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Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal 15 is a 0-6-0 ST "Switcher" type steam locomotive owned and operated by the Strasburg Rail Road outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania, where it was significantly altered to resemble the children's television series character Thomas the Tank Engine. [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 planned to restore the engine into a full-size replica operating unit of Thomas the Tank Engine. [1] [2] After two and a half years of restoration work, the railroad converted the engine to burn coal instead of oil, and the locomotive made a test fire-up on April 14, 1999. [2] [4] [5]
No. 15 eventually made its first official run on April 29, 1999 for the first Day Out with Thomas event. [1] [6] The full-scale replica Thomas engine 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]
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven. The wheels on the earliest four-coupled locomotives were connected by a single gear wheel, but from 1825 the wheels were usually connected with coupling rods to form a single driven set.
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 East Anglian Railway Museum is a museum located at Chappel and Wakes Colne railway station in Essex, England, which is situated on the former Great Eastern Railway branch line from Marks Tey to Sudbury. Services on the Sudbury Branch Line are operated by Abellio Greater Anglia.
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 Wilmington and Western Railroad is a freight and heritage railroad in northern Delaware, operating over a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) branch line between Wilmington and Hockessin. The 10.2-mile (16.4 km) railroad operates both steam and diesel locomotives. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a national historic district in 1980. Wilmington & Western serves one customer for revenue service, and interchanges with CSX Transportation at Landenberg Junction, Delaware
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 Glenbrook Vintage Railway (GVR) is a heritage steam railway in Glenbrook, New Zealand.
The Monticello Railway Museum is a non-profit railroad museum located in Monticello, Illinois, about 18 miles west of Champaign, IL. It is home to over 100 pieces of railroad equipment, including several restored diesel locomotives and cars.
Norfolk and Western 475 is a 4-8-0 "Twelve-wheeler" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in June 1906 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 class 12-42-F 2-10-0 "Decapod" steam locomotive owned and operated by the Strasburg Rail Road (SRC) outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania. Built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in June 1924, No. 90 originally pulled sugar beet trains for the Great Western Railway of Colorado. In April 1967, No. 90 was sold to the Strasburg Rail Road, where it presently resides and operates for use in pulling excursion trains.
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. 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 iconic engine (Thomas).
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 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 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.
Thomas & Friends is a media franchise created by Rev. W. Awdry and Britt Allcroft. The franchise revolves around a railway, called the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Island of Sodor. The current title character of the franchise is Thomas, an anthropomorphised steam locomotive, who works with other engines, including Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby and many others. The franchise began with stories told from Wilbert Awdry to his son. In 1984, it was turned into a television series, which spawned a reboot series, titled Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go.
The Cape Government Railways 1st Class 0-4-0ST of 1875 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
Canadian National 89 is a 2-6-0 "Mogul" type steam locomotive originally built by the Canadian Locomotive Company in February 1910 for the Canadian National Railway. It is now owned and operated by the Strasburg Rail Road in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, where it resides today for use on excursion trains.
Canadian National 7312 is an 0-6-0 "Switcher" type steam locomotive originally built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in August 1908 for the Canadian National Railway. It is owned and currently undergoing rebuild by the Strasburg Rail Road outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania.
Reading 1251 is a preserved class "B-4a" 0-6-0 tank 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 2024, 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. It was built by Alco in January 1909 for the Mississippi Central. No. 98 served in passenger service over an extensive 35-year period before being retired by the railroad in December 1944. Paulsen Spence, chairman of the Louisiana Eastern Railroad, purchased No. 98, for the Comite Southern, and later the Louisiana Eastern Railroad. In January 1960, it was purchased again by Thomas C. Marshall Jr., the founder of the Wilmington and Western Railroad and Historic Red Clay Valley, inc. In 1961, No. 98 became stored at the Strasburg Railroad. It is rumored that Strasburg crews wanted to operate No. 98, which is how it ended up being painted in a Strasburg paint scheme. No. 98 was moved to the Wilmington and Western in 1964, and following an extensive overhaul, it returned to operation in the Fall of 1972, and is now one of only two American-type locomotives in regular service East of the Mississippi River. In December 1996, No. 98 briefly operated in its late Mississippi Central Railroad appearance with a centered headlight and relocation of the bell. No. 98 returned to its W&W paint scheme after 1997. Since 2017, No. 98 has been out of service for its Federally Mandated 1,472-day inspection, and is expected to return to steam in 2024.
