Steam & Excursion > Grand Canyon Steam

Decked out for the holidays in Williams, AZ.  Wasn't this a Great Northern locomotive?  Bought back in the 80's with hopes of restoration?

Ed

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Auburn_Ed Wrote:
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> Decked out for the holidays in Williams, AZ. 
> Wasn't this a Great Northern locomotive?  Bought
> back in the 80's with hopes of restoration?
>
> Ed

SP&S, formerly N.P. They got her in 2006 and the internets say she'll be running by the end of 2006.

When the new owners took over, they stepped right in and laid off most of the shop crew and bought F40PH's and all the fine steam power they had will never run again and then add insult to injury with the paint job of this fine 2-8-0....I guess its just plain luck that the 2-8-2 still operates....Regaining  your investment took high pirorty  at a lot of peoples jobs....

Actually, the 539 is a 2-8-2 also... and she is a good sized work horse as well.

539 was acquired in early 2007, in a trade of some sort for engines 18 and 20, which went to the Mt. Hood Railroad. Turned out to be something of a dud: 539 never saw operation because the new GCR owners cut back on steam, and 18 and 20 were sold after only one season at Mt. Hood. 18 enjoyed some more years in operation on the Rio Grande Scenic (got to ride behind her in 2012!), but sadly that railroad has now discontinued steam altogether.

Mark H.
 

And it is a darn shame the SL&RG does not run steam anymore.  That was one hell of a ride, great scenery, great exhaust climbing the mountains.  And, the bloddy marys in the dome car weren't bad either!

tomstp Wrote:
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> And it is a darn shame the SL&RG does not run
> steam anymore.  That was one hell of a ride,
> great scenery, great exhaust climbing the
> mountains.  And, the bloddy marys in the dome car
> weren't bad either!

I know what you mean. I rode in the Lookout Mountain open car right behind the engine; the noise was awesome!

Anybody know why they stopped? Rising costs, low ridership?

Mark H.

Posted from iPhone

DRGWMark

> Anybody know why they stopped? Rising costs, low
> ridership?

I had a chance to ask about that a while back and if I remember correctly, it was a combination of two factors.

First, the ridership didn't vary much between diesel and steam powered trains.  As much more as it costs to run steam, if you're hauling pretty much the same crowd behind diesels it makes more sense to use them as a business decision.

The second factor is that Iowa Pacific took over operations on the Texas State Railroad.  With that new operation in the fold, the steam people were transferred to Texas.

While steam may return to the Rio Grande Scenic at some point, it isn't a top priority.

If Ed Ellis is looking in, he can correct me if need be.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

DRGWMark Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 539 was acquired in early 2007, in a trade of some
> sort for engines 18 and 20, which went to the Mt.
> Hood Railroad. Turned out to be something of a
> dud: 539 never saw operation because the new GCR
> owners cut back on steam, and 18 and 20 were sold
> after only one season at Mt. Hood. 18 enjoyed some
> more years in operation on the Rio Grande Scenic
> (got to ride behind her in 2012!), but sadly that
> railroad has now discontinued steam altogether.


Not only was the 539 not rebuilt and returned to service on the Grand Canyon Railway but it became a parts donor.  It's absence from the 539 is not visible in the picture which Ed presented at the beginning of this thread but on 09/20/2009 I observed the 539's firing valve handle mounted on the ex-Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railway #18 while I was riding it westward from La Veta to Alamosa on the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad .  My father ran the 539 many thousands of miles on the SP&S in the '40s and '50s.  The number on its builders plate was 57954 when it emerged from the ALCO-Brooks Works in September 1917 as the Northern Pacific 1762.  The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway purchased it in August 1944 and donated it to the City of Vancouver, Washington on February 6, 1957.

Ed told me the exact same things this summer as Mary McPherson posted above when I asked him about the prospects of steam returning on the SLRG. He also added, "it's easier to push a button on the diesel to start it". He didn't completely rule out steam but because ridership numbers weren't significantly different it isn't a high priority.

Lee Ryan - Rio Grande Fan
Denver, CO

So this is/was the engine in Esther Short park, in downtown Vancouver, USA?  I was wrong, though, I thought it might be the locomotive I saw southbound on highway 167 out of Seattle in 1981 or 82, but it isn't.  Wonder where THAT engine went?

Ed



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/15 22:34 by Auburn_Ed.

Yes, this is the engine that was in Vancouver. The engine you saw on 167 would have been the GN 2-8-0 1246 from the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle being moved to Fred Kepner's collection in Merrill, Oregon.

Ridership went up the year after we discontinued steam at SLRG.  Go figure.

MaryMcPherson Wrote:
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> DRGWMark
>
> > Anybody know why they stopped? Rising costs,
> low
> > ridership?
>
> I had a chance to ask about that a while back and
> if I remember correctly, it was a combination of
> two factors.
>
> First, the ridership didn't vary much between
> diesel and steam powered trains.  As much more as
> it costs to run steam, if you're hauling pretty
> much the same crowd behind diesels it makes more
> sense to use them as a business decision.
>
> The second factor is that Iowa Pacific took over
> operations on the Texas State Railroad.  With
> that new operation in the fold, the steam people
> were transferred to Texas.
>
> While steam may return to the Rio Grande Scenic at
> some point, it isn't a top priority.
>
> If Ed Ellis is looking in, he can correct me if
> need be.