Nostalgia & History > Remembering the SP 1233

Here we have the 1233 in Woodland - Jan. 25th 2011. Sad to see that this engine has been side-lined, . . . .

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Very sad, considering having have ridden behind it, seen it hauling freight to West Sac and having been
under the impression that the locomotive was in fairly good condition.

The engine is in very good condition, but the group that owns the engine did not want to enter into another lease agreement with the host railroad. The FRA 15 year expired in July 2011. I don't think this engine will run again, since the host railroad has the ex SP1227 and is slowly rebuilding that engine in the Oakdale shops. In the time that the engine was operated on the Yolo Shortline it had about 150 days of run time before I replaced all the superheater flues, which have never seen a day of use.

I have photos in my collection of this engine being delivered to its display site.

A photo from the Larry Harrison collection of SP1233 at Oakland, CA 12 May 1940 in service.

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The SP1227 at Oakland, CA - 2 Mar 1941 - in service. A W.A.Silverthorn photo from the Larry Harrison collection.

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Interesting that 1233 in that 1940 shot appears to have a silver tender, comparing the brightness of the paint with the engine colors. Is there any record of silver tenders ever existing?

I'm sure that the tender paint was the same as the 1227. The quality of the "older" prints sure isn't "digital". The SP tenders were Black , . . . .

The whole right half of the photo is considerably overexposed. Look at the next locomotive and the background behind the tender. That's all it is.

Mark