Steam & Excursion > Someone Apparently Still Held Out Hope For This Steam Locomotive!

While it is always sad to see photos of retired steam locomotives on their way to scrap, every once in a while you see a photo that seems give you hope that this locomotive will live on.  Here is one such photo.

Shown parked in storage at the Southern Pacific Bayshore yards in 1952, we see the one proud Western Pacific 2-8-8-2 #253.  While she has lost the WP herald from her tender which indicates she is stricken from the WP roster, and her drive rods have been removed, there is still one item of hope that we have for her.

Rather than cut her piston rods, which would certainly seal her fate, the crew that prepared #253 for transit here, took the time to remove her drive rods and neatly tie then down on the running board and the front pilot of the locomotive.  It was as if that crew wanted to insure that if there was any hope that #253 could steam again, they wanted to be sure that #253 was still intact enough to seize that opportunity.

Alas, despite the care taken in preparing #253 for shipment, the call back to duty would not come and in a few more months she would succumb to the scrappers torch after all.

Martin



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/21 07:40 by LoggerHogger.

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Sad!   Frisco kept a number of steam locos in "stored serviceable" for several years after dieselization but never called them.  A good bit of them were cosmetically restored and donated and the rest deteriorated and were ultimately cut up.  Luckily 1522 was one of the strategic reserves.  It was sad to see the rest just rotting until they were scrapped.

Amazing machines.  In researching the WP 251 class, I found records that indicate the WP tried to donate at least one to cities along the route, including Oroville and Portola, but all refused.  Seems no one wanted to deal with such a huge engine.

Z

   Martin, please excuse me for possibly jumping your post, but here we see the 253 in happier days, doing what she was designed to do 
   Photo by Guy Dunscomb, from my Dad, Nolan Black's collection.  6/19/1944.

Brian Black
Castle Rock, CO.

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tehachcond Wrote:

>    Martin, please excuse me for possibly jumping
> your post, but here we see the 253 in happier
> days, doing what she was designed to do 

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,5186921

The Wabash did that too with a group of 4-8-4s, 4-8-2s and some streamlined Hudsons, stored at Decatur, Illinois under the guise of the National Defense Program.  Sadly, not one of these locos was saved.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com



Frisco1522 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sad!   Frisco kept a number of steam locos in
> "stored serviceable" for several years after
> dieselization but never called them.  A good bit
> of them were cosmetically restored and donated and
> the rest deteriorated and were ultimately cut
> up.  Luckily 1522 was one of the strategic
> reserves.  It was sad to see the rest just
> rotting until they were scrapped.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/04/21 21:17 by wabash2800.

Evan_Werkema Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> tehachcond Wrote:
>
> >    Martin, please excuse me for possibly
> jumping
> > your post, but here we see the 253 in happier
> > days, doing what she was designed to do 
>
> https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10
> ,5186921

Thanks Evan.  Your image is in better shape than mine.  Guy and my Dad were lifelong friends, and quite a few of his images have turned up in Dad's collection.  I'm in the process of digitalizing his collection, but I have a LONG way to go!

Brian