PITTSBURG — Engine No. 1023 in Schlanger Park will spend its last night in Pittsburg on Saturday. After a long wait, crews worked long into Thursday night to lug the 120-ton train onto the Fourth Street parking lot at Schlanger Park, where it will remain until it is reunited with its “tender,” or fuel, car at the Heart of the Heartlands Railroad Museum Sunday morning.

The engine has been located in Schlanger Park since 1955, when the Kansas City Southern railroad sold it to the City of Pittsburg. But the locomotive has slowly been rusting away, and city officials said there was no money to maintain it — nothing has been done to it since 1995. So Pittsburg City Commissioners voted unanimously in December to let Heart of the Heartlands take it over.

<http://www.morningsun.net/news/x1606941245/Schlanger-Park-trains-days-are-numbered>

Interesting arrangement. With a strong similarity to what is happening in Maine, with the decision to do something with the 470 echoing. I wonder if we'll see a small trend in this direction in the next few years?

Here is a neat photo of the locomotive:

http://viewat.org/?i=it&id_pn=14508&pag ... &tp_ctr=US

Um, is that photo supposed to move or did I have too much to drink last night?

NIce to see a neglected park engine have a happy ending. It got me to wondering how many park engines are left out there, especially ones that need rescuing.

Don't drink and browse.

Was it always a switcher, or did it start as a consolidation?

It began life as a Consol, but dropped the pony truck in conversion.
Without checking, I think this is the only KCS steam loco in preservation.

Actually, this is probably the best thing that could happen. Personally, I think that ALL static steam locomotives rusting away in city parks should be in dedicated railroad museums where they can receive proper care, with the possiblity of future operation. Certainly a better fate than letting all those little snotty nosed, McDonald's eating brats clambor all over a piece of history that they will NEVER appreciate anyway. Just my own opinion, of course. Not intending to start a flame war!

I clambered over a lot of park engines when I was young. And ate my share of Mickey Ds. And ended up a railroad preservationist. You know, the first might actually have had something to do with the third. Go figure.

You are correct, sir.

She is a K-1 Class 0-8-0. There were twelve locomotives in this class. They were all converted from E-3 class Consolidations between 1924-1928. All were scrapped, with the exception of #1023, as a result of KCS's "Great Eradication of Steam" in 1950-1953 .

Randy -

Not a lot of 0-8-0's were preserved; the ex-GTW group that served Northwestern Steel & Wire being the exceptions. Although quite a few railroads converted their Consolidations into 0-8-0 switcher's, I think this KCS engine is the ONLY surviving 0-8-0 that started out its career as a 2-8-0.

Your note about the KCS's "Great Eradication of Steam" jogged my memory bank. The Monon Railroad Historical-Technical Society had a color photo of one of their 4-6-2's (number 412) which was labelled as being taken in front of the Bedford, Indiana depot in March of 1946. Color photos of Monon steam power are extremely rare. But what made this one interesting is that the depot shown in the background WASN'T the Bedford station! I did a lot of checking and it turned out that Monon 412 was sitting in front of the station in Neosho, Missouri, when the little Pacific was leased to the Kansas City Southern! Apparently, from info I received from Lloyd Stagner before he passed away, and a gentleman by the name of Donald Campbell, the KCS was short of power during the later stages of World War 2, and shortly thereafter. The Monon had surplus steam at this time, so a few engines were leased to them, including the 412. It apparently was used out of Neosho to provide extra power for the Southern Belle to get it over some heavy grades out of Neosho. The Belle at that time was running with a single E unit (others couldn't be acquired because of wartime restrictions). As relayed to me, KCS actually uncoupled the E unit from the train after it arrived at Neosho, and the 4-6-2 was cut in at the head end and the E unit then put back on the front end. Not sure why it was done that way, perhaps because of cab signals. Anyway, I have often wondered if the 412 and the other Monon engines were ever returned to the Monon, which shortly embarked on a dieselization program and certainly didn't need, or want, them back. Or if they were left there on the KCS, perhaps to be cut up during the "Great Eradication" program you mentioned.

Les

Is there a better view of the girl? ;)

Steve

"Is there a better view of the girl?"

Here's what a quick look found:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/Locopi ... x?id=46249

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=133609

http://www.morningsun.net/news/x9762013 ... ne-No-1023

Lots of other KCS material here; scroll down for the 1023:

http://pittsburgksmemories.com/Pittsbur ... rtkcs.html

General steam roster information:

http://orion.math.iastate.edu/jdhsmith/term/sluskcs.htm

1940 PR film-newsreel on the inauguration of the "Southern Belle," complete with beauty contest for a girl to represent an idealized "Southern Belle," with one of the judges being a 94-year old Confederate veteran of the Civil War--whooee, can you imagine the controversy that would generate today, if some old Southerner were still alive to take part in such an event?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOxObqdGIbg

I actually meant the human in the panoramic photo (possibly the photographer) but those are great links so thanks.

Steve

I'm not sure on the Monon #412, but I know that Monon's 2-8-2 #524 ran on the KCS during WWII. I reviewed both KCS and L&A steam rosters and couldn't find any leased power, only purchased. The rosters were comprised by KCS history expert and photographer Harold Vollrath, whom my grandfather knew and obtained photographs from. I would imagine that any leased equipment would have been returned to their owners. If they weren't, they'd most certainly have been scrapped in Pittsburg, KS, at the shops, along with KCS's whole steam roster.

As for KCS steam survivors, I am confident now, that 1023 is all that remains. I did find a resource that lists another KCS survivor, but I believe it to be an error. The roster in question lists 1023's sister 1024, as having been donated to and displayed in Texarkana, Texas in 1954. I think that they confused 1024 with L&A's 0-8-0 #253 (originally FEC #253) and is listed as also being donated and displayed in Texarkana. L&A 253 was in fact the very last KCS/L&A steam engine to see service with the company. She ended her career as a relief engine based out of DeQueen, Arkansas some time in late 1954. I believe that any other "KCS survivors" were in fact L&A engines, such as #503 in Port Arthur, Texas.