Grand Canyon Railway 4960

Beginning in the early 1910s, the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad ordered a total of 388 2-8-2 "Mikado" types from Baldwin Locomotive Works to replace their aging 2-6-2 "Prairie" types in the growing heavy freight traffic.[1] The first 60 class O-1 locomotives were built between 1910 and 1911, being numbered 5000–5059. In 1911, five E-4s, which were numbered 800–804, were delivered to the CB&Q themselves, along with additional E-4s delivered to the CB&Q's subsidiary companies, including the Fort Worth and Denver Railway. Subsequently, one hundred O-2s were delivered, numbered 5200–5299, between 1912 and 1913. Then, sixty O-3s between 1915 and 1919, numbered 5300–5359. That same year, fifteen USRA-designed O-4s were delivered, being numbered 5500–5514. Then, in 1917 and 1923, a total of 148 O-1a’s were produced and delivered, being numbered 5060–5147, as well as 4940-4999.[2] No. 4960 was among the last locomotives constructed for the railroad in August 1923. All of these locomotives were mainly used for hauling mixed freight trains, mostly around the Iowa division, for over 30 years. When diesel locomotives began to take over the primary trains, all of the 2-8-2s on the CB&Q were reassigned, and by the end of 1957, all of them were withdrawn from revenue service. No. 4960 last saw use in revenue service by hauling coal trains out of Southern Illinois mines.

No. 4960 with O-5b No. 5632 in the Clyde Roundhouse in 1962.

No. 4960 was spared from the scrapper's torch after being selected to be used for the CB&Q's new steam excursion program.[3][4] Its first excursion run occurred on December 28, 1958 with 490 passengers on board. This trip was sponsored by the Illinois Railroad Club, since during the 1950s, fan trips in the United States would be sponsored by railfan clubs and groups from the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS).[5] After the fan trip, the CB&Q's president, Harry C. Murphy, selected No. 4960 to become a permanent candidate for his steam excursion program alongside O-5b 4-8-4 "Northern" type No. 5632. The CB&Q has given No. 4960 a complete overhaul in 1961, in order to extend the locomotive's flue time.

During the steam program, the CB&Q came up with the "Steam Choo-Choo", a school field trip service where both No. 4960 and No. 5632 pulled over 120,000 school students, and this earned the former locomotive the nickname "The Teacher". In 1963, during the 50th anniversary of the railroad's service to Casper, Wyoming, No. 4960 was painted gold all over as the 'Tenshodo Mikado' by Trains Magazine. Afterward, No. 4960 was painted black once again, and resumed to pull excursions for the CB&Q between Chicago and Ottawa, Illinois. At the same time, the railroad reacquired one of No. 4960's sister engines, No. 4963, which had recently been retired from the Bevier and Southern railroad. However, it was only kept as a spare parts provider for No. 4960 for when it ever suffered a mechanical problem. Between 1965 and 1966, No. 4960 was used to pull the Circus World Museum's train on Chicago and North Western trackage between Baraboo and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and this trip was witnessed by 75,000 spectators, since it was the first time a steam locomotive operated in the state of Wisconsin in eight years.

However, the steam excursion program on the CB&Q wasn't to last any longer. In 1966, Harry C. Murphy retired from his position as president of the CB&Q, and Louis W. Menk took his place. The latter had no interest in hosting steam excursion operations, but had plans to combine the CB&Q with the, Spokane Portland and Seattle, Northern Pacific, and Great Northern railroads to create the Burlington Northern System.[6] No. 4960's last excursion train for the CB&Q occurred on July 17, 1966, a fan trip also sponsored by the Illinois Railroad Club. Shortly afterward, it was donated to the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, who decided to put it on static display at the Circus World Museum, but a light-duty bridge prevented No. 4960 from entering the museum's grounds.[7] The locomotive was subsequently moved to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum (MCRM) in North Freedom, Wisconsin.[8] Employees from the C&NW provided an introduction to the art of operating the locomotive's stoker before the locomotive was moved to North Freedom. No. 4960 was then moved into the museum's property under its own power. In November 1970, after spending some time operating back and forth in the museum's yard, No. 4960 was officially donated by the Circus World Museum to the MCRM, and it subsequently remained on static display at the North Freedom yard. It never operated on the MCRM's tourist line, since its wheelbase was too long to negotiate with the tight curves, and the trackage was too light to support the locomotive's heavy weight.

After over a decade of display in North Freedom, No. 4960 was selected for restoration by Virginian businessman Harold Keene, who previously opened the Bristol and Northwestern tourist railroad, which was formerly used as part of the Southern Railway's Bristol branch line that lied between Bristol and Mendota, Virginia before it was abandoned and shortened to lie between Bristol and Benhams. The MCRM's management went over some disputes over whether to let No. 4960 go, or to keep it. There were employees who wanted to keep the locomotive and make revenue off of it, since was part of the MCRM's initial plan to recreate an early 20th-century Midwest short steam experience. There were also other employees who wanted to get rid of it, since it was taking up space in the museum's yard. After negotiations were settled, a five-year lease was signed in early 1980 along with an option to purchase the locomotive for $40,000, and No. 4960 began being transported to the East. No. 4960 was first moved to the Jackson Iron and Steel Company in Jackson, Ohio for an operational restoration that lasted less than one year. During the process, it was discovered that after the fan trips on the CB&Q, many of No. 4960's components had been worn out. However, since the B&NW was only a tourist operation, minimal repairs were made to the locomotive to make it suitable for pulling tourist trains. No. 4960 was still missing its boiler jacketing, and the cylinders were missing their coverings.[9]

No. 4960 returend to service in July 1981, and it began pulling six-hour weekend tourist trains between Bristol and Benhams. Under the lease of the B&NW, the locomotive would find a new relationship with three employees: Ervin White, Gary Bensman, and Robert Franzen. At this time, White was part of the crew that moved the locomotive to Bristol and volunteered to restore it back to operation along with Bensman, while Franzen was a volunteer fireman and brakeman for the railroad, and he had previously volunteered for the Southern Railway steam program. On one occasion, however, No. 4960 derailed as she rolled over a rail line, and the B&NW crew had to call the shop crew from the nearby Tweetsie Railroad to help re-rail the locomotive and fix the trackage. The locomotive subsequently ran on the B&NW for a less amount of time until 1984, when Mr. Keene died of a heart attack. Without Mr. Keene, the B&NW would to go out of business by the end of the year. Although Robert and Ervin insisted on keeping No. 4960 operable for a few more months, its five-year lease with the MCRM was nearing its expiration date. In March 1985, No. 4960 was fired up to stop at the B&NW-Norfolk Southern interchange before its connecting rods were removed. This was the last time No. 4960 operated under her own power in her CB&Q appearance. It was subsequently towed 700 miles west-bound to one of Bensman's shops in Casad Industrial Park in New Haven, Indiana for storage.

In 1988, the Grand Canyon Railway, a former Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe short line between Williams, Arizona and the Grand Canyon National Park, was purchased by Max and Thelma Biegert, a couple from Phoenix, with the hopes of reopening it for public passenger service. The first four locomotives they acquired were four former Lake Superior and Ishpheming 2-8-0 consolidations, 18, 19, 20 and 29, and two of them were restored to operate there.[10] The GCRY had the hopes of pulling ten or more loaded passenger cars on their trackage, and they needed a larger and more powerful locomotive to meet such a demand. Ervin White, Robert Franzen, and Gary Bensman, who previously worked with the B&NW, suggested to Max Biegert that No. 4960, which was still in storage at New Haven, would be well suited for the GCRY's needs in greater motive power. Without much sentiment for the MCRM to keep the locomotive any longer, No. 4960 was purchased at an undisclosed cost by the GCRY on September 16, 1989, one day before the railway was reopened. In October of that year, mechanics arrived at New Haven to prepare the locomotive to be moved, but NS prohibited it from being moved on their mainline on its own wheels, due to pits being discovered in its axles. As a result, the entire running gear, along with the pilot, trailing, and tender axles, were removed and hauled by truck to NS's locomotive shops in Birmingham, Alabama to be refurbished. There, it was discovered that the 2nd and 3rd driving axles were so badly corroded, they needed to be completely replaced. Multiple cracks were found in the center of one driving wheel. The condition the axles and wheels were in made the refurbishment take several months while the rest of the locomotive remained on Casad Industrial Park's property. In the spring of 1990, Casad Industrial Park sent the GCRY a notice that they would scrap the locomotive had it not been vacated within thirty days. Subsequently, the boiler, frame, cab, and tender, were separated and then hauled on flatcars west-bound for Arizona. It was a rough decision for the mechanics to make, since the smokebox became badly damaged after being torched off of the frame saddle.

By the time No. 4960 arrived in Williams, disassembled, most of its components were corroded. Restoration work finally began in July 1993 inside the GCRY's Williams shops, and this time, the work was much more thorough than it was on the B&NW and more extensive than most of the overhauls on the CB&Q. Flues, tubes, bearings, coal systems, the front and rear flue sheets, the superheater systems, the thread bolts, and other old parts, along with any questionable parts, were removed to either be repaired, or to be replaced. New components were also being made, including a new tender from a Soo Line 4-8-2 "mountain type", 2,400 stay bolts, a new front pilot axle, new flue sheets, and new firebox sheets, using a full penetration weld common, which, although was commonly used on marine and industrial appliances, it was rarely used on steam locomotives. The components of the frame were also completely separated to be sandblasted or replaced.[11] Robert Franzen, who became No. 4960's fireman again, was supervising the rebuilding process as welders, boilermen, and electricians worked to revert most of the components to factory-fresh condition. Gary Bensman was hired as the GCRY's chief mechanical officer for a short time before working for his company, Diversified Rail Services. Ervin White also supervised the GCRY's train operations for a short time. The restoration process slowed down in 1995, due to GCRY staff concentrating their efforts on restoring Alco FA locomotives, and the process was paced up again in early 1996. The restoration process took three years and 80,000 man hours, and it cost of over $1 million.[12] The locomotive has become so heavily modified, it now has an appearance of a 1940s era locomotive, instead of a 1920s design it originally appeared as.[13]

No. 4960 on the GCRY in 2011.

No. 4960 with Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 3751 in 2002.

In May 1996, No. 4960 was towed out of the Williams shops to be test fired. The test fire was deemed a success, and over a course of two months, the locomotive was repainted and given its essential components in preparation for its test run, and in early July, No. 4960 moved under its own power for the first time in eleven years. The locomotive pulled its first train on the GCRY on July 27 of that year. Since then, No. 4960 has been pulling passenger trains from Williams to the Grand Canyon Village, and back. Most often, the locomotive would also be equipped with a custom-built multiple-unit control box for diesel assistance, since the GCRY diecided that their longer trains would require a minimum of two locomotives to pull. In 2002, Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe 3751, a 4-8-4 "northern" based from San Bernardino, California, traveled to Williams to participate in that year's National Railway Historical Society Convention, and it performed a doubleheader with No. 4960 to the Grand Canyon, as well as a tripleheader with No. 18 back to Williams. Once the convention was over, No. 3751 returned home, while Nos 4960 and 18 resumed to pull trains on the GCRY. In 2005, No. 4960 performed a doubleheader with No. 29, as well as posing side by side in front of the GCV log depot for a few night photo sessions.[14]

In 2007, the GCRY was purchased by Xanterra Travel Collection, and the following year, they ceased all steam operations on the GCRY due to fuel costs and environmental concerns, and No. 4960 was put on static display in front of the Williams Depot with its front pilot steps being removed to prevent people from climbing on board. The following year, as a result of the general public's demand for steam operations on the GCRY to return, the GCRY brought back steam to operate only two or three times per month. In order to keep operating costs low, No. 4960 has been burning recycled waste vegetable oil collected from restaurants in the South Rim and Williams instead of diesel oil. This would also increase efficiency and decrease metal fatigue. Since No. 4960 has been burning a cleaner source of fuel, it was earned the nickname “The Green Machine”. In 2012, the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society took Santa Fe 3751 for a second visit to the GCRY, where she would perform another doubleheader with the 2-8-2 as part of the state's Centennial. Between 2013 and 2014, No. 4960 pulled occasional freight trains for, yet, another photo session.[15] In 2016, No. 4960 performed another doubleheader with 29 as part of the Centennial of the National Park Service.[16] As of 2022, No. 4960 remains operational, only pulling excursions on Steam Saturdays, and is occasionally on display at Williams during the winter season.