 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2024) |
| Wilmington and Western 98 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 No. 98 preparing to haul an excursion train in May 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| References: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wilmington and Western 98 is a preserved 4-4-0 American-type steam locomotive built by Alco's Schenectady Locomotive Works for the Mississippi Central, it is now preserved and operated by the Wilmington and Western Railroad. [1]
No. 98 was constructed by the American Locomotive Company’s Schenectady, New York plant in January 1909, and its design was based the general 4-4-0 engine designs built from 1837 to the early 1900s. [2] The Mississippi Central purchased No. 98 for use in pulling their shortline passenger runs. [3] No. 98 continued service until December 1944, when it was retired from the Mississippi Central before being left in dead storage. [1] In 1947, it was sold to steam engine collector Paulsen Spence for use on the gravel-hauling Comite Southern, a 1,000-foot industrial spur, in Tangipahoa, Louisiana. [1] [6] [5]
The engine was later shipped to the Illinois Central shops in McComb, Mississippi for repairs. [6] Spence intended to have No. 98 refurbished and used on the Comite Southern that same year, but the engine was unavailable and the acquisition of the ex-ICRR 0-6-0 engines were necessary to fill in the immediate motive power needs on the Comite Southern. [3] [6] No. 98 was moved and stored at the Comite Southern were it was eventually rebuilt there by the Illinois Central Railroad shop employees who were working there on the weekends and placed into service hauling gravel on the line and would later serve on the Louisiana Eastern Railroad for several years until being retired for a second time in January 1960. [5] [6] [4]
Prior to Spence’s death, No. 98 was purchased in January 1960 by Thomas C. Marshall and T. Clarence Marshall. [1] The Marshall brothers planned on using No. 98, along with other steam engines, on a proposed tourist railroad that would run on an abandoned Baltimore and Ohio branch line in Wilmington, Delaware. [1] While the branch was being redeveloped for tourist operations, No. 98 was moved to the Strasburg Rail Road in Pennsylvania for temporary storage in June 1961. [1] [6] There, Strasburg and Historic Red Clay Valley, inc. originally intended to have No. 98 refurbished and operate on their trackage, even though it was temporarily re-lettered as Strasburg Railroad No. 98, the idea never came to fruition and No. 98 never operated on Strasburg’s trackage. [6] [5] In April 1964, No. 98 was moved from Strasburg to a shop complex in Wilmington were it was stored at the Wilmington Industry Park from April 1964 to March 1966. [5] Since it’s arrival, Historic Red Clay Valley Inc. would occasionally bring No. 98 out from storage and place it on display at Yorklyn station and Greenbank station for special events. [5] W&W crews eventually began restoring the engine to working order in the late 1960s. [1] [5] Work was completed on October 7, 1972, as the engine made its first official test run. [5]
It began pulling the W&W’s trains on October 8, 1972 between Wilmington and other small towns along the route. [1] [4] However, the run didn't go well as No. 98 suffered several derailments during the forward and return trip due to its driver wheels being 5'8 inches wide. [5] As a result of this incident, No. 98 would be taken out of service as wider tires would be installed on the locomotive's rear drivers to help give it smother traction when operating excursions. [5] [4] [5] On May 3, 1973, No. 98 returned to steam with new driver wheels installed as it successfully made its excursion run from Hockessin and return to Greenbank. [5]
Since its return to steam, No. 98 would serve the W&W as the road’s primary motive power. [7] In December 1977, the Marshall brothers outright donated the engine to the Historic Red Clay Valley Inc., and 5 years later, the railroad obtained complete control of the Ex-B&O rail line. [1] In September 1978, No. 98 would be taken out of service for major repairs to its boiler and running gear, but was eventually back in service the following year on December 5, 1979. [5] In 1985, No. 98 was present at the ceremony about Amtrak’s newly-renovated station in Wilmington. [4] On April 6, 1986, No. 98 suffered a massive dry pipe failure during a fire up, in addition, it suffered another derailment during its trip to Hockessin, it was revealed that the pony truck casting had failed and caused damage to the pilot. [5] Crew members onboard No. 98 dropped the fire and had No. 98 re-railed and towed back to the Marshallton engine house using No. 8408, there, it went through a six year rebuild until eventually being return to service again on January 18, 1992. [5] On May 9, 1992, No. 98 participated in the annual Transportation Day at Wilmington's Amtrak Station. [5] On May 13, 1993, No. 98 once again traveled to Wilmington's Amtrak Station, along with No. 4662, for the annual Transportation Day. [5]
In December 1996, No. 98 was briefly repainted into its original Mississippi Central Railroad appearance with a centered headlight and relocation of the bell. [4] No. 98 would later be returned to its Wilmington and Western paint scheme in early 1997. [4] Between 1997 and 2004, No. 98 has undergone 2 extensive overhauls in order for its condition to comply with FRA standards. [3] [4] In 2009, No. 98 turned 100 years old, and the W&W hosted an event in honor of the occasion. [3] In 2017, No. 98 was removed from service to undergo a federally mandated 1,472-day inspection, and the engine was then disassembled to allow the inspection to take place. [2] [1] [7] As of 2024, overhaul work is still in progress. [2] [1] [7]
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 (MILW). It was used for heavy mainline freight and passenger work until being retired by the MILW in 1956.
The Wilmington and Western Railroad is a freight and heritage railroad in northern Delaware, operating over a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) branch line between Wilmington and Hockessin. The 10.2-mile (16.4 km) railroad operates both steam and diesel locomotives. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a national historic district in 1980. Wilmington & Western serves one customer for revenue service, and interchanges with CSX Transportation at Landenberg Junction, Delaware
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.
Nickel Plate Road 765 is a class "S-2" 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road". In 1963, No. 765, renumbered as 767, was donated to the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, where it sat on display at the Lawton Park, while the real No. 767 was scrapped at Chicago in 1964.
Established in 1960, the Empire State Railway Museum is a non-profit railroad museum currently located in the historic Ulster & Delaware Phoenicia Railroad Station, Phoenicia, New York. The station was built in 1899 by the U&D, and is one of the few surviving examples left along the line. The museum owns a small collection of historic railroad equipment. The museum was formerly the publisher of the annual Steam Railroad Directory until the 2006 edition, when the title was taken over by Kalmbach Publishing and now released as the Tourist Trains Guidebook.
Norfolk and Western 475 is a class "M" 4-8-0 "Twelve-wheeler" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works as part of the Norfolk and Western Railway's (N&W) first order of M class numbered 375–499. It was first assigned to haul freight trains on the N&W mainline before being reassigned to branch line duties on the Blacksburg Branch in the 1920s.
Great Western 90 is a class "12-42-F" 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.
Pennsylvania Railroad No. 1223 is a class "D16sb" 4-4-0 "American" type steam locomotive built in November 1905 for the Pennsylvania Railroad by their own Altoona Works for passenger service. After being retired from active service in 1950, the locomotive ran excursion trains on the Strasburg Rail Road outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania from 1965 to 1989 when it was removed from service requiring firebox repairs. Currently, the locomotive is still on static display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania outside of Strasburg. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. No. 1223 is the only surviving example of the Pennsylvania Railroad's D16sb class.
United States Army Steam Locomotive No. 4039 is an preserved 0-6-0 "Switcher" type steam locomotive. Built in 1942 for the U.S. Army, it was retired in 1963 and set aside for preservation. Sold to the Morris County Central Railroad in 1965, it hauled excursions until 1980 when her flu time expired. Sitting in storage for nearly 14 years, she was bought by the Whippany Railroad Museum in 1994 to cosmetically restore the engine. In 2015, the museum officials expressed interests for restoring the engine to working order for use on local railroads. As of 2024, the engine is currently being restored to operational condition.
Southern Railway 722 is a class "Ks-1" 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive built in September 1904 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works to run on the Murphy Branch, where it hauled freight trains between Asheville and Murphy, North Carolina for the Southern Railway (SOU). In 1952, it was purchased by the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (ET&WNC), alongside its sister locomotive No. 630, where they were served as switchers around Johnson City and Elizabethton, Tennessee.
The Louisiana Eastern Railroad (LE) was a proposed railroad that was to serve as an alternate line bypassing the congested rail lines in New Orleans, Louisiana. The railroad was envisioned by Paulsen Spence in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and while most US railroads had or began to replace their steam locomotives with diesel locomotives, the LE was to operate exclusively with steam locomotives which Spence had collected over time. He died in 1961, and the railroad had never fully materialized.
Norfolk and Western 611, also known as the "Spirit of Roanoke" and the "Queen of Steam", is the only surviving example of Norfolk and Western's (N&W) class J 4-8-4 type "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives. Built in May 1950 at N&W's Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, it was one of the last mainline passenger steam locomotives built in the United States and represents a pinnacle of American steam locomotive technology.
Reading Blue Mountain and Northern 425 is a 4-6-2 light "Pacific" type steam locomotive originally built in 1928 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 class "S-2" 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built in 1944 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.
New Hope Railroad 40 is a class "10-34-E" 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Lancaster and Chester Railroad (L&C) in Lancaster, South Carolina. No. 40 is the only operating steam locomotive on the New Hope Railroad in New Hope, Pennsylvania. As of 2023, No. 40 is operational at the New Hope Railroad, pulling excursion trains.
Canadian National 89 is a 2-6-0 "Mogul" type steam locomotive originally built by the Canadian Locomotive Company in February 1910 for the Canadian National Railway. It is now owned and operated by the Strasburg Rail Road in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, where it resides today for use on excursion trains.
Canadian National 7312 is a class "O-9-a" 0-6-0 "Switcher" type steam locomotive originally built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in August 1908 for the Canadian National Railway. It is owned and currently undergoing an overhaul by the Strasburg Rail Road outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania.
Henry Roe Campbell was an American surveyor and civil engineer. Campbell contributed to American railroading and bridge-building in the first half of the 19th century. Campbell patented his 4-4-0 design in February 1836, just a few months before the patent law was changed to require that claims include proof of originality or novelty.
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.
Wilmington and Western 58 is an 0-6-0 "Switcher" type steam locomotive, originally built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in for the Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway, it is now preserved and operated by the Wilmington and Western Railroad.
