Super photo of her outdoors in the light of day! I have no problem with 1401 being preserved as she is, but as the Smithsonian's collection has grown, the big loco's exhibit is less railroad enthusiast friendly.

Now for all the dreaming of seeing a green and gold PS4 in the new NS program of loco's, you'd have to hijack 290 and Number it 1409 or build a duplicate of 1401.

Shame the SRR (or anyone) couldn't have bought the 5629 before the torch. That one would have looked nice in green "grease" paint so to speak.

Thanks for posting that photo of 1401 in storage.
I’ve always read that this engine is in such good shape but I can’t help but wonder if it’s just clean looking, a coat of paint can hide a lot of mechanical issues, especially since everyone knew the engine would never run again once it was placed into that building.
Has anyone every read any reports on the mechanical condition of 1401? I'd assume the Smithsonian would have had a report on the condition of the locomotive when it was put into the building...

Might ask Bill Withun. He'd be the guy to know.

dave

He did retire. I've lost track of his contact information over the years, perhaps somebody else on this list can run interference.

dave

Jeff,

PM me offline--I have photocopies of the entire contents of No. 1401's official Smithsonian accession file with provenance info. I'm writing a history of the Smithsonian's railroad collections from 1885 to the present and have quite a bit of content on the locomotive, including info provided to me by Bill Withuhn and Jack White that is not in any written records, online or otherwise.

Incidentally, Bill Withuhn moved to Burson, California a few years ago where he and his wife built a new home. I've heard Bill (now 72) had a minor stroke about a year ago and has slowed down his railroading activities somewhat. He was writing a regular column titled 'The Old Sky Warrior' in his local newspaper which you can Google up.

-K

Horrors! Not CP, Canadian National Railways 5288.
That's a huge distinction for those of us from Canukistan.

Gord

I sure that the answer is no. Does anyone know if asbestos has been removed from the locomotive? Not really an issue with the lagging as it's pretty well sealed in but what about all the wrapped pipe. Eventually it will brittle (100 years.... then again there is probably more in the building that would need abating as it was constructed before the substance was banned)

My guess would be no abatement, and it hasn't yet proven to be an issue, so why worry about it. Also, the asbestos wrap around pipes can be painted with a sealant. Leave it alone.