Happy to see the news brief about EP&SW No. 1. Good to see it cosmetically restored and in a safe environment, irrespective of the small display area.

Was curious about the "railroad museum in El Paso as I didn't know there was one. So, I did a little looking and found the link which I added to the story.

Apparently there is currently no museum but there are plans for one. Anybody in El Paso tell us more about it?

Railway Preservation News
hkading@rypn.org

And some technical history of the locomotive itself. Looks like it has been retrofitted with an extended smokebox, oir maybe a new boiler? How much of it is original?

dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

glad to see another one of those really early locomotives restored. In the early days of American railroading, the engines were sure a bit of Victorian flash.

J David Conrad did his usual bit of high quality
work on that engine. I have post cards that show her painted almost all black. not the way she was, in her youth!

Also glad to see her indoors out of that Southern heat and humidity.

ted_miles@nps.gov

There is a good write-up on this engine in Jeff Terry's Lineside Legacy on pages 58-59-60 of the October 2002 issue of Railfan & Railroad.

Around 1867 she was converted to burn coal and the smokebox was extended. But he says that it is the original lap seam boiler is still in place.

Ted Miles

ted_miles@nps.gov

There's plenty of heat, but no humidity in ElPaso. That is the far edge of desert Texas.

jjaket@readerrailroad.com

> And some technical history of the locomotive
> itself. Looks like it has been retrofitted
> with an extended smokebox, oir maybe a new
> boiler? How much of it is original?

> dave

EPSW #1 was estimated to be 80% origional before the restoration was started. The smoke box was extended but the boiler is origional. Rev. Stoy wrote a history of the locomotive for its centinnial. It should be noted that when the cylinders heads were removed in 1985 the valve oil still coated the surfaces. The new building will have a air conditioning system for the locomotive. A last minute change on the building will be that a load bearing member will not trap the locomotive. Unforunately The locomotive was given a street address so no other display site could be considered. SP 3420 (EP & SW 171, 271) also in El Paso, can not be displayed with #1. The museum infront of the locomotive will be in an area of 600 sq feet. A real disapointment to several people involved.


epsw271@aol.com

Are those colors close to accurate, was a paint study done? The jacket color is certainly unique, as far as I can tell in the photo. Many times very little remains after several sandblastings.

wsflco@trainorders.com

> EPSW #1 was estimated to be 80% origional before the restoration was started.

If this is true, then back dating the engine to that extent was wrong. Erasing decades of its history is actually misleading and destructive.

Did the restoration uncover anything new about its career in Wisconsin?

tr2manz@frontiernet.net

Could you explain the reference to street address and another locomotive, as many of us do not know what the story is here.

Museum of Transportation
rdgoldfede@aol.com

> If this is true, then back dating the engine
> to that extent was wrong. Erasing decades of
> its history is actually misleading and
> destructive.

Mechanically there is no backdating of the locomotive. My understanding is that the different paint colors were taken from colors found on the locomotive. The locomotive has been repainted several times since its retirement and the effort was made with the intention of how it looked during its operatring years while it belonged to the EP & SW.


epsw271@aol.com

> Could you explain the reference to street
> address and another locomotive, as many of
> us do not know what the story is here.

Many preservation systems for govermental designation require some form of formal legal description which include a physical address. What address do you give something that can move? In the Texas system they require such an address. A self propelled object can be difficult to designate for a set physical location. When initially dealing with a historical overlay for the locomotive I was told it was imposible by the City of El Paso because the locomotive could move. When the grant request was written the City of El Paso had then decided to give it a street address in the area of their planned Union Depot Plaza project. The solution was to stuff the thing on the bottom floor of a parking garage. When brought forth with the idea of possibly displaying EP & SW #1 with the City's other steam locomotive SP 3420 (EP & NE ( El Paso & Northeastern, El Paso to Tucumcari mainline and associated branches) 171, EP & SW 171, 271) and the related equipment I was told that the grant did not allow them to change the locomotive's address.
The El Paso & Southwestern placed #1 on display in 1909 infront of their headquarters building in El Paso. The locomotive remained their after the lease of the EP &SW by the SP until 1960 when the locomotive moved to the college campus to who the locomotive was donated to. With the end of Steam on the SP the city of El Paso recieved as a donation SP 2-8-0 3420. Was returned to operation in June 1981 and operated various times until Dec. 1985. Built in August 1904 for the EP & NE she worked for the EP & SW after the July 1905 purchase of the EP & NE by EP & SW who was owned by Phelps, Dodge & Co. A switch engine for most of its time on the SP, the locomotive was one of the last two on the SP converted to oil after the closure of the Dawson mine(owned by Phelps Dodge) in April 1951.
My hope has always been to set up some type of display where both locomotives and the associated rolling stock could be propertly maintained and displayed. However the legal definition of physical location makes this difficult and short sightedness of certain individuals in giving the loocation in a parking garage will make it difficult to set up such a display. The lesson that should be taken from this experience is that when writing grant proposals have a well thought out plan inplace and be very careful with legal definitions in the beging. Taking careful steps early can prevent a lot of heart burn latter.

Robby


epsw271@aol.com