''C. P. Huntington'' is a

4-2-4T Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, two powered driving wheels on one axle, and four trailing wheels on two axles. This type of locomotive is ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

on static display at the

California State Railroad Museum The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the state park system of California, United States, interpreting the role of the "iron horse" in connecting California to the rest of the nation. It is located in Old Sacramento State Historic ...

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, USA. It is the first locomotive purchased by the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

, carrying that railroad's number 1. The locomotive is named in honor of

Collis P. Huntington Collis Potter Huntington (October 22, 1821 – August 13, 1900) was an American industrialist and railway magnate. He was one of the Big Four of western railroading (along with Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker) who invested ...

, the third president of the Southern Pacific Company (parent company of Southern Pacific Railroad).

History and career

''C. P. Huntington'' was originally purchased by

Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by Pacific Railroad Acts, U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in N ...

(CP) in 1863 as that railroad's number 3, along with its sister engine ''

T. D. Judah ''T. D. Judah'' was the name of a 4-2-2 steam locomotive owned by the Central Pacific Railroad. It was named in honor of the railroad's first chief engineer, Theodore Judah, Theodore Dehone Judah, who had championed and surveyed a passable route ...

'' (CP no. 4). It was CP's third locomotive after ''

Gov. Stanford ''Gov. Stanford'' is a 4-4-0 steam locomotive originally built in 1862 by Norris Locomotive Works. Following construction, it was disassembled and hauled by the ship '' Herald of the Morning'' around Cape Horn to California, then up the riv ...

'' (number 1, built by

Norris Locomotive Works The Norris Locomotive Works was a steam locomotive manufacturing company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that produced nearly one thousand railroad engines between 1832 and 1866. It was the dominant American locomotive producer during most of ...

) and ''Pacific'' (number 2, built by Mason Machine Works). CP used the locomotive beginning on April 15, 1864, during construction of the western portion of the

First transcontinental railroad North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the " Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail netwo ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Southern Pacific (SP) purchased ''C. P. Huntington'' from CP on February 5, 1871, gave it their number 1, and used it in light service in northern California. It was rebuilt twice, first in 1873 with new valves and again in 1888 with a new

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...

built by CP's Sacramento shops. In 1888 the locomotive was also put on public display for the first time in Sacramento. In SP's 1891 renumbering plan, ''C. P. Huntington'' was assigned road number 1001. The locomotive was placed in storage for some time until it was rebuilt for use as a lineside weed burner in 1901. Its use as a weed burner proved unsatisfactory and the locomotive was again removed from active service. In 1910, ''C. P. Huntington'' was again rebuilt and it was then kept at SP's machine shops where it remained for a few years. The locomotive was nearly scrapped in 1914; it was spared this fate by SP management so that it could be displayed at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915 after a cosmetic restoration. On May 3, 1939, ''C. P. Huntington'' participated in the grand opening ceremonies for the

Los Angeles Union Station Los Angeles Union Station is the main railway station in Los Angeles, California, and the largest railroad passenger terminal in the Western United States. It opened in May 1939 as the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, replacing La Grande S ...

. Operating under her own steam, the ''Huntington'' was paraded past large, cheering crowds to the newly completed passenger terminal, along with several other engines, including the famous

4-4-0 4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four po ...

, Virginia & Truckee 22, the ''Inyo'' (still painted in Union Pacific livery, from the filming of Cecil B. DeMille's 1939 movie of the same name, which premiered two days later), and

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

4120, a massive AC-5 class

4-8-8-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, a 4-8-8-2 is a locomotive with four leading wheels, two sets of eight driving wheels, and a two-wheel trailing truck. Other equivalent classifications are: UIC classification ...

cab forward The term cab forward refers to various rail and road vehicle designs that place the driver's compartment substantially farther towards the front than is common practice. Rail locomotives In steam locomotive design, a cab forward design will ...

. The moment was captured on film by

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

animator and lifelong train enthusiast,

Ward Kimball Ward Walrath Kimball (March 4, 1914 – July 8, 2002) was an American animator employed by Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was part of Walt Disney's main team of animators, known collectively as Disney's Nine Old Men. His films have been honored ...

, and may be some of the only known footage of the engine under steam. Southern Pacific donated the engine to the State of California in 1964. The locomotive was placed on display at the old state fairgrounds on Stockton Boulevard, in Sacramento, where it remained until a 1970 refurbishing at Southern Pacific's Sacramento Shops, when it was placed in the Central Pacific Railroad Passenger Station in Old Sacramento in 1979. In 1981 it was moved into the newly opened

, where it now remains on static display.

Working replicas

Chance Rides Chance Rides Manufacturing is a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer. The company was formed on May 16, 2002, when the former Chance Industries Inc. emerged from bankruptcy. The main office and manufacturing facility are located in Wic ...

began to fabricate their narrow gauge ''C. P. Huntington'' locomotive in 1960. Since 2018, these locomotives can be powered by a gasoline, diesel, propane or electric engine. Its drive wheels are not powered but roll on the rails while fake side rods reciprocate in and out of fake

cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...

s. Power is instead provided by the front and rear

trucks A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

. Some owners have chosen to remove the false drive wheels for ease of maintenance. With over 400 examples built as of 2022, the ''C. P. Huntington'' has become the most popular park train since

The Allan Herschell Company The Allan Herschell Company specialized in the creation of amusement rides, particularly carousels and roller coasters. The company manufactured portable machines that could be used by traveling carnival operators. It was started in 1915 in the ...

merged into Chance Industries in 1970 and production of the S-24 Iron Horse train ceased. Many amusement parks are replacing their

s with these locomotives since they are easier to maintain and operate. Locomotives and coaches can be customized in a variety of ways. Replicas of the ''C. P. Huntington'' are also manufactured in California by Western Train Co. (formerly Katiland Trains), which also converts older ''C. P. Huntington'' locomotives to hydrostatic diesel power.

In popular culture

The unique design of the ''C. P. Huntington'' inspired the appearance of '' The Little Engine That Could'' in most storybook renderings.

References

External links

''C. P. Huntington'' Information Page
{{CSRM rolling stock Individual locomotives of the United States Southern Pacific Railroad locomotives 4-2-4T locomotives Cooke locomotives First transcontinental railroad Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1863 Preserved steam locomotives of California