Steam & Excursion > The Ritual Of Steam Locomotive Maintenance Was Never Ending!

Any trip to any railroad's maintenance facilities during the age of steam was sure to produce images like the one we see here.  The garden tracks at these shops would be filled with both engines in for routine maintenance, as well as those engine in need of full rebuilds.  Also sprinkled throughout would be a few freshly shopped engines sporting fresh paint jobs ready to return to service for several years before she would be in need of yet another rebuilding.

The location for this Northern Pacific shop facility is not recorded but could be one of many found on the NP system during the steam days.  NP #1261 looks to be fresh from the backshop and ready to return to service.  He sister locomotives parked in front of her look to be either in service currently or back for maintenance of their own.  Such was the cycle of steam motive power.

Martin



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/19 02:48 by LoggerHogger.

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Such is the cycle on any locomotive. Be they steam, electric, gas turbine-electric or diesel-electric. They just have different maintenance schedules.

Yes.  The 1261's tender is yet to be restencilled "Northern Pacific."  Note that the period will probably be part of the marking.

-John