Steam & Excursion > SP 2-8-2 786

Feb 1976
I was using Anscochrome slide film for some reason - the color is a little off.

Southern Pacific 786 was built in 1916 by the American Locomotive Company.
It was used quite a bit between Houston and Austin.
Retired in 1956, the SP donated it to the city of Austin at this location.
The Austin Steam Train Association removed it from here in 1990 and restored it back to service in 1991.
It was removed from operating status in 1999 for repairs and has been on a road back to running again ever since.
Maybe someone from the ASTA can give us an update.

 

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June 1996
Caught it running on an excursion west of Austin (posted before). 
Gary

 

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I always liked that engine. Just a run of the mill, no nonsense, everyday workin' Joe kind of locomotive. And a good looking one, at that.

First-class photographic memories.
Bob

That last picture is really sweet.  

I miss her too and hope that someone with the AST can comment on the progress of repairs and rebuilding too.  I know that there has been a fund raising drive to improve yard facilities but the monstrous floods in the Texas Hill Country washed out a bridge on the line to Burnet and probably hit the overall budget badly.  

Hou74-76 Wrote:
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> That last picture is really sweet.  
>
> I miss her too and hope that someone with the AST
> can comment on the progress of repairs and
> rebuilding too.  I know that there has been a
> fund raising drive to improve yard facilities but
> the monstrous floods in the Texas Hill Country
> washed out a bridge on the line to Burnet and
> probably hit the overall budget badly.  

I visited their yard in August and took a bunch of photos that I'm now realizing I never shared on here. I'll write up a thread and post it in the coming days. 786 progress has been slow but steady. They had FMW Solutions come out last year (2025) and take a look at 786 and what's needed before reassembly. So for the first time in years, there's some semblance of an actionable plan. Like many things, the biggest obstacle is money. But I'm hopeful over the medium term that they'll be able to get it done. There has been a lot of whack-a-mole lately in dealing with other locomotive issues, both in keeping their GP40 in service and getting the RSD-15 back up so they have backup power again. But there's a decent sized group of volunteers, including a sizable chunk of younger people like myself, who are passionate about the work at ASTA and want to see it through.

Also, Gary, these photos are outstanding. Have you thought about sharing them with the Austin History Center?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/26 01:16 by atx_railfan.

Both of those pictures are of her running east back to Cedar Park. The 786 is an easy engine to fire and run, but because of all the hills, you have to keep a good eye on your water. Westbound you are mostly climbing, but Burnet hill with its two percent grade is the show eastbound along with the climb through the small canyon after crossing the river. Even pulled freight with her once. Hopefully ASTA will get her running pretty soon.

I got a good taste of the hill and dale running when we were in Haslet doing those EAS trips. We did 3 trips a day out to a junction (for the life of me I can't remember the name). Turned the whole train and came back and turned at another wye somewhere near Ft. Worth.
I had a pilot engineer on the first trip who was a character. He'd tell me to "grab a little air as we started down and just before the bottom tell me to "skin er back". I could see the line better the second and third trips and he said I didn't need him any more and laughed. 
Got back on the second trip and a friend of Mr. Greenwood told me I did good, speed never varied. That was a fun day.
The wye at the "out" end of the run was at the bottom of a hill and when we turned and got back on the main, just for the helluvit when we started I cut in the booster to give it some exercise and ran the MU box through the gears and had to diesel at run 8. We took off like a rocket. Pilot was laughing.
Got to meet Matt Rose. Couple of us were sitting on the platform at Haslet waiting for the people to show and a gentleman in shorts, golf shirt and casual shoes came up and we chatted for a few minutes. Then he introduced himself and walked back to board.
Later that evening I got to pull his dinner train out to the boonies, then cut off our support cars and 1522. A diesel took his consist back and we backed all the way back to Haslet.
Geez that was back in 2001! What happened to those years.