Last steamer in regular service?

There is still one last Pennsy steamer in use today. It's in a little town called Williamsgrove. It's a 0-6-0 switcher and it's over 100 years old. They have classes on how to run this engine then take you out and let you run it about 1 mile. Her's a link of a video on you tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGry3rhNens

It may be in some sort of regular service and may have been owned by PRR at one time, but, unless it bears the reporting marks of some PRR successor road (primarily NS, AMTK) it has probably been "retired" at some point.

I never said it was in regular service. I said it was still in use. It was retired from the Pennsy. Williams Grove Historical Steam Engine Association been running it for some time now and I do believe they bought the rail line on which they operate after it was deemed inoperative. But as far as in regular service over main lines it has to go to UP's 844.

Not all the specifics of the PRR's last steam operation are available, but we can come close; the last revenue run was a loaded coal move from Cresson to Altoona in late 1957, using I-1 power. According to the memories of some who were "on the scene" that move came on the day President Eisenhower suffered a mild stroke, which would have been November 25.

Two days later K-4 No. 520 powered a Baltimore-Northumberland steam excusion; however, this would not qualify as revenue service in the strictest sense of the word.

The link below shows a photo of an I-1 in switching duty at Harrisburg; it's dated Nov. 30, 1957. The authenticity can't be confirmed, but the completely bare tree in the foreground argues in its favor.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... showexif=1

I'm in agreement with the earlier post on N&W's "official" termination of steam in early May of 1960, but according to some locals, a few of the Y-6b's may have remained in service between Grundy and Ieager a while longer.

Grand Trunk also operated steam into 1960 in southeastern Michigan based in Durand. The last official passenger run (from Detroit) is listed as March 27, but records of service in other capacities are sketchy.

Big2-10-0 wrote:
The Pennsy did stop running steam in the 50's but then ran into a motive power problem. They had to rent some of Readings T1's to help them haul their loads. After they gave them back to Reading I think some were in service till the mid 60's pulling the coal trains out of Schuylkill County. Please correct me if I am wrong.

IIRC, the Reading 4-8-4s were leased in 55-56, along with ATSF 2-10-4s, DT&I Geeps, and somebody's AS-616s. So true PRR steam outlasted them. The Reading engines, at least, didn't run again after their return, unless any of them went into the Rambles.

There are a few smaller non-Class 1 locos that weren't "retired", but sold (or donated) to museum/tourist operations in running condition. Ely-Thomas Lumber Co. Shay #6 went from running in Jetsville WV right to the Pine Creek RR (then) in Marlboro NJ. It was steamed up to load itself into a standard gauge gondola, and then steamed up to unload herself at Parlin NJ onto a flatbed trailer, and then to unload herself at Marlboro. It was in regular service, with necessary downtime for maintenance and repair, from its build date in 1927 to 2002.

Wanamie Colliery in PA ran a trio of Vulcan 0-4-0s until 1964.

Jeddo-Highland Coal Co. of PA sold its running (1925) 0-4-0 #117 to Carroll Park & Western where it ran until 1972 during the filming of the Sean Connery movie "The Molly Maguires".

1925 Baldwin 0-4-0 #10 of the Raritan River Sand Co. (NJ) was bought running by the Pine Creek RR (their first loco) in 1952, and it ran until sold to Disney in 1959. Although it underwent a major rebuilding at Disney, it is still in operation as Santa Fe & Disneyland #4 in Anaheim CA.

Another Pine Creek engine, former Raritan River Sand #3, 1925 0-4-0 Porter, went to Pine Creek in Marlboro, then to Cowboy City, Howell NJ) for three years (1957-58-59) and then back to Pine Creek, when it was sold to the Busch Woodlands Museum in Cooperstown NY, then to the Great Escape Fun Park in NY, then to Tweetsie for some rebuilding and then it went to the International Toy Train Museum (ran outside in a big loop around the building) of Orlando FL, and is now at the Georgia Agrirama, Tifton GA. It was taken out of service just a couple of years ago.

I'm sure there a few more out there that went from commercial operation to museum/tourist service while still in service.

2nd trick op wrote: Grand Trunk also operated steam into 1960 in southeastern Michigan based in Durand. The last official passenger run (from Detroit) is listed as March 27, but records of service in other capacities are sketchy.

And that wasn't the last Class 1 steam passenger service in the US. Roger Cook and Karl Zimmermann's Magnetic North: Canadian Steam in Twilight says that CP's mixed train from Megantic, Quebec to Brownville Junction, Maine ran behind steam until March 29.

I think you will find there is no last steamer in regular service or at best it will be hard to figure out which one it is.
UP 844 is a good one , but what about the EBT steamers? True EBT was sold at one point but the engines have never been retired. You can go this weekend and take a ride. Much more regular service then UP844. Or the Denver and Rio Grande engines. You can go tomorrow and ride one. This may be a hard one to get an answer for.

You could say Strasburg steam is some of the last. The engines were just bought from other companies but kept running. Especially PRR 1223.

The Arcade & Attica has been running steam since 1962.

While it did dieselize in 1947, that lasted only fifteen years. A&A #18 has been on the roster since it was purchased from the Boyne City RR.

The A&A is a common carrier freight road that runs passenger excursions every year. Plus, in 2008, A&A No.18 was pressed into freight service when the primary diesel was down for engine repairs. She moved 6 fully loaded covered hoppers from teh interchange to a staging location half-way up the line. You can see video of this event on youtube.

I disqualify UP 844 because while she was never officialy retired, she is not used in true revenue service. She runs excursions for people's enjoyment which is NOT revenue service. IMO the locomotive can not be run for someone's enjoyment. Since the Crab Orchard & Egyptian did not run trains for enjoyment, I would give the CO&E the title, but if we want to be anal and it has to be in continous since the actual steam era, my vote goes to NS&W in Illinois. But UP 844, Steamtown, the A&A, Strasburg, etc. do not count.

The Arcade & Attica is unique in that I believe it was one of the first railroads in the country to go all-diesel (sometime in the 1940s). Then in 1962--just as the last steam engines on other railroads were singing their swan songs--the Arcade & Attica, counter-intuitively, purchased a steamer, then another in 1963. And while these steamers were purchased primarily for passenger excursion service, they have also been used for freight service. If I'm not mistaken, just last year A&A 2-8-0 No. 18 was used to pull freight at one point, not for the sake of a publicity event or anything, but because there was some problem with one of the diesels in service. And so they just used the steamer, instead.

This may not strictly qualify, but it's an interesting scenario, nevertheless.



*Addendum: I noticed only after posting this that JDGallaway had beaten me to the punch. My apologies.

Yes the A&A dieselised in 1948. #18 was purchased in 1962, followed by #14 in 1963. However they were purchased for enjoyment of tourists. There almost no freight traffic to speak of in 1962, and there is little today. The 2008 run was done by the crew for their own enjoyment, nobody paid them to use the steamer that day. In fact 18 didn't deliver the cars to the customer, 111 took over in Curriers (which is as far as excursions run).

Alcophile wrote:I disqualify UP 844 because while she was never officialy retired, she is not used in true revenue service. She runs excursions for people's enjoyment which is NOT revenue service. IMO the locomotive can not be run for someone's enjoyment. Since the Crab Orchard & Egyptian did not run trains for enjoyment, I would give the CO&E the title, but if we want to be anal and it has to be in continous since the actual steam era, my vote goes to NS&W in Illinois. But UP 844, Steamtown, the A&A, Strasburg, etc. do not count.

The first Railroad I thought of was the Crab Orchard & Egyptian as well.......
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=993093

Alcophile, actually, thats not 100% accurate.

No18 was pressed into freight service because of need, not desire. 65-ton diesel #112 was down with primemover issues, No18 was still hot from teh excursions the previous day, so it was decided to utilize 18's horses to move the freight.

As for not going farther north than curriers, there are two reason for that...

The last time #18 journeyed north to the mill, the brake rigging, got hooked on an underground auger and ripped it out of the ground (at least thats how it was related to me) and the mill owner banned the steam engine from teh property. The only run-around siding north of Curriers is at teh mill, so this precluded operations to North Java.

Also, the tracks from Currier to North Java have not yet been rebuilt with the grant monies... taking 18 north of curriers would have been an unwarrented gamble on keeping her 180,000 pound bulk on the rails.

#111, which was used as a pusher on that train from the interchange to Curriers, was used to shuttle teh freight to North Java from Curriers, but because of its limited horsepower and tractive effort, the diesel needed to make two trips to the mill