Black River and Western Railroad (Great Western) No. 60 is a

2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...

" Consolidation" type

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 ...

built in August 1937 by the

American Locomotive Company The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...

(ALCO) in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

. It currently operates on the

Black River and Western Railroad The Black River and Western Railroad is a freight and heritage railroad operating in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, between Flemington, Lambertville and Ringoes. The railroad operates vintage steam and diesel powered locomotives. Histo ...

(BR&W) in

Ringoes, New Jersey Ringoes is an unincorporated community located within East Amwell Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. The community is served by the United States Postal Service as ZIP Code 08551 and as of the 2010 United States Census, ...

It was one of two operating Great Western steam locomotives with No. 90 being the other one.

History

No. 60 originally operated on the Great Western Railroad (GW) in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

where it pulled sugar beet and molasses trains. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, a

smokebox A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they pass heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is e ...

extension was added to allow the use of poor quality

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

because of war-time restrictions. In 1963, No. 60 was purchased by the newly formed short line

for tourist

excursion service A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

. It pulled the first train out of Flemington in May 1965. During its tenure running on the Black River & Western, 60 has undergone several cosmetic changes through the years. The current paint scheme resembles a mid-sized freight locomotive, with a graphite smokebox and black drivers. While No. 60 was bought by the Black River & Western in 1963, it has ventured off the railroad several times. In 1967, the locomotive ran excursions on the

Long Island Railroad The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average week ...

out of

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It is rumored that she reached a speed of 55MPH with a 14-car long train during these trips. 60 also visited the

Whippany Railway Museum The Whippany Railway Museum is a railway museum and excursion train ride located in the Whippany, New Jersey, Whippany section of Hanover Township, New Jersey, Hanover Township in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, New Jersey, United State ...

in 1994 for a railroad festival alongside Susquehanna Railway's SY

2-8-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and two trailing wheel ...

No. 142. The locomotive was used as the primary motive power for the railroad when in service. The locomotive was taken out of service in November 2000 for a mandatory 1472-inspection required by the

Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce rail saf ...

(FRA) which took almost 12 years to complete. The locomotive returned to service in August 2012. The locomotive is still operational as of 2022.

References

* * * 2-8-0 locomotives Individual locomotives of the United States ALCO locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1937 Standard gauge locomotives of the United States {{US-train-stub Preserved steam locomotives of New Jersey