News just received:

Posted on November 02, 2015 04:01
Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust to Fund Preservation of Historic Santa Fe Locomotives

(FRISCO, TX): The Museum of the American Railroad (MAR) has been awarded a grant from the Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust which will allow for the acquisition and preservation of four historically significant diesel locomotives – three of which operated on the Santa Fe Railway.

The California State Railroad Museum (CSRM) in Sacramento made the four pieces available to the Museum of the American Railroad following a restructuring of their collection and refocusing of new exhibits. Three of the locomotives are part of the Historic Santa Fe Collection assembled by the line’s management in the 1970s and 1980s in an effort to preserve the road’s legacy in an era of impending mergers. The collection was conveyed to CSRM after years of storage in Santa Fe’s Albuquerque roundhouse. The fourth CSRM locomotive is a surplus piece that will be a companion to an existing locomotive in the MAR collection.

The grant to the Museum of the American Railroad covers the cost of loading the locomotives onto flatcars, shipping them to Texas, and cosmetically restoring their exteriors. “We are thrilled to receive enough funding to not only acquire and make improvements to the locomotives, but also to add them to the Museum’s collection as teaching tools for cultural and STEM programming. We are very grateful to the Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust,” says the Museum’s Chief Operating Officer, Kellie Murphy.

The locomotives include:

ATSF #2260, a model DS44-1000 diesel-electric switch engine manufactured by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, PA, 1948

ATSF #608, a model H12-44 diesel-electric switch engine manufactured by Fairbanks Morse & Company, Beloit, WI, 1951

ATSF #2404, a model NW2 diesel-electric switch engine manufactured by the Electro Motive Corporation, LaGrange, IL, 1939

SP #8103, a model F7-B diesel-electric locomotive booster unit manufactured by the Electromotive Division of General Motors, LaGrange, IL, 1949 (to be cosmetically restored to Santa Fe livery and coupled to the Museum's EMD F-7A locomotive)

The locomotives represent some of the earliest internal combustion technology employed by the railroads during the transition from steam to diesel, and represent three manufacturers, two of which no longer exist. They join MAR’s collection of historic rolling stock from the Santa Fe Railway, which currently numbers 14. Now part of BNSF Railway, Santa Fe helped define the American Southwest, transporting people and goods between Chicago, California, and Texas. The Museum is proud to preserve the legacy of BNSF’s predecessor lines, and serve as one of the nation’s largest repositories of Santa Fe history and technology. BNSF and its predecessor lines have supported the Museum since its inception. The line has been a major contributor to the Museum’s recent relocation and expansion in Frisco, Texas.

The gift from the Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust reaffirms, on a national level, the Museum’s mission and one of its core values of preservation and interpretation. The acquisition of these significant Santa Fe pieces adds value to the Museum’s exhibits and programming, further increasing its attractiveness as a cultural tourism destination.

“We are very appreciative of CSRM’s gift and their faith in our Museum to provide a permanent home for these historic pieces. This demonstrates the partnerships that exist in the railroad museum community to provide sanctuary for important pieces that represent our nation’s rail heritage. The project is a good fit for the Trust and the Museum,” said Bob LaPrelle, MAR’s CEO.

For more information about the Museum of the American Railroad, visit HistoricTrains.org, Friend us at Facebook.com/HistoricTrains, and follow us on Twitter @HistoricTrains. Additional information about the Museum’s Santa Fe Collection can be found here.

Is this the same as the late Sam Freeman for Florida East Coast 148 / Black River & Western / Reading 2101 / Adirondack Railroad fame?

Yes. Sam was also Michigan Northern Railway's sole preferred shareholder. He had some interesting tales as an artillery spotter in a Piper Cub during WWII. I had occasion to look up his foundation. It had donated $25 million in one year for medical research.
Alex Huff

Good to see the AT&SF collection being distributed appropriately. I do hope that somewhere there is a grant to rebuild the ALCO PA!

Its a shame that somebody didn't rescue the two ATSF steam locomotives that went there from Belen. At that time, with the regulations in effect back then, I would think one or both of them could have been steamed up with a minimum of effort.
Of course now, the 1472 FRA inspection is in effect.
They were beautiful and full of pigeon guano when they left Belen.

I've heard two very different stories about those two War Babies! One is that they were 'ready to steam' after years of 'proper' storage, and the other that they were actually taken to Cleburne for survey in the 1970s and found to actually be in sad shape.
I suspect the truth lies somewhere in between, and I also hope they get rescued soon!

CD

I believe the former story. They were stored properly, dry, in a roundhouse and moved monthly to keep things loose. A friend who knows very well what he's talking about said that he and another experienced steam person visited and inspected them and other than expired flue time (from being OOS) a good guano washing, a good hydro and they were serviceable.
They took the 4-8-4 to Cleburne with the idea of firing her up, but after padding numbers came up with a large figure to do it. I don't think they were that interested in restoring it, so the best way to avoid it is to jack the cost way up.
At any rate, they deserve far better than what they have been through since then.

The 5021 and 2925 were well cared for in the roundhouse in Belen, and were moved often as mentioned. The 2925 was moved to Cleburne and "evaluated", but was found to be too expensive to overhaul. I was 13 when I saw her in Cleburne and the shop forman told my uncle and me all she needed was a tankful of water, a bunker full of oil, some cotton waste and a match...

To me, the most interesting thing about this pair is that the 2-10-4 was one of 2 ATSF locomotives to be used on the very last day of steam out of Belen up to Mountanair.

Don't have the date in front of me, but think it was in the summer of '57. Corrections welcome.

The other was a 4-8-4, maybe 3780? The 5021 returned first and the 4-8-4 had the honor as the last one, but a very notable engine to be sure. And don't forget that those drivers were actually 1" bigger than were on a great many Pacifics, 74".

In a case of interesting timing since we have folks grousing about the condition of 2925 and 5021: Trains Magazine's website's Newswire reported yesterday that the CSRM is taking preliminary moves to repaint both locos:

http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/20 ... csrm-steam (subscriber-only link)

Fair-use minimal quote from the article:

August 27, 1957. Both 3780 and 5021 were called for helper duty. The 3776 Class engine came in last, but both were hot until the next day.