Canadian Pacific Railway No. 1278

Last updated
Canadian Pacific 1278
Type and origin
Power type Steam
Builder Canadian Locomotive Company
Serial number2435
Build dateApril 1948
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 •  Whyte 4-6-2 "Pacific"
 •  UIC 2'C1'
Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.70 in (1,778 mm)
Trailing dia. 45 in (1,143 mm)
Wheelbase:
 • Drivers		15 ft (4.6 m)
Length76 ft 4+1⁄8 in (23.3 m)
Height14 ft 10 in (4.5 m)
Axle load 50,333 lb (22,830.7 kg; 22.8 t)
Adhesive weight 151,000 lb (68 t)
Loco weight229,500 lb (104,099.4 kg; 104.1 t)
Tender weight191,000 lb (86,636.1 kg; 86.6 t)
Total weight420,500 lb (190,735.6 kg; 190.7 t)
Fuel type Coal
Fuel capacity28,000 lb (13,000 kg; 13 t)
Water cap11,529 US gal (43,642 l; 9,600 imp gal)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		45.6 sq ft (4.24 m2)
Boiler pressure250 psi (1.72 MPa)
Heating surface3,320 sq ft (308.4 m2)
 • Firebox199 sq ft (18.5 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • Heating area744 sq ft (69.1 m2)
Cylinders Two, outside
Cylinder size 20 in × 28 in (508 mm × 711 mm)
Valve gear Walschaerts
Performance figures
Tractive effort 34,000 lbf (151.2 kN)
Factor of adh. 4.44
Career
Operators Canadian Pacific Railway
Steamtown, U.S.A.
High Iron Company
Cadillac and Lake City Railway
Gettysburg Railroad
Class G-5d
Number in class7 of 30
Numbers
  • CP 1278
  • Steamtown 127
  • D&H 653
  • GRR 1278
Last runJune 16, 1995
RetiredDecember 1963 (revenue service)
June 16, 1995 (excursion service)
RestoredMay 1965
2016–2020 (cosmetic)
Current owner Age of Steam Roundhouse
DispositionIn storage, on static display, based in Sugarcreek, Ohio

Canadian Pacific Railway No. 1278 is a class "G5d" 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built in April 1948 by the Canadian Locomotive Company for the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Contents

History

Early years

Like her sister, CPR 1293, it was built by Canadian Locomotive Company in April 1948 and is a type 4-6-2 class G5d light weight "Pacific" locomotive. The engine worked most of its career hauling freight and passenger trains throughout the Canadian Pacific Railway until it was retired from revenue service in December 1963.

It was purchased by F. Nelson Blount for his Steamtown, U.S.A. collection in May 1965 and was restored to operating condition, it was subsequently renumbered to 127. Blount had planned to renumber all three of the 1200-series CPR locomotives in his collection from 1246, 1278 and 1293 to 124, 127 and 129 respectively, but 1278 was the only one of the three that underwent the change. The new number remained on the locomotive from 1966 until 1973, when its former number was restored. In 1968, Ross Rowland's High Iron Company sponsored a doubleheader excursion over the Central Railroad of New Jersey's mainline between Jersey City and Wilkes-Barre, pulled by 1278's sisters 1238 and 1286. However, the latter two locomotives were loaned by the city of Reading for emergency warmth after a steam generator broke down. Unwilling to cancel the excursion run, HICO replaced them with No. 1278, as well as Strasburg Rail Road's 2-10-0 No. 90 for the excursion run. [1]

No. 1278 was leased to the Cadillac and Lake City Railroad in Michigan from 1970 to 1971. After some repair work, the locomotive was returned to Steamtown, U.S.A. in Bellows Falls, Vermont where it served on excursion runs. During the sesquicentennial of the Delaware and Hudson Railway, the 1278 was fitted with elephant-eared smoke deflectors to masquerade as D&H P-1 4-6-2 653, [2] and it performed one doubleheader with Reading T-1 4-8-4 2102, which masqueraded as D&H 302 at the time. Before Steamtown moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania, No. 1278 performed some excursions alongside 1246, 1293, and 2317 to bid farewell to their old home in Bellows Falls. After the move, No. 1278 was taken out of service, as it was in need of new flues. In 1987, it was traded to the Gettysburg Railroad in exchange for Canadian National 2-8-2 3254, [3] since Steamtown's excursion trains were getting longer and heavier, exceeding the 1278's hauling capacity.

Disaster

On Friday, June 16, 1995, at Pond Road at milepost 18 and a mile later at 7 p.m. at Garners while moving at 15 miles per hour, 1278 suffered a backdraft explosion in the firebox. Scalding steam and flames burned three members badly with the engineer suffering the worst, as he had burns over 60% of his body. When the train stopped he managed to get out of the locomotive cab by himself and laid on the ground. He was then helped by the fireman and other members of the train crew. Ambulances arrived minutes later to take them to area hospitals. The first fireman, who immediately left the cab by the doorway, had second and third-degree burns over 10% of his body. He initially went to a hospital in Gettysburg, and was then transported to York for a week. His recovery took 3 and a half months. The second fireman also had second and third-degree burns on his legs, arms and chest. He had fractured legs from jumping out of the cab window. None of the crew was killed and all 100 passengers escaped serious injury.

No. 1278 suffered major damage to its firebox area but the rest of the locomotive was fine. The crown sheet toward the front tubesheet, next to the rear tube sheet nucle, had bolds down to a maximum about a foot in a bag shape composing an area at about 60 crown days the crownsheet holes around the crowns days have been deformed of creating gaps about the crowstay heads. It also had a 6 inch tare and also 2 front right nucleus have broken and fallen on the ash pan below.

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation quickly revealed that this accident was more than just an engine without enough water. [4] Prior to the explosion, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) had cleared the Gettysburg Railroad’s locomotives to remain in service. It turns out, the GRR poorly maintained their locomotives, such as 1278 not having any necessary care for most of its components, including the water glass. Now, the FRA must perform the 1,472-day inspection on any active steam locomotive in the United States. [5]

Disposition

Jerry Joe Jacobson bought the engine at an auction in 1998 as a possible spare parts provider for No. 1293. It sat in an Ohio Central Railroad storage facility for several years. In 2016, No. 1278 was moved inside the Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugarcreek, Ohio, safely out of the weather. As of 2021, while it has had a partial cosmetic restoration to improve its overall looks as a static display, it's likely that it will never run under steam again.

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References

  1. ↑ "RailPictures.Net Photo: SRC 90 Strasburg Railroad Steam 2-10-0 at Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania by John West". www.railpictures.net. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  2. ↑ "DHVM: Memorabilia of D&H Items - Postcards of Steam Engines". www.trainweb.org. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  3. ↑ "CP 1278 - Ex Canadian Pacific 4-8-2 No. 1278". Age of Steam Roundhouse. Age of Steam Roundhouse, LTD. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  4. ↑ Ron Martin's Moments: Gettysburg tourist train explosion , retrieved 2021-04-29
  5. ↑ "49 CFR § 230.17 - One thousand four hundred seventy-two (1472) service day inspection". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
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