This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2024) |
Grand Trunk Western 6323 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() No. 6323 on static display at the Illinois Railway Museum in 1988 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Grand Trunk Western No. 6323 is a preserved class "U-3-b" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive built by Alco in 1942. It served the Grand Trunk Western Railroad by pulling various heavy freight and passenger trains across the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and Northern Indiana. It became famous in later years for being the very last active steam locomotive to run on the GTW's trackage while still on the railroad's active list in 1961. After sitting in storage for several years in Detroit, No. 6323 was sold in 1981 to the Illinois Railway Museum, and since then, it has remained on static display in Union, Illinois.
No. 6323 was constructed in February 1942 by the American Locomotive Company in Schenectady, New York as the twelfth member of the Grand Trunk Western's U-3-b class. The U-3-bs were a class of 4-8-4 "Northerns"(or "Confederation" types as sometimes referred to by the GTW) that were primarily used for fast freight and passenger trains. No. 6323, in particular, was mainly assigned to pull the Maple Leaf passenger train between Chicago, Illinois and Toronto, Ontario in Canada alongside the GTW's streamlined U-4-b locomotives. It was also often seen pulling mixed freight trains across the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and Northern Indiana. The U-3-bs were also well liked by crews for being such reliable steam locomotives and for having enough power to pull up to sixteen passenger cars or eighty freight cars with equal ease on flat lands, and No. 6323 was no exception.
Throughout the late 1950s, the GTW was in the process of retiring their steam locomotives and replacing them with diesel locomotives, and by 1961, No. 6323 was the last steam locomotive on the GTW's active list. During the locomotive's final two years of service on the railroad, the Michigan Railroad Club sponsored several excursion trains that ran across the GTW's trackage, with No. 6323 being the main motive power. The first excursion train took place on December 1, 1960, between Detroit, Michigan and South Bend, Indiana. Throughout 1961, the GTW used No. 6323 to pull several excursion trains between Detroit and South Bend, as well as trains that led to Port Huron, Michigan, Valparaiso, Indiana, and Chicago. The last excursion train took place on September 20, 1961, which marked the very last regularly scheduled train the GTW ever hosted by themselves. That was also the last time No. 6323 ever moved under its own power and would be officially retired from service. [1]
After being retired, No. 6323 was sold in November 1961 to Fred Crew, who stored the locomotive in Downtown Detroit. After Fred passed away in October 1971, No. 6323 was sold again in 1973 to Robert Johnson, who was a member of the Illinois Railway Museum (IRM), and he had No. 6323 partially disassembled while being stored. [2] In August 1981, No. 6323 was moved to the IRM's grounds in Union, Illinois, and the locomotive received a cosmetic repaint soon afterwards. No. 6323 subsequently spent over two decades on static display outdoors while receiving some cosmetic touch-ups as time flew by. While on display, No. 6323 was often coupled to a maintenance of way tender, No. 6323B, which came off of a fellow GTW U-3-b that had been scrapped years prior. In the early 2000s, No. 6323 was moved inside one of the IRM's locomotive houses to be protected out of the weather, since its paint was beginning to chip off, and the rust on its tender was beginning to be exposed. As of 2023, No. 6323 still on indoor display at the IRM, and it is also awaiting a future cosmetic restoration to become more presentable to the general public once again.
No. 6323 holds significance for being the very last operational steam locomotive on the Grand Trunk Western's active roster. It is also one of only two GTW 4-8-4's left to be preserved and one of seventeen GTW steam locomotives left in general.
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, CB&Q, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and also in Texas through subsidiaries Colorado and Southern Railway, Fort Worth and Denver Railway, and Burlington-Rock Island Railroad. Its primary connections included Chicago, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Denver. Because of this extensive trackage in the midwest and mountain states, the railroad used the advertising slogans "Everywhere West", "Way of the Zephyrs", and "The Way West".
Milwaukee Road 261 is a class "S3" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady, New York in July 1944 for the Milwaukee Road.
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company was an American subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway, later of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holding company, the Grand Trunk Corporation. Grand Trunk Western's routes are part of CN's Michigan Division. Its primary mainline between Chicago and Port Huron, Michigan serves as a connection between railroad interchanges in Chicago and rail lines in eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States. The railroad's extensive trackage in Detroit and across southern Michigan has made it an essential link for the automotive industry as a hauler of parts and automobiles from manufacturing plants.
The 'French Lick Scenic Railway is located in French Lick, Indiana, United States.
Pere Marquette 1225 is a class "N-1" 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built in October 1941 for the Pere Marquette Railway (PM) by Lima Locomotive Works (LLW) in Lima, Ohio. No. 1225 is one of two surviving Pere Marquette 2-8-4 locomotives, the other being 1223, which was on display at the Tri-Cities Historical Society near the ex-Grand Trunk Western (GTW) coaling tower in Grand Haven, Michigan, and both have the distinction of being the only surviving Pere Marquette steam locomotives left in preservation. No. 1225 was well known to be the basis for the locomotive used in the 2004 film The Polar Express, earning itself the nickname "The Real Polar Express."
The Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad is a historic railroad that operated in northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan.
The Confederation type is a steam locomotive with a 4-8-4 wheel arrangement used on Canadian railways. Most were built by the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) in Montreal, Quebec, and the Canadian Locomotive Company (CLC) in Kingston, Ontario, for the Canadian National Railway (CNR). The "Confederation" type was later given the more common designation "Northern" type. They were the backbone of the CNR locomotive fleet from the 1930s to the 1950s. Eight locomotives of this type have been preserved from the CNR and 2 CPR fleets.
The Steam Railroading Institute is located at 405 South Washington Street, Owosso, Michigan. It was founded in 1969 as the Michigan State University (MSU) Railroad Club. It became the Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation, and later adopted its present name.
Grand Trunk Western 6325 is a class "U-3-b" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive built in 1942 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. As a member of the dual service U-3-b class, the 6325 handled heavy passenger and freight work for the Grand Trunk Western. In 1946, the 6325 gained notoriety for pulling United States President Harry S. Truman's election campaign train through the state of Michigan. Retired in 1959, the locomotive was donated for display to the City of Battle Creek, Michigan where a failed restoration attempt left 6325 in danger of being scrapped. Purchased in 1993 by Jerry Jacobson of the Ohio Central Railroad, the locomotive sat in storage for six years until being restored to operating condition on July 31, 2001, for use on excursion trains across the Ohio Central System. The locomotive is in storage, on static display at the Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugarcreek, Ohio.
The USRA Light Pacific was a USRA standard class of steam locomotive designed under the control of the United States Railroad Administration, the nationalized railroad system in the United States during World War I. It was the standard light passenger locomotive of the USRA types, with a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or 2′C1′ in UIC classification.
The Maple Leaf was a passenger train pool operated by the Canadian National and the Grand Trunk Western Railroad between Chicago, Illinois and Toronto, Ontario. It operated from 1927 to 1971. The train took its name from the maple leaf, the national symbol of Canada. The Maple Leaf was one of many trains discontinued when Amtrak began operations in 1971, and is unrelated to the Maple Leaf which Amtrak now operates between Toronto and New York City. The train operated on Canadian National railroad territory through Ontario, but west of Lake Huron it operated via Grand Trunk Railroad.
Grand Trunk Western No. 4070 is an S-3-a class 2-8-2 USRA Light Mikado steam locomotive, and it was originally built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in December 1918 for the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) as No. 474. It was later re-numbered to 3734 by the Grand Trunk Western (GTW), after the GTR was absorbed into Canadian National (CN). In the late 1950s, the locomotive received a larger tender from an S-3-c class locomotive, and it was further re-numbered to 4070.
Western Maryland Scenic Railroad No. 734, also known as Mountain Thunder, is an SC-1 class 2-8-0 “Consolidation” type steam locomotive originally built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1916 for the Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad (LS&I) as No. 18. It was renumbered to 34 in 1925. No. 34 was used to pull heavy iron ore trains for the LS&I, until it was retired in 1961. The locomotive was subsequently sold to the Marquette and Huron Mountain Railroad, where it was stored in a sideline alongside other LS&I steam locomotives. In 1971, No. 34 was sold to the Illinois Railway Museum for static display.
The Chicago Burlington and Quincy O-5 was a class of 36 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotives built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1930 and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) between 1936 and 1940 and operated by the CB&Q until the late 1950s.
Grand Trunk Western No. 6039 is a preserved class "U-1-c" 4-8-2 "Mountain type" steam locomotive built in June 1925 by Baldwin. It served the Grand Trunk Western Railroad by pulling fast passenger and freight trains throughout the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, until the railroad decided to dieselize their locomotive fleet. During that time, it was leased to the Central Vermont Railway for freight service, only to become one of the very last steam locomotives to regularly operate in the state of Vermont. After being retired in the late 1950s, No. 6039 became one of the first steam locomotives to be owned by F. Nelson Blount, and it subsequently became part of his Steamtown, U.S.A. collection for static display. In 1984, the locomotive was moved along with every other locomotive in the Steamtown collection from Bellows Falls to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where the name would late be changed to Steamtown National Historic Site under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. As of 2023, No. 6039 remains on static display at Scranton with very meticulous cosmetic care.
Grand Trunk Western 5629 was a 4-6-2 K-4-a steam locomotive, which was a copy of the United States Railroad Administration's (USRA) Light Pacific design, built by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1924, for the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. It was used to haul commuter passenger trains in Michigan until 1960, when it was purchased by Chicago-based railfan Richard Jensen, who used No. 5629 to pull several excursion trains in the Chicago area throughout the 1960s.
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 5632 was an O-5B class 4-8-4 “Northern” built in the CB&Q's shops in August 1940. It was used to pull mainline passenger and freight trains before it eventually became famous for pulling a plethora of excursion trains for the CB&Q's steam excursion program. By the time the program ended in 1966, No. 5632 was disassembled for an unfinished overhaul, and was subsequently sold to Chicago area railfan Richard Jensen.
Canadian National Railway No. 6400 is a preserved 4-8-4 “Confederation” or “Northern” type locomotive built in June 1936 for the Canadian National Railway (CNR).
Canadian National 6218 is a 4-8-4 U-2-g Confederation built by the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) in 1942 for the Canadian National Railway. It became famous after it was brought back by CN for their Steam Excursion Program from 1964 to 1971. It is now on static display at the Fort Erie Railway Museum in Fort Erie, Ontario.
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 4963 is a preserved class "O-1a" 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotive originally built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1923 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. It was used by the CB&Q to haul mainline freight trains before it was leased to the Bevier and Southern Railroad to haul short-distance freight trains in the early 1960s. It was subsequently retained by the CB&Q and used as a source of spare parts before being acquired by Richard Jensen.