Reading 1187

Last updated
Reading 1187 (Strasburg Rail Road 4)
Strasburg - Pennsylvania Railroad 1187.jpg
Reading No. 1187 on static 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)
2020–ongoing (cosmetically)
Current owner Age of Steam Roundhouse
DispositionUndergoing cosmetic restoration

Reading 1187 is a camelback 0-4-0 switcher locomotive built in 1903 by Baldwin 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, who is currently giving the locomotive a cosmetic stabilization 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. [5] 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. [6] 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 was currently under cosmetic restoration. [7]

Related Research Articles

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The Reading Company was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976.

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

A camelback locomotive is a type of steam locomotive with the driving cab placed in the middle, astride the boiler. Camelbacks were fitted with wide fireboxes which would have severely restricted driver visibility from the normal cab location at the rear.

<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)

Reading 2101 is a preserved American class "T-1" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive constructed in September 1945 for use by the Reading Company. Constructed from an earlier "I10SA" 2-8-0 "Consolidation"-type locomotive built in March 1923, the 2101 handled heavy coal train traffic for the Reading until being retired from revenue service in 1959. Withheld from scrapping, the 2101 served as emergency backup power for the three other T1 locomotives serving the Reading's "Iron Horse Rambles" excursions until being sold for scrap in 1964.

<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">Pennsylvania Railroad 1223</span> Preserved PRR D16sb class 4-4-0 locomotive

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Canadian Pacific 1278 is a class "G5d" 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built by the Canadian Locomotive Company for the Canadian Pacific Railway. After being retired from revenue service, the locomotive was purchased in 1965 by F. Nelson Blount for excursion trains at his Steamtown, U.S.A. collection. The locomotive was sold to Gettysburg Railroad in 1987, and it pulled excursion trains between Gettysburg and Biglerville, but it was subject to shoddy maintenance by inexperienced crews. The locomotive was retired from excursion service in 1995, after suffering a firebox explosion in June. As of 2024, the locomotive is on static display at the Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugarcreek, Ohio.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading 2124</span> Preserved American 4-8-4 locomotive (RDG class T-1)

Reading 2124 is a preserved class T-1 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive that was built by the Reading Company (RDG) in January 1947, using parts from "I-10sa" class 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type locomotive No. 2024, which was originally built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in December 1924.

<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)

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

Canadian Pacific 1286 is a preserved G5d class 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built in 1948 by the Canadian Locomotive Company. It was sold to George Hart, who used it to pull excursion trains in the 1960s. It was eventually sold again to Jack Showalter, who operated it on his Allegany Central Railroad from the early 1970s to the late 1990s. As of 2023, No. 1286 is stored under private ownership at the Prairie Dog Central Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Pacific 972</span> Preserved CP D-10j class 4-6-0 locomotive

Canadian Pacific 972 is a preserved D-10j class 4-6-0 "Ten-wheeler" type steam locomotive built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1912. 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.

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. "Pictures of RDG 1187". www.rrpicturearchives.net. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  6. "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.
  7. "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.