A 30-second home movie that will leave you wanting more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxZ_-19SlWg


(Not my film. Credit to the CGW yahoo group for this one.)

Film is another form of railway preservation. And it can be a challenge to interpret old film sometimes.

The train in this movie that we see crossing Stone Arch bridge in Minneapolis, MN is pretty clearly Chicago Great Western by the logo on the tender.

Also, according to a knowledgeable person on the CGW group, the train is likely the Twin City-Omaha train that operated out of the GN station just ten minutes after the Morning Zephyr departed at 8:00 a.m (which we see before this train in the movie).

Pure speculation, but the locomotive looks like a Prairie (2-6-2), similar to this one:
http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr0302/bl538.jpg

A few frames from the movie below for comparison.

Did anyone notice that the park train does not appear to have an engineer? The ride operator jumps on and off the train to control it.

FLO -

As much as I'd like to think that the engine in the film clip is one of the CGW's 2-6-2's, to me it looks as if the number on the cab might be 504. This would make it a much modernized (disc drivers on all three axles) Ten-Wheeler. And the 504 was on the roster through the Second World War. BTW, wouldn't it have been nice if the CGW management had seen fit to preserve at least one steam locomotive from their roster? Prairie #282 would have certainly been a nice choice!

Les

Les, I just looked a some CGW 4-6-0 photos, and I think you're right.

It's great having people on this forum so knowledgeable about the steam era. Makes this forum one of the best.

Oh yes, that prairie #282 would be a nice locomotive to have with us today.

Link to a photo of CGW 4-6-0 #504, likely the loco in the movie:
http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/cgw504.jpg