Prototype News

The Illinois Railway Museum announced recently that St. Louis–San Francisco Railway 2-10-0 1630, one of only two operating Decapods in the U.S., will be taken out of service early for a federally mandated overhaul. 

IRM had hoped to run the locomotive this year, but while preparing it for the season, an unforeseen mechanical issue was discovered. Instead of repairing that issue now, the museum decided to initiate its 15-year overhaul earlier than scheduled, which was supposed to begin next year. While 1630 is out of service, IRM plans on using J. Neils Lumber Co. Shay 5.

Frisco 1630 was built by Baldwin in 1918 for use in Russia, but it remained in the U.S. after the Bolshevik government could not pay for it. The engine was regauged and briefly leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad before being sold to the Frisco in 1920. Frisco later sold it to Eagle-Picher Mining, where it operated until the 1960s, when it was donated to IRM.

IRM is presently raising money to fund the 1630s restoration. —Railfan & Railroad Staff

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Union Pacific announced on Tuesday that 4-8-8-4 “Big Boy” 4014 will travel from Cheyenne, Wyo., to Denver and back in July. This brief trip will be the locomotive’s only public outing this year, but the railroad promised it would “return to the rails in a big way in 2026 to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.”

The locomotive will be joined by UP 1616, the recently painted SD70 that pays tribute to President Abraham Lincoln. The excursion will depart from Cheyenne, Wyo., at 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 17, and stop in Greeley, Colo., at approximately 11:30 a.m. The train will layover in Denver on Friday before returning north on Saturday, July 19. It will again stop in Greeley between 8:30 and 8:50 a.m. There will be no public access to the locomotive in Cheyenne or Denver. 

The railroad is also auctioning four cab rides aboard the locomotive to benefit the Union Pacific Museum. For more information, visit rareauctions.com/upm. —Justin Franz

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Maine’s Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum seeks to raise $120,000 to complete the construction of a brand new 2-foot gauge passenger car modeled after one built for the original railroad in 1894. 

Construction of coach 9 began in 2017 with a $100,000 donation from one of the WW&F’s benefactors. Since that time, WW&F volunteers have completed the superstructure of the car and finished interior details, including the walls, trim, roof, ceilings, and windows. That original donation has now been exhausted, and the WW&F is working to raise enough money to complete the car. Among the items that need to be finished on the car are the platforms and couplings, as well as additional interior details. 

The new coach 9 is based on one constructed by Jackson & Sharp in 1894 for the WW&F predecessor, Wiscasset & Quebec. Once this new car is completed, the museum’s original W&Q coach, car 3, will go into the restoration shop for a rebuild. That effort will be supported by tooling and patterns produced for the new coach. Eventually, when coaches 3 and 9 are both in service, the railroad will have an authentic WW&F passenger train from the late 19th and early 20th century. For more information and to donate, visit wwfry.org/coach9. —Justin Franz 

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