No. 15 participated in its first public Day Out with Thomas events, on the weekend of September 25-27, 1998, but the locomotive was not fired up, and a GE 44-ton switcher moved the train from the opposite end. [6] No. 15 eventually underwent its first test fire with its Thomas livery, on April 14, 1999, and on April 29, it made its first public run for that day’s Day Out with Thomas event. [1] [4] [5]
The full-scale Thomas replica locomotive has been used for the semiannual Thomas activities ever since. [7] It also has been occasionally transferred to other railroads for the same purpose, such as the Illinois Railway Museum, the Greenfield Village Line, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, and the Belvidere and Delaware River Railway. Thomas' original face was replaced in April 2014 with an animatronic CGI face with the mouth’s ability to open and close, and a voice speaker, recorded by Martin Sherman. [1]
A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing its fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so their tenders are necessary to keep them running over long distances. A locomotive that pulls a tender is called a tender locomotive. Locomotives that do not have tenders and carry all their fuel and water on board are called tank locomotives or tank engines.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Mogul.
The EMD FL9 is a model of electro-diesel locomotive, capable of operating either as a traditional diesel-electric locomotive or as an electric locomotive powered from a third rail. Sixty units were built between October 1956 and November 1960 by General Motors Electro-Motive Division for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The locomotives were designed to allow diesel powered trains to enter Grand Central Terminal, where non-electric locomotives are forbidden. The FL9s continued in passenger service under the New Haven's successors, with the final units in revenue service retired by Metro-North Railroad in 2009. A number of FL9s have been preserved at museums or with private owners.
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is a railroad museum in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The North Carolina Transportation Museum is a museum in Spencer, North Carolina. It is a collection of automobiles, aircraft, and railway vehicles. The museum is located at the former Southern Railway's 1896-era Spencer Shops and devotes much of its space to the state's railroad history. The museum has the largest collection of rail relics in the Carolinas. Its Back Shop building of nearly three stories high is notable for its size, two football fields long.
The GE 44-ton switcher is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Electric between 1940 and 1956. It was designed for industrial and light switching duties, often replacing steam locomotives that had previously been assigned these chores.
The Strasburg Rail Road is a heritage railroad and the oldest continuously operating standard-gauge railroad in the western hemisphere, as well as the oldest public utility in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chartered in 1832, the Strasburg Rail Road Company is today a heritage railroad offering excursion trains hauled by steam locomotives on 4.02 mi (6.47 km) of track in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, as well as providing contract railroad mechanical services, and freight service to area shippers. The railroad's headquarters are outside Strasburg, Pennsylvania.
The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum is the official state railroad museum of Alabama. Dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and operation of historically significant railway equipment, the museum is located at 1919 Ninth Street, Calera, Alabama, on I-65 approximately 30 miles (48 km) south of Birmingham.
Norfolk and Western 475 is a M class 4-8-0 "Twelve-wheeler" type steam locomotive built in June 1906 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works as part of the Norfolk and Western Railway's (N&W) first order of M class numbered 375–499. It was first assigned to haul freight trains on the N&W mainline before being reassigned to branch line duties on the Blacksburg Branch in the 1920s.
Great Western 90 is a preserved 12-42-F class 2-10-0 "Decapod" steam locomotive owned and operated by the Strasburg Rail Road (SRC) east of Strasburg, Pennsylvania. Built in June 1924 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, No. 90 originally pulled sugar beet trains for the Great Western Railway of Colorado, and it was the largest of the company’s roster. In April 1967, No. 90 was purchased by the Strasburg Rail Road.
Day Out with Thomas is a trade name, licensed by Mattel for tourist events that take place on heritage railways and feature one or more engines decorated to look like characters from the popular long-running classic British children's television series Thomas & Friends. The events are held around the world in Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. They include a full-day of activities for families in addition to rides on trains pulled by the customised steam locomotives resembling characters such as Thomas the Tank Engine.
The Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal was a shortline railroad and marine terminal with its main facilities and administrative offices located on 86–88 Kent Avenue in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York City.
The Waterloo Central Railway (WCR) is a non-profit heritage railway owned and operated by the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society (SOLRS). In May 2007, SOLRS received joint approval from the Region of Waterloo and the City of Waterloo to run trains from Waterloo to St. Jacobs and potentially as far north as Elmira. On a typical operating day, the train runs three times a day on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. In 2015, the railway lost regular running rights south of Northfield Drive to make way for the Ion light rail project. All Market Train service now runs between St. Jacobs Farmers' Market, the Village of St. Jacobs, and Elmira, Ontario.
The Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railway is a Class III common carrier shortline railroad that operates in the cities of Marion and Herrin in the Southern Illinois region. It is most historically recognized by the FRA for being the last U.S. railroad of any kind to use steam locomotives exclusively in regular revenue freight service up until March 1986.
The Kaufman Electrification Act of 1923, or Kaufman Act for short, was a law passed by the New York State Legislature, mandated electrification of all railroads in New York City by January 1, 1926. The bill was sponsored by recently elected Republican Assemblyman Victor R. Kaufman and signed by Governor Al Smith on June 2, 1923.
The Yancey Railroad was an American Class III shortline railroad that operated for freight service from a connection with the Clinchfield Railroad at Kona, North Carolina, through Micaville, to Burnsville, 10.6 miles (17.1 km). A short branch ran from Micaville to Bowditch, North Carolina, 2.11 miles (3.40 km). Total mileage was 12.83 miles (20.65 km). Rail was 60–65 pounds and the maximum load limit was 75 tons. Traffic was feldspar, mica, fertilizer, building materials, livestock feed and steel spring wire.
Canadian National 89 is a E-10-a class 2-6-0 "Mogul" type steam locomotive, built in February 1910 by the Canadian Locomotive Company for the Grand Trunk Railway. Originally number No. 1009, it was renumbered to No. 911 in 1919. It then came under CN ownership in 1923 when the Grand Trunk merged. It was then renumbered again to No. 89 in 1951. Most of No. 89's early life is a mystery, but it spent the latter part of its working life in Quebec until retirement in 1958 and being stored in the deadline in Montreal. It was purchased by F. Nelson Blount in 1961, who sent it to operate on the Green Mountain Railroad. It was then purchased in 1972 by the Strasburg Railroad who were looking for an engine to pull the half-hour trains. As of 2025, it is in operation at the Strasburg Railroad.
Canadian National 7312 is a O-9-a class 0-6-0 "Switcher" type steam locomotive, built in August 1908 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Canadian National Railway. It is owned and currently undergoing an overhaul by the Strasburg Rail Road outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania.
Reading 1251 is a preserved B-4a class 0-6-0 "Switcher" type Steam locomotive built by the Reading Company's own locomotive shops in Reading in 1918 as the only tank locomotive to be rostered by the Reading after World War I. It served as a shop switcher to pull and push locomotives in and out of the Reading's shops, until it was taken off of the Reading's active list in early 1963. It subsequently spent the next eight years being sold to various owners until becoming fully owned by the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg for static display. As of 2025, the locomotive remains on indoor display inside the museum and is not likely to run again in the near future.
Wilmington and Western 98 is a preserved 4-4-0 "American" type steam locomotive built by Alco's Schenectady Locomotive Works for the Mississippi Central, it is now preserved and operated by the Wilmington and Western Railroad.
