Steam & Excursion > How many true zero mileage engines out there?

I was quite astonished to read that ACL 4-6-2 1504 was given a full mechanical rebuild before being put on display (the "why" is still unclear). I know many CN engines were overhauled and never used again before being cut up for scrap. How many other engines out there are true zero mileage engines. I seem to recall that PRR 7002 was another, as is NKP 755, and 759 was before the high iron trips in the late 60s.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/15 06:30 by Finderskeepers.

UP 4023

You have asked a good question and it makes many wonder why locomotives were rebuilt and then retired without service time.

It was not uncommon to have a railroad give a class 3 overhaul and store the locomotive toward the end of steam. There is an article that will be in an upcoming UPHS Streamliner issue on the 3999 that had just that done. I had a complete overhaul and was then stored until steam was retired on the UP. These locomotives were stored in protection service for upswings in business. However they never turned a wheel until they were moved to the scrap tracks. Fortunately some were saved and displayed. When we decided to restore a locomotive here in Cheyenne we looked at 4004 but it had much more time on its running gear than the 3985 and thus we did the Challenger. The 3985 had been overhauled and had a short time on the road before retired.

 

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

I wonder just how many existing engines displayed you could really say that about.  It seems to be a popular myth.  The majority of display engines were rode hard, put away wet and then cleaned up for display.
We inspected Frisco 4500 in pursuit of a lease on her some years ago, and she actually did look much like she had few miles on an overhaul. 
Oh well, it makes a good story.

In the case of the Nickel Plate, it was anticipated that steam would
run longer, hence locomotives were shopped, with several in process
of shopping when decision made to close shop in Conneaut and take all
active steam out of service.  Several 700's (I'd have to look up the numbers)
were scrapped, in place, inside the backshop.

Add 718 and 741 to list of locomotives shopped and stored.

The 751 and 754 were in process of shop work when the facility
was closed.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/15 08:11 by NKP715.

Santa Fe had completely rebuilt a 4-6-2 at the Cleburne Tx shops.  It was never used and was donated to San Angelo Tx.  Later the Texas State Railroad acquired it and used it.  Even though on display for years it required remarkably little to be put in service.

Seems to me I've seen pics of 3751 when they started on her in the 1980's.  They removed the cylinder heads and "3751" was still chalked on the pistons.  I've heard other stories of little to no mileage Santa Fe engines preserved.

Nevada Northern 93 was a near zero mileage engine when it was put up.  You could still see the machine marks on the driver tires.

Mother's Day 1957 Ogden Shops, Calgary, Alta.

Freshly shopped loco's on the scrap line. Engine tender on left is one of CP's 2900. 4-4-4's.  It too was scrapped.

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CB&Q 4001 (hudson) given a complete rebuild at Denver, towed to Lincoln and set up for service. The call never came, went to scrap having not turned a wheel a mile in revenue service after shopping.

Regards,
Burlington John

I seem to remember an engine that sat outside the west side of the backshops of Albina in the early to mid 50's that was shopped and awaiting service that never came. My dad said it was there in case of another flood. I don't know what engine it was (I'd like to). Maybe it was the 3203 awaiting display? Any info would be appreciated.

  Cotton Belt 813/SP 4488 was rebuilt at Los Angeles then worked her way to the bay area and made one round trip on the commuters before being retired.

Realist Wrote:
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> UP 4023

Steve Lee and I were chewing the fat one day when 4023 was sitting alone behind the Western (former Omaha Union Station) Heritage Museum how easy it would be to reach in there right off the main and quietly couple up and take it to Cheyenne. 😜
JB

Copy19 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Realist Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > UP 4023
>
> Steve Lee and I were chewing the fat one day when
> 4023 was sitting alone behind the Western (former
> Omaha Union Station) Heritage Museum how easy it
> would be to reach in there right off the main and
> quietly couple up and take it to Cheyenne. 😜
> JB

Should have done it. That was the bigboy IMO to be restored until it went up on the hill. At least we could've definitely had an operational bigboy by now sigh.

Posted from Android

this is a "WAS out there"...

As the Rio Grande narrow gauge freight operations began to wind down, the D&RGW used 2-8-2 #481 as busywork to keep shop workers employed when there was otherwise no work to do, an overhaul that lasted several years.

When the last train to Durango left Alamosa on December 5, 1968,  freshly shopped 481 was hauled dead-in-tow. She was a true "zero" miles locomotive until the Durango & Silverton put her in service in the early 1980's after they bought the Silverton Branch from the Rio Grande.

PRR #7002 was actually built as #8063. The real #7002, ostensibly the "world's fastest steam locomotive" was scrapped in 1935. A few years
later #8063 was rebuilt and backdated to resemble #7002 and displayed at
the 1939 World's Fair, as the "world's fastest steam locomotive". If I remember an article I read in Railfan & Railroad in the mid-
'80s correctly, the current #7002 was never fired up after being
rebuilt, in fact the Strasburg shop forces found some irregularities in
the late '30s rebuilding work at Altoona that would have made operation
of #7002 impossible. Those flaws were, of course, corrected before it was operated on Strasburg.

Was the 1601 Allegheny at the Henry ford shopped before being placed into the museum? 

I agree this topic seems to have an element of "George Slept Here", with rumors and tall tales re-told over the years.
One engine I have heard that is basically brand-new is the CN 5700/5703 at the ECRM in St. Thomas, ON.  And, it has been stored inside for most of its life.
An engine (as I recall) that was rumored to have fallen into this category was the CP 2816.  When it was restored that was found to not be the case.

Chris.

The story I got on the issue of the engines being restored (before scrapping) was the government made such a demand when the railroads transitioned from steam to diesel. What I understood was that should the need ever arise (through an oil shortage)  that the engines would be ready for service, thus why the engines on various displays are all in good condition, the wheels all turned (flat spots dealt with) for running condition. All the engines I've ever seen on display have all had good wheels. I don't have any proof of this, perhaps someone can shed some more insight on this.

It might have made sense to overhaul and keep some engines ready to be reactivated on railroad property, but once they were put on display in parks, museums, etc., isolated from live rail and in some cases welded to the rails they were displayed on, economical reactivation would have been nearly impossible.

Lloyd Stagner's book "Steam Finale in Kansas" has a photo of 2-8-2 #3187 on P.22. Captioned as the last steam locomotive overhauled at Newton, released in Jan. 5, 1953. Stored in the roundhouse until it was torn down, towed to Emporia in Feb of '55, sold for scrap in November.