Steam & Excursion > Last Run for the 110

Today was a melancholy day in Coldwater, MI as Little River Railroad 4-6-2 #110 made its final trip before it was to go down for its FRA mandated 15 year rebuild. Myself and my friend William Rauli managed to make the three hour trip from Port Huron, MI to see it as it ran the final day of its Christmas Train runs and the crew was kind enough to let me ride in the cab during one of the trips.

Because it was the last day of operation, the crew decided to not refuel the locomotive and used up what little coal was left. However, the amount of coal was barely enough to cover the two trips and the train stopped halfway back to Coldwater on both trips, and in between trips, to pick up some old, broken ties to use as fuel for the remainder of the run back to town. I found it ironic how similar it was to how railroads used to operate branch line steam back in the day.

My friend rode the 110 on the final mile from the Coldwater Depot back to the LRR's shops just west of town. His description of the ride was interesting. "When we were pulling out of town, something just didn't sound right with the locomotive. It was like she didn't want to go back to the shops because she knew what was coming. The engineer even said that he didn't want to put the old girl away. I was sitting in the fireman's seat as we ran tender back to the shops, and I instinctively reached up and pulled the bell cord as we came up to the first crossing. The engineer looked at me slightly surprised, gave me a thumbs up and went away on the whistle. It reminded me of my dad's last run with the 5038 [The last steam run on the Grand Trunk Western's Cass City Subdivision with GTW 4-6-2 #5038, March 27, 1960]."

I myself was on the ground at Jay St. to catch the 110 returning to the shops. The 110 rolled past an Indiana Northeastern GP9 that was parked in the yard, and I couldn't help but feel like I was watching the last run of a 1950's railroad that was switching over from steam to diesel with the arrival of their new power.

With the 110 finally put away in the shops, the crew went about shutting her down. Standing in the shops, it was eerie as the sounds of the steam locomotive slowly dimmed until we could no longer hear anything. The crew locked up the shops and walked off the property, knowing that it would be a while before a steam locomotive would once again operate in south central Michigan.

The included photos are from the final run which we chased to Quincy and back. I wasn't able to get everything as I was also working with a video camera at the same time, but I hope these photos suffice.

Photo 1: 110 waiting to depart Coldwater.

Photo 2: Crossing Sprague St.

Photo 3: Climbing the grade west of Quincy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/10/17 18:58 by SD80MACfan.

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Photo 4: Running around the train at Quincy.

Photo 5: Returning to Coldwater at Michigan St.

Photo 6: 110 put away inside the shops.

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I visited Coldwater five years ago and that's quite a neat little engine and a great operation. Thanks for the photos!

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

Thanks for posting this update and interesting images.

let's hope we see her soon! glad you were there !

dan Wrote:
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> let's hope we see her soon! glad you were there
> !


The crew said that they would like her rebuild finished (hopefully) by mid summer of next year.