Steam & Excursion > What is your favorite steam engine?

Mine would have to be the ex Southern 2-8-2 #4501 with a close second being the N and W Class J #611.

No way could I limit this to just 1, so...
SP 4358, a 4-8-2 (most classic)
any SL-SF 4100 class Mikado (well-designed medium speed, great puller).
MacMillan Bloedel 1077, a Montreal 2-6-2 (favorite small loco).
Rayonier 2, former J. Neils 6 Willamette (favorite geared loco).
Grand Canyon Ry. 18 & 4960 'cause I worked on & fired them.
and the epitome of high-power steam...the Lima-built C&O Allegheny!

The top five on my list are,

1. SP 4449, love her! No matter what paint she is in!
2. OC 6325, my home town girl always a plesure to chase her.
3. NKP 765 & PM 1225 can't wait to see those Berks in person!

4. OC 1293, pretty whistle!
5. AT&SF 3751 sleek lookin northern.

OC 1551. She ran off with my heart the first time I saw her. Maybe she's mothballed, but I'll always hope to hear her whistle again.

We've been lucky enough to see 3985 blast through Kirkwood, MO, and she impressed the socks off of me. 6325 is beautiful, I love to hear 1293, and 261 isn't bad either. I just have that soft spot for a certain ten-wheeler.

--Becky

Anything still able to run on main line track in 2005. (Obviously, and sadly, the field to pick from is rapidly dwindling).

.

Personal bias here. SP2472, Baldwin P8 Pacific, 4-6-2. Worked on and around her, plus ran the rent-a-loco program where people rented her. Followed closely by 4449. I also like NKP 765. And SP&S 700.

DaveE

I love any steam engine that has run since the end of steam plus a special place in my heart for all those that run in 2005.

Chris

No competition for hometown favorite N&W 611 - most powerful 4-8-4s ever built. Smooth sexy lines and classy paint scheme. She has it all - power, speed, class.

Of operable or nearly operable engines I'd say SR 4501 which I read about first because our local library had a copy of DPM's book (which has since disappeared, probably consigned to a book sale. Idiots.), then in TRAINS and was thrilled to finally "meet" in person in 1973 at Chicago's Central Station.

http://members.aol.com/cds3570/sr4501.html

Of inoperable engines, UP 6072 (Ft. Riley, KS) which I played on as a little kid.

http://members.aol.com/steve70mm/up6072.html

Likewise NYC&HRRR 999 which I recall climbing up on (when on outside display at the Museum of Science and Industry) on one particular anniversary of its high speed run (probably the 80th) to ring the bell by hand. And its long time display-mate ATSF 2903 which I "inspected" top to bottom a number of times.

http://steve.filmteknik.com/santafe.html

Canadian steamers
CN 6060
Cpr 1201
2816
2860 when it was running,
a great fleet out there, too bad they get to exercise more
stuart

Milwaukee Road 261, and all the locomotives on the Grand Canyon Railway.

I have three favorites. They're all of equal importance to me.

1.) Canadian Pacific N-2A, 2-8-0 #3647, MLW 1912. The first steam engine I ever fired and then learned to run. Calgary 1956 - 1958.

2. Ex-Rogue River Valley Railway Co. 0-4-0T (orig. 2-4-2T) #1, H. K. Porter & Co. 1891 - C/N 1236. The locomotive that created Short Line Enterprises. Purchased by Stan Garner and Bill Oden from Chad O'Connor, Alta Loma, CA 1967 - Sold to Dave Wilkinson along with Fillmore & Western Railway, Fillmore, CA 1997.

3. Ex-Dardanelle & Russellville 4-4-0 #8, Cooke L & M Co. 1888 - C/N 1861, The sweetest engine Short Line Enterprises ever owned. (Stan Garner, Bill Oden, Bob Verkuyl and Ron Steiner). Purchased from Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Century Ranch, Malibu Canyon, CA 1972 - Sold to Nevada State Railroad Museum, Carson City, NV 1988.

Yes, I am one of the original owners of Short Line Enterprises.

C&O #614 - all brute, loud and husky.
The PM# 1225 is fun to watch too.

C&NW 1385!
JC

Narrow gauge/'captive': #346 at the Colorado Railroad Museum -- the first operating steam locomotive I clearly recall under operation;

Narrow gauge/'free to roam': C&TS #463 -- she was switching the yard in Chama, and, even with radios on their hip, the crew was using hand signals;

Standard gauge/'captive': the 60000 at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia -- what a huge locomotive for a little kid to behold! My parents were very patient about taking me to every s-l-o-w, scheduled move :-);

Standard gauge/'free to roam': the 3985 -- the size, the power, and the history connected to this locomotive and its parent company (OK, so UP is 'aka the Borg' *S*) is no less than impressive, and the double 'chuff' out the stack brings back memories of an excellent Sherman Hill excursion.

Very honorable mention: the locomotives of THE Georgetown Loop Railroad, Inc.

Of steam locomotives I've seen in action, my favorites are:

SP 2472
SOO 2719
NKP 765

I wish I saw in action a:

DM & IR Yellowstone

Dave

I have always been fond of Timken 1111, the "Four Aces" roller bearing demonstrater, in her as-built form, before the N.P. bought and modified her. Beautiful proportions, go-almost-anywhere size, dual-service capability. Imagine an NYC J-1 Hudson with eight 70-inch drivers. Have often wondered why the Central didn't just order dupicates, or nearly so, of the "Aces" rather than developing the L-3 and L-4 Mohawks. A damn shame that the N.P. scrapped her in '58. Another Great One that got away.......

Stan, years ago (in the 70's) I remember seeing the Rogue River engine inside the carpenter shop building at Jamestown, Calif., but never saw it outside. Do you have a good photo of it which you could post?

Running/Currently in operation:

UP #844;
UP #3985;
ATSF #3751;
MILW #261.


Not Running/On Display:

SLSF #1522;
ATSF #3463;
KCS #10-- (on display in Pittsburg, Kansas).