St. Louis–San Francisco 1630
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| St. Louis–San Francisco Railway 1630 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 No. 1630 hauling an excursion train, July 2, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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St. Louis–San Francisco Railway 1630 is a preserved Ye class 2-10-0 "Decapod" type steam locomotive, built in 1918 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) for the United States Railroad Administration, it is owned and operated by the Illinois Railway Museum (IRMX) in Union, Illinois.[1] Today, Frisco No. 1630 is currently one of two operating Decapods in service in America, the other being former Great Western No. 90 at the Strasburg Rail Road outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania.[3]
History
[edit]Revenue service
[edit]No. 1630 was built in 1918 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for use in Russia as a class Ye locomotive.[1][2][3] However, it, along with about 200 other locomotives, remained in the United States because the Bolshevik government could not pay for them after the Russian Revolution.[3] It was converted from 5 ft (1,524 mm) Russian track gauge to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge.[3] After being re-gauged, the locomotive was sold to the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) in March 1918 and was numbered to No. 1147.[2][1] Shortly after in April 1918, it was briefly leased for use on the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR).[2][1][3] In November 1920, the locomotive was sold to the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway (SLSF), also known as the "Frisco", where it was renumbered to No. 1630 and used as a mixed traffic engine.[2][1][3] In November 1951, the locomotive was sold to the Eagle-Picher Mining and Smelting Company, which used it to haul lead ore from the mine to their smelter yard, it would continue to haul lead for Eagle-Picher until the mine closed and ceased operations in 1957, No. 1630 was withdrawn from service and put into storage for the next ten years.[2][4]
Excursion service
[edit]In 1967, the Eagle-Picher donated No. 1630 to the Illinois Railway Museum (IRMX) in Union, Illinois, upon arrival, the engine underwent a complete restoration and was restored to operating condition on September 28, 1972 and began hauling tourists trains for the museum two months later in November.[5][2][6] The locomotive was taken out of service in 2004 for a major rebuild, and after more than nine years undergoing repairs and a federally mandated rebuild, it was returned back to operating condition on October 30, 2013.[7]
On Memorial Day weekend 2014, the locomotive returned to excursion service.[8] In 2016, the locomotive received a cylinder overhaul, which, according to Steam department volunteer Nigel Bennett, made the locomotive "probably more powerful than she has been since her [sic] first arrival at IRM in the 1970’s."[9] The locomotive, during Memorial Day weekend 2016, pulled 135 empty coal cars in storage at the museum as what was considered to be one of the longest revenue freight trains powered by a steam locomotive in at least 25 years, Bennett said.[9]
On September 15, 2018, No. 1630 celebrated its 100th birthday were it operated and hauled excursions for the museum's annual Museum Showcase Weekend.[10]
On April 30, 2025, due to a discovery of a mechanical issue, it was announced by the museum that the locomotive would be taken out of service to undergo its mandated Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) 1,472-day inspection, which was originally scheduled for 2029.[11][12][13] The museum hopes to have No. 1630 back up and running again before the museum's 75th anniversary in 2028.[12]
Appearances in media
[edit]- In 1992 the locomotive appeared in the movie A League of Their Own as well as, in 1991, the locomotive appeared in the movie The Babe in the transportation scenes, which were both filmed at IRM.[14]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad 1630". Illinois Railway Museum.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Frisco 1630". Illinois Railway Museum.
- ^ a b c d e f "2-10-0 "Decapod" Locomotives in the USA". Retrieved March 7, 2023.
- ^ "Business: TIME CLOCK, Aug. 12, 1957". Time.com. August 12, 1957. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
- ^ "Frisco 1630 enters service in its 100th year". Illinois Railway Museums. May 31, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
- ^ "The Illinois Railway Museum at Fifty". Railway Preservation News. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
- ^ Bennett, Nigel (October 31, 2013). "Steam Department 10-30-13 Extremes of high and low". Illinois Railway Museum.
- ^ "Steam at Last 05-24-2014". Illinois Railway Museum. June 24, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
- ^ a b Bennett, Nigel (June 19, 2016). "Steam Department update - Spring 2016". Illinois Railway Museum.
- ^ "Frisco 1630's 100th Birthday Celebration September 15th". Illinois Railway Museum. September 10, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
- ^ "Frisco 1630 Status Update". Illinois Railway Museum. April 30, 2025. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
- ^ a b "The Plan for Frisco 1630". Illinois Railway Museum. June 9, 2025. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
- ^ "Illinois Railway Museum's Frisco 2-10-0 sidelined". Trains Magazine. Firecrown. April 30, 2025. Archived from the original on May 2, 2025. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ "On the Set at IRM". Illinois Railway Museum.
Further reading
[edit]- Stagner, Lloyd E. (1976). Steam Locomotives of the Frisco Line (1st ed.). Pruett Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87108-588-7.
- Isaacs, Aaron (2021). Illinois Railway Museum in Color. Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books, Inc. ISBN 978-1582487564.
External links
[edit]
- Frisco 1630 Restoration
- Operational Steam Locomotives Steam Railroading