In 1958 at Sunnyside, Ontario. The one at St. Thomas, Ontario today is really the 5703, renumbered for some reason after retirement. The real 5700 was rebuilt with boxpok drivers and later scrapped.

http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?j ... anColl.jpg

A wonderful story regarding the renumbering of this locomotive. The original curator of the Museum of Science and Technology, in Ottawa, was a steam bug, thank God! His goal was to collect the original locomotive of several classes as soon as they became available. He put in a request with both CN and CP for various locomotives where they were available. His request for 5700 was either late or misplaced, and the original locomotive was discovered in a scrapline, partially butchered. In an effort to "right a wrong", 5703 was selected in it's place and renumbered! Alas, purity held the day, and the locomotive was eventually handed off to somebody who'd appreciate it. All this is ironic when you realize the OMS&T has plenty of locomotives, and few of them are the originals of the series to which they belong. At least 5703 was saved, and that's good enough for me! Anyone planning to head up to Montreal or Toronto this year must avail themselves of this wonderful, wonderful, museum. Let the curator know you're coming in advance, and there is a good chance you'll get a tour of the restoration shop and see the treasures these people have had the vision to saved.

Richard -

I checked J. David Conrad's book, and he has the fact that "5700" is in fact the 5703. But what other locomotives are you talking about that are not the first engine of the series?

Les

I can attest to that fact! Please visit the Elgin County Railway Museum's web site at http://www.ecrm5700.org, click on "Roster", then click on the photo for "Canadian National Railways K-5-a Hudson #5700". The story behind 5700 (aka 5703) is confirmed there.
5703 has been in doors for the most part since its retirement in 1959, so it is in great shape still. It was moved to the Elgin County Railway Museum in 1988 and remains inside on live rail.

Les- They have one of the two CPR Northerns, they have a mid-series Royal Hudson, and a D10g 4-6-0, displayed indoors, along with a CNR 6400 class. In the shed behind the main museum are a panoply of rare steam and Diesel locomotives, including many of the "end of steam" excursion locomotives for both big roads. On the lawn is the 6200 (see images I posted elsewhere on this board). They house one of the last two C-Liners left in existence and an operating Shay. The CPR 1201 is kept indoors as well. It's a magnificent collection, and while a number of locos are the first in their series, most are not. The curatorial staff had vision with regard to the heritage of Candian railways, and while the Museum as a whole, is not a railroad museum, buffs, historians, and train nuts can easily spend a day or two around what they own. Not everything is easy to get pictures of, but the locomotive wing is very beautiful. Though I ama steam lover first and foremost, for display purposes, I recommended the CPR 4-8-4 be pulled out and replaced with a refurbished C-Liner, with one set of side panels replaced with plexi-glass, and the prime mover area illuminated. Currently, the CPR northern sits next to the Royal Hudson, blocking it. Presently the hall, as you enter it, has the 6400 on the extreme right, by itself. there is an atrium with historic station furniture, stained glass, and the like. On the left stands the 3100, the Royal Hudson, and the 4-6-0, along with several cars.

Richard -

Thanks for the great explanation of the museum. I thought you meant that other engines were renumbered to reflect the "class engine" of the series, but I see now that I misunderstood you. My BAD!

I know that there have been other engines that have been renumbered to reflect another locomotive. Some I can think of off the top of my head are:

CRI&P 4-6-2 #887 renumbered to 886 for display.

CP 2-10-4 #5931 renumbered to 5934 for display.

NKP 2-8-4 #765 renumbered to 767 for display.

I guess there are reasons for doing this, but it seems kind of senseless.

Les

Let's not forget PRR K4s 3750, which spent years posing as "original loco of the class 1737"......... and "PRR 7002", which is actually ex-PRR 8063.........

No problem, Les! No offense taken at all. For years, LIRR G5s #39 was disguised as #38, after the #39 Keystone was gifted to the late Roy Campanella. This has been corrected, although it appears the Campanella family lost the original plate over the years, and the #38 plate was "liberated" from the RMLI collection.

Occasionally this happened this renumbering happened in service life as well. Consider C&O 614. BAR had an F3 that was rebuilt with a new road number after a bad wreck. Then there are stories of wrecked locomotives that killed their crews, and were regarded as "hoo-doos". The only way a railroad could get crews to take them out after a rebuild was to give them new identities. I can not, unfortunately, think of an example. Maybe it's the stuff of folklore?

Occasionally this happened this renumbering happened in service life as well. Consider C&O 614. BAR had an F3 that was rebuilt with a new road number after a bad wreck. Then there are stories of wrecked locomotives that killed their crews, and were regarded as "hoo-doos". The only way a railroad could get crews to take them out after a rebuild was to give them new identities. I can not, unfortunately, think of an example. Maybe it's the stuff of folklore?[/quote]

614 was renumbered to 611 in 1955 when the power strapped C&O leased a number of 4-8-4's from the RF&P, including their #614. Since C&O had already scrapped their 611, renumbering the 614 was a matter of a little paint and a chisel.

Regarding locomotives renumbered after wrecks, IC renumbered 4-6-0 #382 in its rebuild following the death of Casey Jones in 1900. I can't think of its second number. Maybe an IC fan here will.

Richard and Kevin -

Renumberings were rather common for some railroads. The Illinois Central renumbered their engines regularly it seems. Sometimes entire series were renumbered; the B&O did this to the steamers on their roster to make room for diesels to get their numbers. UP also did this, sometimes simply adding a number to the front or back of the particular number (4-8-4 #844 is the most famous example of this, acquiring an extra "4" to change the number to 8444) to make the original number of the engine available to a newer diesel.

But numbers in a SERIES were probably less common. In other words, keep the same series number but change a PARTICULAR engines number. And as stated, this was mostly caused by engines that were considered "jinxed." One that I can think of was Erie 4-6-2 #2917 which was involved in a number of serious accidents. Crewmen objected to drawing her and the Erie obliged by renumbering her 2945 after she was last repaired, a number that was just beyond the last Erie class K5a #2944 (the 2917/2945 was actually a class K5.) I know there were other examples but can't think of them right now.

Les

UP renumbered a diesel (a GP, 666) within the past 10-15 years.