In my reading I have come across a number of steam locomotives that were "saved" and then cut up during the Second World War. Were there any others out there?

1. Southern Pacific scrapped an 1857 Niles 4-4-0 in 1942. The engine was repurchased by the SP in 1923 and restored and later placed on display on at the station at Lafayette Louisiana. [This engine may have been the first to experience the curse of Louisiana.] The engine was built in 1854 for the New Orleans, Opelousas & Great Western then became Morgan's Louisiana & Texas #5 in 1878 and was named "Sabine." It was taken into the T&NO roster in 1885 as (first) 505 and was sold in 1897.

2. Ex-Denver South Park & Pacific 2-6-6 Mason bogie #24 built in 1880 was scarped in 1942 after being on displayed at Iowa State University at Ames, Iowa, since 1905. This was probably the last Mason bogie to be in existence. The locomotive had become Denver Leadville & Gulf #57 in 1885 and then finally Colorado & Southern #1 in 1899 before being sold to a railroad contractor.

3. One of two engines at the University of Idaho was UP 4-4-0 #947 built in 1891 at the Omaha Shops retired in 1936 and given to the school. The UP president William Jeffers headed a Presidential board organized to obtain scrap metal for wartime use. He asked the university to retrun the engine to the UP for scrapping.

4. The other engine at the University of Idaho was a 3-foot gauge 2-6-0. The engine was built as Utah & Northern #7 by Baldwin in 1878. Later it was numbered by the UP as OSL&UN #11 and then sold to Sumpter Valley about 1902 were it continued as #11. It was scraped in 1942 along with the standard gauge 4-4-0.

An interesting (older) story told by Gerald Best in "Iron Horses to Promontory" is about CP #60 "Jupiter". The locomotive was sold to the Gila Valley, Globe & Northern in the 1890s after being reboilered in 1893. On the GVG&N and the town of Globe just about everyone knew the history of the engine and the engineer asked the management to save the engine. But it was scarped after the line was acquired by the Southern Pacific.

Brian Norden


bnorden49@earthlink.net

and the sad part about all this is long after the war they say the scrap drive was just a morale booster, that all the stuff they hauled in produced next to nothing.

> In my reading I have come across a number of
> steam locomotives that were
> "saved" and then cut up during the
> Second World War. Were there any others out
> there?

> 1. Southern Pacific scrapped an 1857 Niles
> 4-4-0 in 1942. The engine was repurchased by
> the SP in 1923 and restored and later placed
> on display on at the station at Lafayette
> Louisiana. [This engine may have been the
> first to experience the curse of Louisiana.]
> The engine was built in 1854 for the New
> Orleans, Opelousas & Great Western then
> became Morgan's Louisiana & Texas #5 in
> 1878 and was named "Sabine." It
> was taken into the T&NO roster in 1885
> as (first) 505 and was sold in 1897.

> 2. Ex-Denver South Park & Pacific 2-6-6
> Mason bogie #24 built in 1880 was scarped in
> 1942 after being on displayed at Iowa State
> University at Ames, Iowa, since 1905. This
> was probably the last Mason bogie to be in
> existence. The locomotive had become Denver
> Leadville & Gulf #57 in 1885 and then
> finally Colorado & Southern #1 in 1899
> before being sold to a railroad contractor.

> 3. One of two engines at the University of
> Idaho was UP 4-4-0 #947 built in 1891 at the
> Omaha Shops retired in 1936 and given to the
> school. The UP president William Jeffers
> headed a Presidential board organized to
> obtain scrap metal for wartime use. He asked
> the university to retrun the engine to the
> UP for scrapping.

> 4. The other engine at the University of
> Idaho was a 3-foot gauge 2-6-0. The engine
> was built as Utah & Northern #7 by
> Baldwin in 1878. Later it was numbered by
> the UP as OSL&UN #11 and then sold to
> Sumpter Valley about 1902 were it continued
> as #11. It was scraped in 1942 along with
> the standard gauge 4-4-0.

> An interesting (older) story told by Gerald
> Best in "Iron Horses to
> Promontory" is about CP #60
> "Jupiter". The locomotive was sold
> to the Gila Valley, Globe & Northern in
> the 1890s after being reboilered in 1893. On
> the GVG&N and the town of Globe just
> about everyone knew the history of the
> engine and the engineer asked the management
> to save the engine. But it was scarped after
> the line was acquired by the Southern
> Pacific.

> Brian Norden


http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains
oldtimetrains@rrmail.com

> 2. Ex-Denver South Park & Pacific 2-6-6
> Mason bogie #24 built in 1880 was scarped in
> 1942 after being on displayed at Iowa State
> University at Ames, Iowa, since 1905. This
> was probably the last Mason bogie to be in
> existence.

A Calumet and Hecla Mason bogie 0-6-4T is still running at Greenfield Village at Dearborn, Michigan. Over the years in the Copper Country, this engine was reguaged, heavily modified, and was reboilered at the Village in the 1970's, but it's still a Mason bogie, even though it now lacks all the distinctive Mason decorative touches such as counterweights hidden in the wheel rims. It was recently given a heavy overhaul by the Village shop. Visitors during that process got to see the renewal of the combined center bearing and flexible steam connection with newly-made parts, along with the more usual parts of a locomotive running-gear job.

Aarne Frobom
The Steam Railroading Institute
P. O. Box 665
Owosso, MI 48867


froboma@mdot.state.mi.us

In the 1930's just before WWII, the Japanese (who have no iron ore deposits) went through the United States and bought up old traction engines, ships and boats and other such "junk". They then made them into bombs, and threw them back at us!

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

> and the sad part about all this is long
> after the war they say the scrap drive was
> just a morale booster, that all the stuff
> they hauled in produced next to nothing.


Surviving World Steam Locomotives
james1@pernet.net