Grand Canyon Railway 29

Grand Canyon Railway 29
GCRY No. 29 on its way to the Grand Canyon Village in 2005
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder American Locomotive Company (Pittsburgh works) Serial number 39637 Model SC-3 23/30 48 Build date May 1906 Rebuilder Presque Isle shops Rebuild date 1925
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-8-0  • UIC 1’D’h Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. New: 50 in (1,270 mm) Now: 56 in (1,422 mm) Loco weight 198,000 lb (90,000 kg) (pre-1925) 227,000 lb (103,000 kg) (post-1925) Fuel type New: coal Now: Vegetable oil Fuel capacity coal: 11 t (11 long tons; 12 short tons) Vegetable oil: 2,600 US gal (9,800 l; 2,200 imp gal) Water cap 9,700 US gal (37,000 l; 8,100 imp gal) Boiler pressure 200 lb/in2 (14 kg/cm2) Feedwater heater Worthington type SA Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size New: 22 in × 30 in (560 mm × 760 mm) Now: 20 in × 30 in (510 mm × 760 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts
Performance figures Maximum speed 55 mph (89 km/h) Tractive effort 48,000 lbf (210,000 N)
Career Operators Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad Marquette and Huron Mountain Railroad Grand Canyon Railway Class B-4 (pre-1925) SC-3 (post-1925) Numbers LS&I 14 LS&I 29 GCRY 29 AT&SF 29 Retired 1956 (revenue service) 2009 (1st excursion service) Restored April 1990 (1st restoration) June 2016 (2nd restoration) Current owner Grand Canyon Railway Disposition Undergoing its 1,472-day boiler inspection, based in Williams, Arizona

Grand Canyon Railway No. 29 is the sole survivor of the class "SC-3" 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotives. It was built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in May 1906 for use in hauling carloads of iron ore on branch lines of the Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad as engine No. 14, and was renumbered 29 in 1923. It was retired from revenue service in 1956. In 1963, it was sold to the Marquette and Huron Mountain Railroad, but it never ran there, and it was eventually sold to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum. Today, it resides at the Grand Canyon Railway as a running mate to former Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 2-8-2 No. 4960. As of 2021, though, it is going through a 1,472-day FRA boiler inspection.

History[]

Original Service Life[]

No. 29's builder plate.

In the 1900s, the Lake Superior and Ishpeming railroad^[1] needed stronger locomotives to replace an 1880s-built 0-4-0s to pull passenger and iron ore trains ^[2]between West Ishpeming and Marquette.^[3] In 1902, the LS&I sold three of their 0-4-0s to the Hicks Locomotive and Car Works and then they ordered three B-4 class 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type locomotives that would be numbered 14–16. First, Nos 15 and 16 arrived in 1905 from the Baldwin Locomotive Works, and they cost $14,697 a piece. The following year, 1906, No. 14 arrived from the American Locomotive Company’s (ALCO) former Pittsburgh Locomotive and Car Works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and it had a different appearance than 15 and 16, and it was purchased at a cost of $15,800.

When these locomotives arrived, they bore the brunt of ore hauling, as they pounded up a %1.6 grade between Marquette and Negaunee, pulling 45 loaded hopper cars. With the capability of 43,304 pounds of tractive effort, cylinder dimensions of 22 x 30 inches, and a boiler pressure of 200 pounds per square inch, they proved themselves to be the most powerful rod locomotives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. However, upon arrival of the SC-1 class in 1916, the B-4 class was starting to seem a redundant to the LS&I. No. 14 was subsequently reassigned as a dock switcher in the docks in the Marquette division, and the locomotive operating in the mainline became less and less common, especially after being involved in a wash-out wreck roughly two months after the SC-1s arrived.

In 1923, the LS&I received some additional 2-8-0s, after purchasing the Munising, Marquette and Southeastern Railway, so a renumbering system and reclassification system were in order, and the B-4s were reclassified as SC-3s (SC meaning Superheated Consolidations) and renumbered 27–29. No. 14 was renumbered 29, and the number 14 was given to a 2-8-2 Mikado the railroad had purchased from the bankrupt Duluth and Northern Minnesota Railroad.^[4] In 1925, No. 29 was sent to the Presque Isle shops to be heavily rebuilt to improve her performance, and the husky consolidation was reassigned to pulling local freight trains between Marquette and Munising. During World War II, No. 29 was reassigned again to pull heavier freight trains in the Ishpeming region, and it remained there, until even the LS&I decided to fully dieselize by the early 1960s. No. 29 was retired in 1956, and it was stored as an emergency back up inside an auxiliary roundhouse that was used for steaming ore.

Early preservation[]

By 1963, the railroad had only twelve steam locomotives left on their roster, all of which were 2-8-0s. That same year, though, they sold almost all of the 2-8-0s, as well as some of their passenger cars, to the Marquette and Huron Mountain Tourist Railroad.^[5] This was intended to give the old consolidations another chance on life for use in excursion service. However, there are no known records of the 29 pulling any trains for that railroad. Only some of its distant sister engines, Nos 19, 22, and 23, were known to pull tourist trains there between Marquette and Big Bay.^[6] Instead, No. 29 sat with the rest of the 2-8-0s in the form of a scrapline, facing an uncertain future.

The M&HM ceased operations in 1984 when the railroad's owner passed away, and the remnants of their active roster were also retired. In 1985, the remaining 2-8-0s that were once owned by the M&HM were sold back to the LS&I, and a few months later, No. 29 was sold at an auction along with No. 22^[7] to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum^[8] in North Freedom, Wisconsin. It received a cosmetic restoration to be put on static display in 1988.^[9]

Grand Canyon Railway[]

No. 29 waiting to depart Williams in 1993

In 1988, the Grand Canyon Railway,^[10] a former Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe branch line that ran between Williams, Arizona and the South rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, was bought by Max and Thelma Biegert, a couple from Phoenix. The first locomotives the new company purchased were four Ex-LS&I 2-8-0s; 18, 19, 20, and of course, 29. No. 18 was restored to operation first, and it did the honors of pulling the inaugural excursion. After that, No. 29 was also going through an operational restoration. It went through a rolling test in January 1990,^[11] and a couple months later, it was test fired and moved under its own power for the first time in thirty-four years.^[12] No. 29 ran excursion runs between Williams and the Grand Canyon Village for five years in the 1990s.

No. 29 running a doubleheader with No. 4960 in October 2005.

In 1995,^[13] No. 29 was taken out of service, and sometime later, it was stored in the locomotive shops, where it received a thorough overhaul that lasted until 2004. In 2005, No. 29 and Ex-Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 2-8-2 No. 4960 performed a double header between Williams and the Grand Canyon Village, as well as taking part in a night photo session where the two steamers sat side by side in front of the old log depot. From 2004 to 2008, No. 29 resumed its career as a tourist locomotive, and during that same timeframe, all of No. 29's distant sister engines on the railway were sold off, making No. 29 the last 2-8-0 on the property.

In 2008, after the entirety of the GCRY was purchased by Xanterra Travel Collection, steam operations were ceased due to environmental concerns. The following year, steam operations resumed, but they became limited on when they could run ever since. Meanwhile, No. 29 remained on static display in front of the Williams depot^[14] for the next five years. Sometimes, during Christmas, it would often be re-lettered Polar Express^[15] while still on display at Williams. In 2014, No. 29 was removed from the Williams depot with Ex-Spokane, Portland and Seattle 2-8-2 No. 539 taking its display spot, and the husky consolidation was moved to the GCV Log depot, where it remained on display for one more year.^[16] In 2016, No. 29 was given a hydrostatic test fire along with some minor repairs to make it run again, and it was subsequently ready to perform another double header with No. 4960 for the centennial of the National Park Service.^[17] On June 10 of the following year, the GCRY was the recipient of the 2017 Arizona Governor’s Award for Outstanding Historical and Cultural Preservation, in honor of bringing No. 29 back to service.^[18] On May 21, 2019, No. 29 was re lettered to Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe to be filmed by MacGillivray Freeman Films to make several appearances in Out Where the West Begins, a four episode documentary series narrated by Tom Selleck and directed by Tom Brainard and Greg MacGillivray.^[19][20] The locomotive ran a few more excursions for the GCRY, until October 27, 2019,^[21] when the locomotive was placed in storage inside the shops for more time out of service. As of 2021, the 29 is going through a mandated 1,472-day boiler inspection required by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).^[22]

Modifications[]

No. 29 received some minor to major modifications from as early as her revenue career for the LS&I in the early 1920s to as late as her excursion career for the GCRY in the mid 2010s.

• In 1925, No. 29 was sent to the Presque Isle shops to be heavily rebuilt with modified cylinders, disk pilot wheels, and a wider firebox. It's old oil lamp was also replaced with a single golden glow headlight with a lightbulb.
• In 1934, No. 29 was overhauled again and refitted with a aluminum cab instead of a wooden one, and its old tube cowcatcher was replaced with a wooden-step one. In the same process, it's tender was also rebuilt, and it took some booster trucks from SC-1 No. 32. It's headlight was also given a visor.
• During its 1989-1990 rebuild, No. 29 received some more major modifications. For the smokebox, the "tiara" handrail above was removed, its headlight was moved to the center of the smokebox door, the bell was moved from the top center of the boiler to the top of the door, and the locomotive received a ticket shaped-number plate. Other modifications include the pilot stairs receiving hand rails, a replacement whistle was installed, the cab roof was painted red, the booster trucks were completely removed, and the locomotive was converted to oil firing.
• Between 1998 and early 2004, No. 29 received a major overhaul. This time, the locomotive retained a tube cowcatcher, it received a modern twin-sealed beam headlight with two lightbulbs, and a rectangular number plate, just like what the GCR gave No. 4960. The locomotive was also painted dark green, as such a livery was inspired by the Southern Railway’s former steam program.
• In early 2005, No. 29's smokestack diameter was enlarged by a few inches, as its old blast nozzle inside the smokebox was replaced by a new custom-made Lempor nozzle that would be more efficient for the exhaust system. The pipeline underneath the smokebox was also removed.
• In 2007, No. 29 was given, yet, another overhaul to receive a Chinese copy of a Worthington feedwater heater system that comes with a heat exchanger mounted into the top of the smokebox.
• In 2013, while it was still being put on static display, No. 29's twin beam headlight was replaced with a solid white headlight.
• While being repaired in 2016 to be operated again, No. 29 retained its twin beam headlight, and it was converted to burn Waste Vegetable Oil, also like No. 4960. It also received another new whistle.

Historical significance[]

No. 29 is the oldest LS&I locomotive that is preserved, as well as the only LS&I survivor to ever experience an accident. It is also the only surviving example of the LS&I’s SC-3 class, and the only one to be built by Alco.

No. 29 is the world’s only 2-8-0 to ever support a Worthington SA and the only 2-8-0 in the United States to support a Lempor ejector system.

Accidents and incidents[]

• On June 2, 1916, when the 29 was numbered 14, it figured in a wash-out wreck while coming down from Negaunee with an iron ore train.^[23] The locomotive and several hopper cars rolled down on their sides on a steep embankment. The possible cause of this derailment was the fact it was heavily raining in many Northern Midwest areas that day. It took about a month to get the 14 "on its pins" again, meaning the 14 was brought back to service after some repairs were done. It is unclear if the engineer, fireman, or leading brakeman were injured or killed.

See also[]

• Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 734
• Lake Superior and Ishpeming 33
• Duluth and Northern Minnesota 14
• Lake Superior and Ishpeming 18
• Grand Canyon Railway 4960

External links[]

• Grand Canyon Railway Official Website

References[]