This came through on my Flickr feed. Known by many for her tourist hauling years, she is also a veteran of the branch lines of Del-Mar-Va and as PRR display at a number of fairs. The old girl is looking really good in her retirement home. Thanks for all of the miles!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/houckster/4169184574/

There are some other RRMPA photos in the photo stream.

Funny, I figured you were talking about this 1223:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pere_Marquette_1223

But, yeah, that's a beautiful engine! Why was it retired from tourist service?

As I recall, before renewal of a lease of the 1223 and "7002", Strasburg performed ultrasounds on the boilers, and revealed "paper-thin" sheets in the firebox of "7002" and similar thinness/wasting of the firebox, etc. in 1223. Whatever the exact nature of the wear, a substantial rebuild/replacement would have been warranted, and the decision was made at the time to preserve what was left of the "original" locos' historical fabric.

My info comes from railfan media reports at the time; if my information is incorrect, I'm sure principals would be willing to correct the record...........

That's what I had heard as well:

"the decision was made at the time to preserve what was left of the "original" locos' historical fabric."

That, and I assume the Strasburg Railroad did not want to invest a lot of cash into an engine they did not own.

/Mitch

(Also thought you were referring to #1223 in MI)

Why is the 460 sitting outside? Wasn't she inside at one point?

It still seems unreal that she's stuffed and mounted.

When I was growing up, 1223 and 7002 seemed like they'd be around forever.

It's like she's sitting there waiting to take the half hourly train out that will never leave...

As historically and educationally appropriate as 1223 and 7002 were for Strasburg, they were operationally deficient. They were light and slippery. Whenever we had rain, they had difficulty climbing with a heavy train, particularly after leaving "The Grove" as I recall. I believe the Strasburg trains have gotten heavier over the years with addition of premium, air conditioned cars. The Pennsy elders were designed for higher speeds we never achieved on the Strasburg.

Further, the cabs were not as comfortable. They had manual reverse, and the johnson bar was cumbersome and I may even recall it infringed on one's space when in reverse. Recall that each trip requires about ten reversals (remember coupling!). The firedoors were unique to Pennsy, and had a slow reaction time. You had to consciously step on the door pedal early, while scooping coal, in order for the door to be open as you swung back. Imagine left foot on pedal while your body is stretched toward the tender!

The 1223's firebox was a pain. The front had a long flat arch ceiling, and it was easy to overfire and create a wall blocking the front quarter of the grate. I vaguely recall this was doubly troubling because the 1223 had no dump grate in front, and your only resolution was raking the fire (and we never carried rakes long enough to reach the front) or waiting for it to burn down.

The Pennsy engines also had numerous Pennsy custom appliances, such as injectors, that I imagine would be costly to maintain.

In short, they were a fun historical experience, but the novelty wore off on the first 100 degree July day.

When I saw "1223", I thought of British Columbia Electric Ry. interurban car 1223 (but then, trolley power is my #1 interest). It is preserved in Burnaby, BC. If anyone has recent photos to display, they would be appreciated.

I can't imagine how anyone could think of anything other the a PRR D-16 with the mention of the number 1223. It would be the same as if someone confused PRR itself for another entity.