Reading 1187

Last updated
Reading 1187 (Strasburg Rail Road 4)
Strasburg - Pennsylvania Railroad 1187.jpg
Reading No. 1187 on display on the turntable at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, in 1996
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works
Serial number21831
Build dateMarch 1903
Specifications
Configuration:
   Whyte 0-4-0
   UIC B ’h2
Gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.50 in (1,270 mm)
Length48 ft 10 in (14.88 m)
Loco weight108,000 lb (49.0 tonnes)
Fuel type anthracite coal
Fuel capacity11,000 lb (5.0 tonnes)
Water cap.7,300 US gal (28,000 L; 6,100 imp gal)
Boiler pressure200 psi (1.38 MPa)
Cylinders Two, inside
Valve gear Stephenson
Valve type Piston valves
Performance figures
Tractive effort 20,890 lbf (92.92 kN)
Career
Operators Reading Company
E&G Brooke Plant
Strasburg Rail Road
Class A4b
Numbers
  • RDG 1187
  • E&G 4
  • SRC 4
Retired1962 (revenue service)
May 27, 1967 (excursion service)
RestoredNovember 9, 1962 (1st restoration)
Current owner Age of Steam Roundhouse
DispositionDisplay, awaiting cosmetic restoration

Reading 1187 is a camelback A4b class 0-4-0 "Switcher" type steam locomotive, built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. It was primarily used for yard switching services, until 1946, when it was sold to the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company's E&G Brooke Plant as No. 4. In 1962, it made its way to the Strasburg Rail Road in Strasburg, Pennsylvania to be used in hauling tourist trains, but due to its small size, it was reassigned to switching passenger cars. After being removed from service in 1967, No. 1187 sat on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, before sitting idle at the Strasburg yard. In 2020, it was acquired by the Age of Steam Roundhouse, were it is on static display and awaiting a cosmetic restoration at their location in Sugarcreek, Ohio.

Contents

History

Revenue service

In the turn of the 20th century, the Philadelphia and Reading Company designed new classes of steam locomotives with the newly-introduced wootten firebox to burn anthracite coal more easily, as well as to increase the tractive effort and economical reliability. One of these new classes was the A-4as, which was a class of 0-4-0 camelback switcher locomotives. [1] Coming from the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, No. 1187 was the first locomotive of this class to be built in March 1903, with nineteen other A-4as being built that same year. [2] 1187 was initially assigned for yard switching services in Reading to push and pull freight cars from one spot to another.

In 1906, No. 1187 was modified with a larger tender, an increase in boiler pressure, and was re-classified as an A-4b. [3] The locomotive was subsequently able to pull longer strings of cars, and the amount of time it operated between refueling was increased. In the late 1940s, the RDG began selling off their smaller steam locomotives, and No. 1187 was sold in 1946 to the Birdsboro E&G Brooke division of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, who renumbered it to No. 4. There, the locomotive was reassigned to switch hopper cars and gondola cars loaded with steel around the plant's yard.

Preservation

No. 4 on static display at the East Strasburg Station on July 19, 1984 Strasburg Railroad -4, America's Last Operating Camelback.jpg
No. 4 on static display at the East Strasburg Station on July 19, 1984

In 1962, No. 4 was purchased by the Strasburg Rail Road (SRC), who was looking for a running mate for their ex-Canadian National 0-6-0 7312 (numbered 31 at the time). Retaining its E&G road number, No. 4 was subsequently repaired and repainted to match the SRC's paint scheme of that time. Afterwards, it moved under its own power to the SRC. It pulled its first train there on November 9, 1962, and it continued to pull the SRC's tourist trains between Strasburg and Leaman Place. [4] However, No. 4 was shown to be too small and slow to pull their longer trains, and instead of anthracite, the SRC fired up the locomotive with Bituminous coal, resulting in a decrease of the locomotive's boiler pressure.

Soon, No. 4 was reassigned by the SRC to maneuver around their station, and to switch passenger cars around, and the SRC's trains would mainly be handled by larger locomotives, including 31, Pennsylvania Railroad 4-4-0, 1223, and Great Western 2-10-0 90. On May 27, 1967, No. 4 was used by the SRC for the final time, as it was pulling a charter train to the Strasburg station for the Baltimore chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. The locomotive was subsequently retired from service, since its flue time had expired, and the SRC had no interest in overhauling it.

Disposition

No. 1187 stripped off in the Strasburg Rail Road yard siding in late 2013 1187 cold and lonely.JPG
No. 1187 stripped off in the Strasburg Rail Road yard siding in late 2013

The locomotive subsequently spent the next decade on outdoor display outside of the SRC's yard, and at some point in the 1980s, the locomotive was repainted to its original Reading livery as No. 1187, but it still retained the red cab roof and the SRR egg-shaped numberplate. It was subsequently on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania on the other side of Gap Road from the SRC. In the early 2000s, No. 1187 was moved back to the SRC yard, since the locomotive was beginning to deteriorate, and the RMOP felt it was no longer presentable for display. By the end of the 2010s, No. 1187 had been facing an uncertain future after spending several years being exposed to the outdoor elements, and the SRC made a decision to put the locomotive up for sale.

On July 15, 2020, the Age of Steam Roundhouse (AOSR) made an offer with the SRC and purchased No. 1187 at an undisclosed cost. [5] The locomotive was subsequently moved onto a flatbed to be hauled by truck, and on August 3, the locomotive arrived at the AOSR's location in Sugarcreek, Ohio, where it is now on display and currently awaiting a future cosmetic restoration. [6] [7]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camelback locomotive</span> Type of locomotive

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania</span> Railroad museum in Strasburg, Pennsylvania

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading 2101</span> Preserved American 4-8-4 locomotive (RDG class T-1)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk and Western 475</span> Preserved N&W class M 4-8-0 locomotive

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk and Western M Class</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Pacific 1278</span> Preserved CP G5d class 4-6-2 locomotive

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading T-1 Class</span>

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Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad No. 33 is a preserved SC-1 class 2-8-0 "consolidation" type steam locomotive originally built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in April 1916 for the Munising, Marquette and Southeastern Railway as No. 44. In 1924, the MM&SE was purchased by the Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad and the locomotive was renumbered to 33. It served the LS&I by pulling heavy iron ore trains until it was retired from revenue service in 1962. The following year, it was sold to the Marquette and Huron Mountain tourist railroad to operate in excursion service, but instead sat idle in Marquette.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading 2100</span> Preserved American 4-8-4 locomotive (RDG class T-1)

Reading 2100 is a T-1 class 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotives constructed in September 1945 for use by the Reading Company (RDG). Constructed from an earlier 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type locomotive, No. 2100 was originally built in May 1923 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, No. 2100 pulled heavy freight and coal trains for the Reading until being retired from revenue service in 1956. Between 1961 and 1964, No. 2100 was used to pull the RDG's Iron Horse Rambles excursions alongside fellow T-1's Nos. 2124 and 2102. After the rambles ended, No. 2100 was sold along with No. 2101 in 1967 to a scrapyard in Baltimore, Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading 1251</span> Preserved RDG B-4a class 0-6-0ST locomotive

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Pacific 1238</span> Preserved CP G5c class 4-6-2 locomotive

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Pacific 1286</span> Preserved CP G5d class 4-6-2 locomotive

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal 15</span> Preserved 0-6-0ST steam locomotive

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References

  1. "Reading Steam". www.northeast.railfan.net. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  2. Hart, George M. (1946). "HISTORY OF THE LOCOMOTIVES of the READING COMPANY". The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin (67): 1–119. ISSN   0033-8842. JSTOR   43519942.
  3. "RDG Co.–Surviving Steam Profile". www.readingrailroad.org. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  4. "Equipment Roster" (PDF). Strasburg Rail Road. July 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  5. "Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum acquires a rare steam locomotive". Age of Steam Roundhouse. July 16, 2020. Archived from the original on December 10, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  6. "Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum Receives Its 23rd Steamer". Age of Steam Roundhouse. August 3, 2020. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  7. "Reading 0-4-0 "Camelback" No. 1187" . Retrieved December 2, 2024.