General Electric Diesel Locomotives
Menu
Menu
A 1915 product of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, this superheated 2-8-2 was constructed as No.4 for the Caddo & Choctaw logging railroad in Arkansas. It was the 42,000th locomotive built by Baldwin, and was rolled out of the shop on April 9th wearing a coat of olive green paint on its wheels, tender, domes, pilot and cab. This handsome 90-ton Mikado also had a planished iron boiler jacket, black smoke box and firebox, and was decorated with gold lettering and striping. Its cab sides carried the name R.L. Rowan for Rufus Lee Rowan, an engineer on the Caddo & Choctaw.
The C&C sold No.4 to the United States Smelting, Refining and Mining Company, where it operated in Pachuca, Mexico. a silver mining region northeast of Mexico City. The R.L. Rowan was repainted black and re-lettered for the Cia de Real del Monte y Pachuca as its No.105. Around the time that the engine was sent to Mexico, it was apparently converted to burn oil instead of coal, with this conversion possibly even happening prior to leaving Arkansas. After a four-year career in Mexico, the No.105 was again sold to the McCloud River Railroad in northern California, which renumbered it to No.19. The engine worked in regular service at McCloud until purchased by the Yreka Western three decades later. While owned by YW, No.19 was leased for summertime excursion service in Oregon. During a hiatus in Oregon, it famously appeared in the 1972 feature film The Emperor of the North and the 1986 movie Stand By Me.
After returning to Yreka in 1988, the No.19 was again overhauled and ran in intermittent excursion service on YW until operations dwindled and ceased altogether in 2008. As a valuable financial asset, the 2-8-2 was caught-up in a series of lawsuits, and stored at Yreka until a 2016 sheriff’s sale. That legal action permitted No.19’s title to be cleared, creditors paid and a sale to Jerry Jacobson. No.19 was shipped across the country via railroad flatcar, and arrived at AoSR in 2017. Crews are currently replacing portions of the engine’s firebox in preparation for a return to operation.
It was the dawn of the 20th Century, and business was booming on California’s McCloud River Railroad. In need of additional locomotives, the lumber hauler turned to Baldwin for a pair of low-wheeled 2-6-2’s, No.8 and No.9. Arriving in 1901, the engines were trim, lightweight machines designed to handle light track and sharp curves. Operating through the forests of northern California, these two locos were designed to burn wood, which was in abundant supply. But wood-burning boilers had several drawbacks (not the least of which was their tendency to start trackside fires during the dry season), so No.9 was converted to burn oil in 1920. It was retired in 1934, rebuilt in 1937 and stored until purchased by Yreka Western Railroad in December 1939.
After five years of service on the YWRR, No.9 was again sold, this time to the Amador Central Railroad. The former YW 2-6-2 was not relettered to reflect its new ACRR ownership, and also retained its road number. During the following year (1945) No.9 was sold to the Nez Perce & Idaho RR, and continued to wear its YW identification. It has not been determined just when NP&I No.9 was retired, but this 2-6-2 sat derelict until 1964 when it was purchased by Richard Hinebaugh and moved to Mid-Continent Railroad Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin. The museum rebuilt No.9 for operation the little steamer was put back to work on tourist trains.
During the summer of 1971 the new Kettle Moraine steam tourist railroad began operations on four miles of track in North Lake, Wisconsin. Initially, KM used other privately-owned steamers, but eventually No.9 (then nicknamed Sequoia) was moved to North Lake. The Kettle Moraine became an unfortunate victim of real estate development of former farm land. New residents complained about smoke, noise and visiting tourist traffic in town, and the steam train ride was no longer wanted in the upscale village. October 28, 2001 was the the KM’s last day of operation.
Number 9, by this point owned by KM’s Steve Butler, was stored indoors at North Lake until it was sold to Jerry Jacobson in 2015. The well-traveled 2-6-2 arrived at the Roundhouse on August 25, 2015.
