The big 4-8-4, so many years in restoration, was fired this weekend in Albuquerque!
All roller bearing, oil fired, completely rebuilt, and beautiful. I hope BNSF will take it upon themselves to run her system wide. She's a peer to N&W 611.
Sheer elegance in steam.
Check it out on Youtube.

HOORAH!!

Mucho Bueno Sabor !!!

So who owns the track they got out on? Cursory google maps look makes me think Railrunner.

Logic would indicate that whoever owns that track, they at least have a working agreement together.

My understanding is that the 2926 group has an agreement/understanding with New Mexico Rail Runner for at least limited operational opportunities. There at least should be no obstacle to their running between Santa Fe and Belen other than regular Rail Runner operations.

The long-term understanding is that BNSF considers special operations of any sort on a case-by-case basis, and supposedly you don't even approach them until you have an operational loco and a plan in place. This is basically the same policy that applied to ATSF 3751 and SP 4449.

2926 would be most welcome for a visit and runs at the Grand Canyon Railway in Williams, IF they can wrangle a slot on the nation's busiest freight main line both ways.

According to this video, the excursion was only four blocks long and no more than 10mph, but still a major accomplishment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gO_s0q ... rizedBikes

The 2926 has also been equipped with the LeaPTC system, which has the potential to open some doors.

Congratulations to all who labored on this multi year effort. Here's wishing her many years of trouble free running !!! What a beauty she is !!!

Ross Rowland

I don't see why BNSF would treat this locomotive any differently than the 3751, 4449, 700, and 261. Those locomotives are all quite beautiful as well.

Hopefully the agreement with Railrunner is real and it lasts! Would be amazing to ride from Albuquerque to Santa Fe behind her! (If you haven't ridden the Railrunner.. it's a really nice ride!)

2926 is a beautiful locomotive. However, rather than get out ahead of my headlight, she is not proven.
BNSF will want to see a proven, broken in machine before they will even give it a thought. They will want to see the crew, how professionally they are around the railroad. They will want to see insurance, plenty of it. They will want to closely inspect the engine, operating habits, servicing ability and organization of the group.
I'm not saying all of this to be the skunk at the picnic, I'm saying it because the SLSTA (1522) had to make them satisfied that we were an accomplished enough organization to let loose on their railroad.
If you satisfy their requirements and show up on operation day with 20 people arguing over who gets to run the engine, you've lost.
After we made our bones, we were granted the honor of being just another train movement to them. The respect went both ways.
I suspect the process will be harder to pull off today.
If you think about it, there is another ATSF Northern that has seen little action.

Agree. If finding a place to run, or partnering with bnsf etc is a valid strategy, why on earth do we not see the 4449, 2472, 3751 etc out running trip? I think the answer is it basically is not. Same with 611, 4501, 765 out east. C1s just are not going to do it.

Permission from BNSF is only one part of the equation, albeit a crucial one.

My understanding is that, among other things:
*There is a relative dearth of appropriate excursion equipment for such outings on the West Coast, unless you want all-first-class rolling stock (and the resulting accusations of "elitism" and sky-high fares "no one" can afford);
*Some of the necessary route trackage is controlled by entities other than BNSF, such as Metrolink;
*Liability insurance in California is reportedly even higher than elsewhere, or realistically unobtainable.

2926 avoids some of these problems being based in Albuquerque, but not others. It's not cost-effective to maintain a train of vintage coaches for only a couple mainline outings a year at best, as most other operators are finding, and we don't have a fleet that will happily and easily go from the Milwaukee 261 runs to the Iowa Interstate to wherever 611 or 1361 could run to a 4449 or 3751 or 2926 outing. And lots of people tend not to like the idea of riding behind steam in "sealed capsule" bilevel commuter stock they could ride cheaper any day of the week--whether or not there are pretty road runner graphics on the outside.

But there are other options for 2926 as well if permission and equipment is forthcoming: the currently Amtrak-only Raton Pass line to Trinidad, Colorado, and a "big extravaganza" to Williams, Arizona, with a possible "guest loco" status on the Grand Canyon Railway similar to 611 on the Strasburg. (The record snowfall in northern Arizona this past winter gives them enough water for now to deal with the chronic water shortages for GCRY steam, at least for the time being!)

Metrolink has historically been happy to work with the 3751 - that doesn't seem to be an issue.

I'm not aware of any operations that can afford liability insurance for mainline operations. It's high and realistically unobtainable nationwide.

"Amtrak only" is still owned by BNSF. The 3751 or the 2926 both have to travel the Transcon to get to Grand Canyon so that obstacle is also the same.

I'll repeat... let's hope whatever agreement they have with Railrunner is real and lasts a few years so we can see something.