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Canadian Pacific 1286

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Canadian Pacific 1286
CP No. 1286 coupled to an excursion train at Marlboro, Maryland in 1969
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderCanadian Locomotive Company
Serial number2443
Build dateJune 1948
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte4-6-2 "Pacific"
 • UIC2′C1′ h2
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.70 in (1,778 mm)
Trailing dia.45 in (1,143 mm)
Wheelbase:
 • Drivers15 ft (4.6 m)
Length76 ft 4+18 in (23.3 m)
Height14 ft 10 in (4.5 m)
Axle load50,333 lb (22,830.7 kg; 22.8 t)
Adhesive weight151,000 lb (68.5 tonnes)
Loco weight229,500 lb (104,099.4 kg; 104.1 t)
Tender weight191,000 lb (86,636.1 kg; 86.6 t)
Total weight420,500 lb (190,735.6 kg; 190.7 t)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity28,000 lb (13,000 kg; 13 t)
Water cap.11,529 US gal (43,642 L; 9,600 imp gal)
Firebox:
 • Grate area45.6 sq ft (4.24 m2)
Boiler pressure250 psi (1.72 MPa)
Heating surface:
 • Firebox199 sq ft (18.5 m2)
 • Total surface3,320 sq ft (308.4 m2)
Superheater:
 • Heating area744 sq ft (69.1 m2)
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size20 in × 28 in (508 mm × 711 mm)
Valve gearWalschaerts
Performance figures
Tractive effort34,000 lbf (151.2 kN)
Factor of adh.4.44
Career
OperatorsCanadian Pacific Railway
Rail Tours Inc.
High Iron Company
Allegany Central Railroad
ClassG5d
Number in class15 of 30
Numbers
  • CP 1286
  • ACRR 1286
  • VCRR 1286
Retired1959 (revenue service)
1973 (1st excursion service)
October 31, 1997 (2nd excursion service)
Restored1965 (1st restoration)
1975 (2nd restoration)
Current ownerPrivate owner
DispositionStored out of view

Canadian Pacific 1286 is a preserved G5d class 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built in 1948 by the Canadian Locomotive Company. It was sold to George Hart, who used it to pull excursion trains in the 1960s. It was eventually sold again to Jack Showalter, who operated it on his Allegany Central Railroad from the early 1970s to the late 1990s. As of 2023, No. 1286 is stored under private ownership at the Prairie Dog Central Railway.

History

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Revenue service

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No. 1286 was constructed in June 1948 by the Canadian Locomotive Company in Kingston, Ontario as the fifteenth member of the Canadian Pacific Railway's (CP) G5d class. It was initially assigned to pull passenger trains and commuter trains throughout Alberta and British Columbia. As steam locomotives were being replaced by diesel locomotives on the CP, No. 1286 served as an emergency backup locomotive, until it was retired in 1959.

Early preservation

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After sitting in storage for five years, No. 1286 was purchased directly from the CP in 1964 by former Reading Company employee George M. Hart, who founded Rail Tours Incorporated to host several steam excursion trains throughout the Northeastern United States.[1] No. 1286 was restored in 1965, and it began pulling tours on the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad (MPA) in York County alongside other steam locomotives, including CP G5c No. 1238, CP 4-6-0 No. 972, and Reading 0-6-0 st No. 1251.[2] On August 1, while No. 1286 was pulling an excursion over the MPA near York, it derailed and bent its cowcatcher after hitting a pile of gravel created by heavy rain.[3] A diesel locomotive was brought in to help rerail No. 1286, which subsequently returned to service without having its cowcatcher repaired. On some occasions, No. 1286 pulled a series of roundtrip excursion runs on the Western Maryland (WM) mainline between York, Gettysburg, Williamsport, Hagerstown, and Cumberland, and it was accompanied by CP No. 972 during some of the trips.[3][4]

Beginning in 1967, Ross E. Rowland, the owner of the High Iron Company (HICO), began leasing Nos. 1286 and 1238 from Hart to pull his own excursion trains over the Central Railroad of New Jersey's (CNJ) mainline between Jersey City, New Jersey and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

In early February 1968, a furnace broke down at a power plant in Reading, Pennsylvania, and Nos. 1286 and 1238 were both transferred to the plant to provide emergency warmth.[5] Rowland consequently had to replace the two G5's on a February 18 excursion with fellow CP G5d No. 1278 and Great Western 2-10-0 No. 90.[5]

CP No. 1286 stopping at the Pope's Creek Branch in Bowie, Maryland.

Once the plant's furnace was fully repaired, Hart removed both locomotives from the city. Rowland continued to use Nos. 1286 and 1238 to pull more excursion trains he had hosted, including the Wilkes-Barre Limited between Wilkes-Barre and Newark, and they were still owned by George Hart until August 1968. With Hart losing sentiment to keep Nos. 1286 and 1238, he sold both of them to John F. Rowe of the Red Clay Valley Railway Equipment and Leasing Company, and he made plans to use both locomotives to power his own excursion trains.[6]

On May 18, 1969 Nos 1286 and 1238 pulled a doubleheaded twenty-car excursion train from Baltimore, Maryland to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania over two Penn Central branch lines for the Baltimore Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS). The trip, however, was plagued with various mechanical issues. The fireman who was in control of No. 1286 that day allowed the fire inside the firebox to burn through one of the fire grates, causing the locomotive to lose steam pressure. With No. 1238 having running gear problems, No. 1286 pulled the train to Harrisburg unassisted, in spite of its firebox issues. After a photo session took place at the station, a Penn Central diesel locomotive was coupled in front of the two G5s to pull the train back to Baltimore after dawn. By 1973, No. 1286 was no longer in service under John Rowe’s ownership.

Jack Showalter ownership

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In 1973, No. 1286 was purchased along with No. 1238 by Jack Showalter, and he moved both locomotives to Covington, Virginia to be extensively overhauled. Showalter was the founder of the Alleghany Central Railroad (ACRR), which was a fifteen-mile tourist railroad that originally lied over the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway's (C&O) Hot Springs branch between Intervale and Covington. Crews repaired No. 1286's bent cowcatcher during its overhaul and repaint. The locomotive was brought back under steam in 1975, and it began pulling tourist trains at fifteen miles per hour along a tributary of the James River.[7] On one occasion, an ex-Chicago, Burlington and Quincy office car derailed after dawn with several ACRR crews off duty, so Showalter gathered two railfans and some of his friends to help him rerail it, using chunks of wood, and No. 1286 was used to push the car back. After the 1984 operating season, however, the ACRR was forced to vacate the Hot Springs branch after ownership disputes took place, and the branch was subsequently ripped up.

In 1988 Showalter approached the Scenic Railroad Development Corporation (SRDC), who agreed to allow the ACRR, who changed their name to the Allegany Central Railroad, to use their newly restored trackage, which was formerly operated by the WM. After Showalter's equipment was moved to Ridgeley, West Virginia, the ACRR began operations in 1989 to host trains from Cumberland, Maryland through the Allegheny Mountains to Frostburg, Maryland and back. Since No. 1286 was due for an overhaul, it was undergoing repairs in Ridgeley, and it didn't return to service until May 1990. No. 1286 pulled the last train the ACRR hosted on the Cumberland line on December 8, 1990, before Showalter and the SRDC ran into ownership disputes that prevented them from renewing their leasing contract. The SRDC subsequently changed their name to the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad to begin operating their own trains with their own locomotives, such as Lake Superior and Ishpeming 2-8-0 No. 34, and eventually, C&O 2-6-6-2 No. 1309.

CP No. 1286 stored underneath a tarp in Staunton, Virginia in 2006.

By 1992, No. 1286 was moved along with the rest of the ACRR's equipment to Gordonsville, Virginia for temporary storage, while Showalter was in search for a new home for his equipment.[8] On October 23, 1993, No. 1286 lead a tripleheader in front of No. 1238 and EMD gp9 No. 40 to pull the ACRR's equipment to Staunton over the CSX mainline, but not before the ACRR further changed their name to the Virginia Central Railroad (VCRR). Subsequently, No. 1286 lead two doubleheaded excursion trains on October 30 and 31, with the first train running between Charlottesville and Clifton Forge and the second train running between Charlottesville and Gordonsville. The following month, however, CSX began rising the insurance costs, and Showalter could no longer afford to run his trains on their mainline trackage. No. 1286's last run occurred in October 1997 before it was put into storage on the Shenandoah Valley Railroad (SVRR), with Showalter living inside a camping trailer to protect his equipment from vandals. In 2004, No. 1286 was moved to Verona to be stored while covered with tarps. In November 2014, Showalter had passed away.

Disposition

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After Showalter's passing his equipment was auctioned off as part of a liquidation sale, and in 2015, No. 1286 was purchased with No. 1238 by a private owner from Alberta. In July of that year, the locomotive was towed back to Staunton to be lifted onto a flatcar with its tender on a separate car with No. 1238's tender, and it was subsequently moved on the CSX mainline before it interchanged with the CP to be hauled to Manitoba. On September 13, No. 1286 arrived in Winnipeg,[9] and as it was lifed off of the flatcar, it touched Canadian soil for the first time since it was sold to Hart in 1964. As of 2023, No. 1286 is still stored under private ownership in Winnipeg.

Film history

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Surviving sister engines

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References

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  1. ^ "Gallantly Saving Railroad History: The Adventures of George M. Hart, Founding Director of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania". Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  2. ^ "Preservationist George Hart dies | Trains Magazine". Trains. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "A hit and a miss". Trains. Vol. 26, no. 3. Kalmbach Publishing. January 1966. p. 13. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  4. ^ Paulus (2017)
  5. ^ a b "Steam News Photos". Trains. Vol. 28, no. 7. May 1968. p. 13. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  6. ^ "Steam News Photos". Trains. Vol. 29, no. 1. November 1968. p. 12. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  7. ^ "Allegheny Central's Jack Showalter inspired many – Trains Magazine – Trains News Wire, Railroad News, Railroad Industry News, Web Cams, and Forms". cs.trains.com. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  8. ^ Virginia Central Move, October 21, 2011, retrieved January 17, 2022
  9. ^ Boyko, Steve. "Steam Coming Home". Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c "Movie steam in Chicago". Railfan & Railroad. Vol. 10, no. 10. Carstens Publications. October 1991. p. 47.
  11. ^ a b c "Chicago Movie Dropped". Railfan & Railroad. Vol. 10, no. 11. Carstens Publications. November 1991. p. 52.
  12. ^ a b Frook, John Evan. "Studio Talk of Production Cost Cuts Turns into Action". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  13. ^ Curtis, Dan (February 1, 1998), The Love Letter (Fantasy, Romance), Hallmark Entertainment, Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions, retrieved January 18, 2022
  14. ^ "The Love Letter". Hallmark Drama. Retrieved January 18, 2022.

Bibliography

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