Tremont and Gulf 30

Tremont and Gulf 30
No. 30 taking on fuel at Rusk on June 17, 2017, shortly after its cosmetic alteration of that year
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Serial number 46491 Build date October 1917
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-8-2  • UIC 1D'1 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. 54 in (1,400 mm) Wheelbase 62.25 ft (18.97 m)  • Engine 30.58 ft (9.32 m)  • Drivers 14.50 ft (4.42 m) Adhesive weight 140,000 lb (64,000 kg) Loco weight 182,500 lb (82,800 kg) Tender weight 126,500 lb (57,400 kg) Total weight 309,000 lb (140,000 kg) Tender type Vanderbilt type Fuel type New: Coal Now: Oil Fuel capacity 14 t (14 long tons; 15 short tons) (Coal) 3,500 US gal (13,000 l; 2,900 imp gal) (Oil) Water cap New: 6,000 US gal (23,000 l; 5,000 imp gal) Now: 6,500 US gal (25,000 l; 5,400 imp gal) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 41.50 sq ft (3.855 m2) Boiler pressure New: 185 psi (1,280 kPa) Now: 175 psi (1,210 kPa) Heating surface:  • Firebox 163 sq ft (15.1 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 518 sq ft (48.1 m2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 21 in × 26 in (530 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts
Performance figures Maximum speed 50 mph (80 km/h) Tractive effort 36,097 lbf (160,570 N)
Career Operators Tremont and Gulf Railroad Magma Arizona Railroad Texas State Railroad Class Class 30 Numbers T&G 30 MAA 7 TSRR 400 TSRR 30 Retired June 10, 1968 (Revenue service) 2002 (1st Excursion service) Restored March 1978 (1st Excursion service) April 2014 (2nd Excursion service) Current owner Texas State Railroad Disposition Operational, based in Rusk, Texas

Tremont and Gulf Railroad No. 30 is a preserved class 30 2-8-2 "Mikado" steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1917 for the Tremont and Gulf Railroad. It was used by the T&G for hauling freight trains in branch lines throughout the state of Louisiana until 1954, when it was sold to the Magma Arizona Railroad and renumbered 7. There, the locomotive was used for hauling smaller freight trains in Southern Arizona, until its retirement in 1968. Afterwards, it continued to be sold to various owners and groups, until it was purchased by the Texas State Railroad in 1974. It was restored to operating condition and used to pull tourist excursion trips between Rusk and Palestine, Texas as No. 400 from 1978 to 2002. Since 2014, the locomotive has been back under steam on the TSRR as MAA No. 7, and then it was reverted to T&G No. 30 in 2017. It is still operational as of 2021.

History[]

Original service life[]

As the United States entered World War I, railroads across the nation faced a need for larger and stronger locomotives, and the Louisiana-based was no exception. Thus, in 1917, the T&G created a new design of a 2-8-2 "Mikado" type and ordered it from the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and it was built and delivered in October of that year as No. 30.^[1] This new locomotive proved to be a more powerful performer than any of its predecessors,^[2] as it was capable of over 36,000 pounds of tractive effort, it had a boiler pressure of 185 pounds per square inch, it had superheaters with eleven inch piston valves, and it had a driver diameter of fifty four inches. Maybe not quite suitable for mainline usage, but still a useful size for small, basic-material sized shortlines like the T&G, and No. 30 was the largest locomotive the T&G has ever owned. An unusual detail for a late 1910s-built model was that the two sand domes and the lone steam dome had collars on both their bases and their tops, which gave the locomotive a 19th-century touch. No. 30 was used by the T&G to haul oil and lumber around the T&G system, particularly between Tremont, Winnfield, and West Monroe. As the 1950s began to progress, however, the T&G became one of many American railroads that decided to dieselize early on, and by 1954, all of their steam locomotives were withdrawn and sold off.

That year, No. 30 was purchased by another shortline railroad, the Magma Arizona Railroad,^[1] and the locomotive made its way to Magma, Arizona, where it was given another overhaul, and it was renumbered 7, as it was the seventh locomotive the MAA has ever acquired. The locomotive's new assignment was to haul copper, minerals, and local freight trains across the MAA system, particularly between the copper mines and towns of Florence and Queen Creek. No. 7 was also the best of the roster when it came to running out of hills, such as the trackage from Desert Well to the MAA-Southern Pacific junction in Magma. Albeit, 2-8-0 No. 5 was the most powerful steamer of that line. After serving the T&G for thirty-seven years and serving the MAA for an additional fourteen years, the little mikado was formerly retired after finishing its last revenue freight assignment on June 10, 1968, making it beat Denver and Rio Grande Western K-36 No. 483 as the last common carrier steam locomotive to be used in revenue service in the Southwestern United States by over a month.^[3] After that, No. 7 was sold to Steve Bogen in 1969, who then donated it to Trans North of Superior, Arizona in 1972.

Preservation[]

Upon arrival of Superior, No. 7 faced a future where it would remain as a static display piece. In 1974, however, the locomotive was purchased again by, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the early founders of the Texas State Railroad,^[4] who had other ideas. No. 7 was only one of five steam locomotives the group had purchased and wanted to restore to operating condition as part of their efforts to reopen the TSRR as a tourist railroad. It was shipped by rail to Hahn and Clay in Houston, Texas to be rebuilt and refurbished by a group of volunteers. Boiler men, welders, and technicians took four years to repaint, repair, and replace components of the locomotive. When restoration work was almost completed, a new plate was made with the words "Rebuilt by Hahn & Clay Houston, Texas for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Steam Locomotive No. 400, Type 2-8-2, Job No. 20078, State of Texas contract No. 09347, 1977–1978". During this process, the locomotive was also renumbered 400, since the TSRR decided to number their locomotives in order of size by hundreds.^[5] In March 1978, the locomotive was moved to its new home base of Rusk, where it was fired up for the first time in less than ten years.^[6]

The locomotive was now in charge of pulling tourists between Rusk and Palestine almost every year alongside other restored locomotives, including Texas and Pacific 4-6-0 "Ten-wheeler" (No. 201), 2-8-0 "Consolidation" No. 28(No. 300), Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 4-6-2 "Pacific" No. 1316(No. 500), and RS-2 diesel switcher No. 7.^[7] It would also perform a doubleheader^[8] with one of its running mates every once in a while. In 1996, No. 400 took part in the centennial of the TSRR historical park,^[9] and since then, it was one of the TSRR's five steam locomotives to be featured in one of their 'symbols'.^[10] Since 1995, however, the Federal Railroad Administration(FRA)^[11] has ordered that every active steam locomotive be inspected and overhauled every 1,472 days(15 years), and this new regulation forced No. 400 to be sidelined after making its final run in as No. 400 on June 22, 2002,^[12][13] and the locomotive was forced into its second retirement. No. 400 spent the next twelve years sitting idle just outside the locomotive facility in Rusk.^[14]

In 2012, Iowa Pacific Holdings gained ownership of the TSRR, and they decided to have a group of volunteers finish the restoration of No. 400 to have it running again,^[15] as No. 201's boiler ticket was close to expiring and the railroad needed to keep a second steam locomotive on their active roster.^[16] Albeit, IPH decided to throw the old road numbering order by hundreds scheme out the window and revert all of their steam locomotives to their original revenue liveries instead. As a result of this decision, when the little Mikado was brought back under steam in April 2014, it was reverted to Magma Arizona No. 7. In July 2016, No. 30 took part in a photographer's special alongside No. 28, and the two locomotives would perform another doubleheader.^[17] In early 2017, ownership was moved again to the Western Group, and No. 7 was reverted to its T&G livery and got its original road number back: No. 30. The locomotive would also be one of the one that would pull and push Texas and Pacific 2-10-4 "Texas type" No. 610 in and out of the engine house at Palestine.^[18] As of 2021, No. 30 is still being used for tourist operations on the TSRR alongside No. 28.^[19] Its next 1,472-day inspection will likely take place in 2029, as that will have marked fifteen years since No. 30's 2014 return.

Modifications[]

No. 30 has received multiple modifications from as early as its revenue career in the early 1920s to as late as its excursion career in the late 2010s.

• In 1923, No. 30's original tender was replaced with a larger Vanderbilt tender to increase fuel and water capacity and to convert the locomotive to oil firing. This modification increased the boiler pressure to 200 pounds per square inch, and it increased the water capacity to 6,500 gallons.
• At some point in the early 1940s, No. 30's original smokebox door, headlight, and marker lights were replaced with modern ones.
• Upon arrival at the Magma Arizona Railroad, the locomotive was given some cosmetic changes: its smokebox and its firebox were painted bronze, its headlight became centered with a visor and a rectangular numberplate, the bell was moved to the top of the smokebox, it received a replacement whistle, some of the locomotive's handrails were painted yellow, and its cowcatcher was altered for a more industrial appearance.
• To appear in How the West Was Won, the locomotive got its original cowcatcher back, its Vanderbilt tender was cosmetically covered to look more like a rectangular shaped one, it received a cap on top of its stack, it received a high oil lamp, and the number 7 was painted on the smokebox door, instead of having a circular number plate. The locomotive was reverted to its MAA livery after filming was over.
• Upon arrival of the Texas State Railroad as No. 400, its smokebox and firebox were repainted dark grey, its cab roof was painted red to prevent paint chipping on said roof, the bell was moved back to its original spot in between the steam and sand domes, and the locomotive got its original cowcatcher back.^[20] Its boiler pressure was also since decreased to 175 pounds per square inch.
• In 1980, No. 400's headlight was slightly moved upward on the smokebox door, and said smokebox door was painted light grey.
• In 1992, No. 400's headlight was moved back to the top of the smokebox and a red circular number plate was placed on the center of the smokebox door,^[21]
• In 1995, No. 400's red number plate was replaced with a black one.
• Upon its return to steam in 2014, the locomotive was reverted to its Magma Arizona livery with the centered headlight, the cowcatcher alteration, the bronze smokebox, the smokebox mounted bell, and some yellow handrails.^[22]
• In late 2016, the locomotive's smokebox and firebox became dark grey again.^[23]
• In early 2017, the locomotive's handrails were painted black again, and the bell was reverted to the middle of the boiler.
• In June 2017, the headlight was reverted to the top of the smokebox, allowing the locomotive to retain its circular number plate.
• In early 2019, the locomotive retained its original cowcatcher again. The locomotive was now completely reverted to its T&G livery.^[24]

Film history[]

• While No. 30 operated as MAA No. 7, it masqueraded as a fictional "Verde and Rio Grande" locomotive after being selected as one of the starring locomotives for the famous 1962 Western adventure film How the West Was Won, which starred multiple famous actors, including Henry Fonda, Debbie Reynolds, and John Wayne, and it was directed by Henry Hathaway, John Ford, and George Marshall.^[2]
• While No. 30 operated as TSRR No. 400, it was re-lettered "Ozark and Panhandle" to appear in the 1982 TV film The Long Summer of George Adams, which starred James Garner, Joan Hackett, and it was directed by Stuart Margolin. The TSRR is known for being featured in multiple films and TV series.^[3]
• In 2000, the locomotive was chosen to be in a new daring jump by Robbie Knievel. On the evening of February 23, he made the jump while No. 400 was in motion heading toward him and a ramp meant to be demolished by the locomotive.^[25]

See also[]

• List of Louisiana railroads
• Magma Arizona Railroad
• Texas State Railroad
• Santa Fe 1316
• Southern Pine Lumber Co. 28
• Texas and Pacific 610

References[]

External links[]

• Texas State Railroad Website