Steam & Excursion > This Is The Same Engine! SP #2023 - Amador Central #5!

Some steam locomotives had amazingly long lives thanks to being resold from their original mainline owners to small shortlines that kept them in service long after their mainline siblings were cut up.

Case in point is this 4-6-0 built for the Central Pacific by Schenectady in May 1875 as C/N 981. She served the C.P. and later Southern Pacific for 35 years before being sold in March 1910.

This first photo shows her as SP #2023 at Mission Bay in 1907 in her original configuration.

Looking for additional power for it's shortline operating out of Martell, CA the Amador Central picked up this veteran locomotive and renumbered her as their #5. She would see another 35 years of service on this shortline.

Over the years #5 received a new boiler and cab while she retained her original sand dome, running gear and tender. The second set of photos show the engine in service in 1937. She would finally be retired from service and scrapped in 1945 after an incredible 70 years of non-stop service!

These 2 railroads certainly got their money's worth out of this locomotive!

Martin



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/13 14:48 by LoggerHogger.

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I imagine the #5 was cut up in 1945?

JMW

Posted from iPhone

Yes, records I've seen show her scrapped in 1945.

Three steamers survive (sort of) that served the AC:

#7 is on display at Ione.
#9 (ex-Yreka Western, ex-McCloud) is at the National Ry Museum in Green Bay. (was reportedly never lettered for AC, operated for about 3-4 years in YW markings)
#3 was a 2-truck shay that went to Great Western Power. Reportedly this is the shay buried alongside Calif. Hwy. 70 near the Bucks Creek Power Plate in the Feather River Canyon.

Z

And of course the wooden one that got away.

Looks like either her drivers were changed out, or they redid the counter weights at some point. Neat locomotive though.

Taylor

Posted from iPhone

zephyrus Wrote:
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> Three steamers survive (sort of) that served the
> AC:
>
> #9 (ex-Yreka Western, ex-McCloud) is at the
> National Ry Museum in Green Bay. (was reportedly
> never lettered for AC, operated for about 3-4
> years in YW markings)

Contrary to many reports from the time, the #9 did NOT go to Green Bay with some of the other Kettle Moraine equipment. The locomotive today remains in the old Kettle Moraine shops in North Lake waiting for whatever comes next.

And, yes, Amador Central never did reletter the #9 from Yreka Western, as it still carried YW markings while it operated on the Nez Perce & Idaho Railroad after leaving California. I have 1942-1945 as the date range the #9 served the Amador Central.

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV

JDLX Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Contrary to many reports from the time, the #9 did
> NOT go to Green Bay with some of the other Kettle
> Moraine equipment. The locomotive today remains
> in the old Kettle Moraine shops in North Lake
> waiting for whatever comes next.

Thanks for the correction, Jeff. I actually contacted someone at KM when they had shut down to inquire about the future of the 9 and was told it had gone to Green Bay. Should have checked further.

Z

zephyrus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for the correction, Jeff. I actually
> contacted someone at KM when they had shut down to
> inquire about the future of the 9 and was told it
> had gone to Green Bay. Should have checked
> further.

It's not out of the question that the #9 may have been initially destined to end up at Green Bay when the KMR quit- most of the rest of the railroad's equipment ended up there, and all news reports from the time indicated the #9 was indeed going to NRM as well. I had it recorded as such on McCloud Rails for several years until a former KMR employee contacted me to set the record straight...

There was a fairly lengthy discussion about the KMR and what's left at their shops on the RYPN discussion board I think maybe six months ago now?

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV

Not to deviate from the wonderful example of engineering Loggerhogger has presented in the form of the 2023, excellent as always, by the way. Some may want to note that "Iron Ivan," the Amador Central #7 preserved in Ione also is a former McCloud locomotive. It was the #8 at McCloud. There is an excellent site on everything related to the McCloud Railroad. http://www.trainweb.org/mccloudrails/index.html



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/13 16:01 by FossBatterson.

LoggerHogger Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Some steam locomotives had amazingly long lives
> thanks to being resold from their original
> mainline owners to small shortlines that kept them
> in service long after their mainline siblings were
> cut up.
>
> Case in point is this 4-6-0 built for the Central
> Pacific by Schenectady in May 1875 as C/N 981.
> She served the C.P. and later Southern Pacific for
> 35 years before being sold in March 1910.
>
> This first photo shows her as SP #2023 at Mission
> Bay in 1907 in her original configuration.
>
> Looking for additional power for it's shortline
> operating out of Martell, CA the Amador Central
> picked up this veteran locomotive and renumbered
> her as their #5. She would see another 35 years
> of service on this shortline.
>
> Over the years #5 received a new boiler and cab
> while she retained her original sand dome, running
> gear and tender. The second set of photos show
> the engine in service in 1937. She would finally
> be retired from service and scrapped in 1945 after
> an incredible 70 years of non-stop service!
>
> These 2 railroads certainly got their money's
> worth out of this locomotive!
>
> Martin
Martin , I know you said she received a new boiler at some time but the later pics of her show a boiler with different course lengths ?....would they not have replaced the boiler with an exact copy ?
Chris

Given the terrain of the AC I can see why they went with more of a wagon-top boiler for the replacement.

Martin