Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. In the United States and elsewhere, this wheel arrangement is commonly known as a Consolidation, after the Lehigh and Mahanoy Railroad’s Consolidation, the name of the first 2-8-0.
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 Stourbridge Line is a shortline railroad that operates 25 miles (40 km) of former Erie Lackawanna Railroad trackage between Honesdale and Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, where it connects with Norfolk Southern Railway. The line was previously owned by the Lackawaxen-Honesdale Shippers Association and operated under contract by Robey Railroads. The operation was contracted to the Morristown & Erie Railway in January, 2009; service ended in 2011. Service was resumed by the Delaware, Lackawaxen & Stourbridge Railroad (DL&S) on May 9, 2015.
The New Hope Railroad, formerly and colloquially known as the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad and New Hope Steam Railway and Museum, is a shortline and heritage railroad located in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Today, the railroad operates both steam and diesel powered locomotives and is an associate member of Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee.
An excursion train is a chartered train run for a special event or purpose. Examples are trains to major sporting event, trains run for railfans or tourists, and special trains operated by the railway company for employees and prominent customers.
Soo Line 2719 is a 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for use on passenger trains operated by the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway. No. 2719 was used to haul the Soo Line's last steam-powered train, a June 21, 1959 round-trip excursion between Minneapolis, Minnesota and Ladysmith, Wisconsin. It was then displayed in Eau Claire, Wisconsin until 1996. It was restored and operated in excursion service from 1998 until 2013 when its boiler certificate expired. Today, the locomotive remains on static display in Duluth, Minnesota were it is currently awaiting an overhaul.
Chesapeake and Ohio 614 is a class "J-3-A" 4-8-4 "Greenbrier" (Northern) type steam locomotive built in June 1948 by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) as a member of the J-3-A class. As one of the last commercially built steam locomotives in the United States, the locomotive was built with the primary purpose of hauling long, heavy, high speed express passenger trains for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway such as the George Washington and the Fast Flying Virginian.
The New Hope Valley Railway is a heritage railroad in Bonsal, North Carolina operated by the North Carolina Railway Museum, Inc., an all-volunteer, nonprofit, and tax exempt educational and historical organization.
Great Western 90 is a 12-42-F class 2-10-0 "Decapod" steam locomotive owned and operated by the Strasburg Rail Road (SRC) east 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, and it was the largest of the company’s roster. In April 1967, No. 90 was purchased by the Strasburg Rail Road, and has been pulling excursion trains there, ever since.
Arcade and Attica No. 18 is a 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive built in November 1920 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) at its Cooke Works in Paterson, New Jersey.
Steamtown, U.S.A., was a steam locomotive museum that ran steam excursions out of North Walpole, New Hampshire, and Bellows Falls, Vermont, from the 1960s to 1983. The museum was founded by millionaire seafood industrialist F. Nelson Blount. The non-profit Steamtown Foundation took over operations following his death in 1967. Because of Vermont's air quality regulations restricting steam excursions, declining visitor attendance, and disputes over the use of track, some pieces of the collection were relocated to Scranton, Pennsylvania in the mid-1980s and the rest were auctioned off. After the move, Steamtown continued to operate in Scranton but failed to attract the expected 200,000–400,000 visitors. Within two years the tourist attraction was facing bankruptcy, and more pieces of the collection were sold to pay off debt.
Reading Blue Mountain and Northern 425 is a G-1 class 4-6-2 light "Pacific" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Gulf, Mobile & Northern Railroad. After the GM&N was consolidated into the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio in 1940, the locomotive was renumbered No. 580 and served in passenger service before being retired in 1950. The locomotive is currently owned and operated by the Reading & Northern, based out of Port Clinton, Pennsylvania in excursion service. At the end of 2022, No. 425 was taken out of service for its mandatory Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) 1,472-day inspection and overhaul.
Nickel Plate Road 759 is a S-2 class 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio as a member of the S-2 class for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road". Built as a fast freight locomotive, No. 759 served the Nickel Plate until being retired in 1959 and placed into storage. In 1965, No. 759 was purchased by F. Nelson Blount for display in his Steamtown, U.S.A. collection in North Walpole, New Hampshire. The locomotive was restored to operating condition in 1967 by New York commodity broker Ross Rowland for use in hauling his Golden Spike Centennial Limited, a special commemorative train that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1969. Afterwards, No. 759 pulled numerous excursions for Ross Rowland and Steamtown until being retired once more and placed back on display in 1977. As of 2023, the locomotive remains on static display at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and sibling engine No. 765 continues to operate in mainline excursion service.
Central Railroad of New Jersey No. 113, also known as CNJ No. 113, is a B-7 class 0-6-0 "Switcher" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The locomotive was designed solely for yard service and could only operate at slow speeds due to the locomotive not having any leading or trailing wheels, but only six driving wheels. No. 113 currently performs passenger excursion services and some freight assignments on Reading Blue Mountain & Northern operated tracks. It is owned and operated by the Railway Restoration Project 113 Organization out of Minersville, PA.
Reading Blue Mountain and Northern 2102 is a preserved T-1 class 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive. Originally built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in March 1925 as an "I-10sa" 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type locomotive for the Reading Company, No. 2102 was rebuilt by the Reading's own locomotive Shops as a 4-8-4 "Northern" in September 1945, and it was used for pulling heavy coal trains for the railroad until being retired from revenue service in 1956.
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 2024, the locomotive remains on indoor display inside the museum and is not likely to run again in the near future.
Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad No. 4 is a preserved 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive. It was constructed by Baldwin in 1926 as the only locomotive to be bought-new by the Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad. It served the railroad by pulling coal and lumber trains throughout Clay County, West Virginia until it was retired in 1965. No. 4 was restored to operating condition by the Quakertown and Eastern Railroad for excursion service in Pennsylvania, and it made its way to the North Carolina Transportation Museum in 1978. No. 4 was subsequently used to pull tourist trains across the museum's property in Spencer, North Carolina from when its multi-year overhaul was completed in 1986 to when its flue time expired in 2001. The locomotive spent fourteen years in storage, waiting for a rebuild that never came to fruition. In 2015, No. 4 was purchased by the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad, who moved it to their shops with the hopes of restoring it to run it on their trackage between Durbin and Cass, West Virginia.
U.S. Sugar 148, formerly Florida East Coast 148, is a 4-6-2 steam locomotive built in April 1920 by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Richmond, Virginia, originally for the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC). It hauled passenger and freight trains between Jacksonville and Miami, Florida, including FEC's Overseas Railroad to Key West, Florida until the line was destroyed in 1935. The locomotive was sold in 1952 to U.S. Sugar Corporation (USSC) to haul sugarcane trains in Clewiston, Florida.
Canadian Pacific 972 is a preserved D-10j class 4-6-0 "Ten-wheeler" type steam locomotive built by the Montreal Locomotive Works. It was used for pulling branchline and mainline freight trains for the Canadian Pacific Railway, until it was removed from service in 1959. It eventually became famous for pulling multiple mainline excursion trains throughout the state of Pennsylvania under the ownership of George Hart. It was sold to the Strasburg Rail Road in 1995, who had an initial plan to rebuild it to pull their own tourist trains. As of 2024, No. 972 is stored outdoors and disassembled in the Strasburg Rail Road's yard.
Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad and Coal Co. 38 is a preserved 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive. It was built by Baldwin in April 1927 for use on the Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad and Coal Company in south central Pennsylvania in the United States, which commonly used the locomotive to pull short-distance freight trains, as well as occasional passenger trains, until the railroad shut down operations in 1954. The locomotive was subsequently acquired by the Rail City Historical Museum in Sandy Creek, New York for static display. In the late 1960s, No. 38 was sold to the Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad in Lakeville, New York, who restored the locomotive to operating condition to pull their excursion trains.
