Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) 2353 is one of 10 heavy 4-6-0 'Ten Wheel' steam locomotives built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in August 1912, designated the T-31

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

. It was delivered to Southern Pacific in October and the boiler was changed in 1917. In 1927, 2353 was leased to the San Diego & Arizona line, and later returned to Southern Pacific in 1939, serving in the San Francisco Bay Area. 2353 was retired from service on 18 January 1957 and displayed for the next 29 years at the California Mid-Winter Fairgrounds in

Imperial, California Imperial is a city in Imperial County, California, north of El Centro. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 14,758. It is part of the El Centro metropolitan area. In 2016, Imperial was the fourth fastest-growing city in the st ...

. In 1984, the Mid-Winter Fair's operator donated 2353 to the

Pacific Southwest Railway Museum The Pacific Southwest Railway Museum is a railroad museum located in Campo, California, on the San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway line. The museum also owns and manages a railroad depot located in La Mesa, California. Facilities Campo Sinc ...

, with physical transfer of the locomotive occurring in summer 1986. Over the next ten years, volunteers restored 2353 to working order, with its first public appearance under steam happening on March 2, 1996. 2353 was withdrawn from service again in 2001, with extensive boiler repairs required before it can run again. Since then 2353 has been on static display. 2353 then went back on the rails one more time on November 16, 2019, during the

San Diego and Arizona Railway The San Diego and Arizona Railway was a short line U.S. railroad founded by entrepreneur John D. Spreckels, and dubbed "The Impossible Railroad" by engineers of its day due to the immense logistical challenges involved. It linked San Diego, ...

's 100th Anniversary, held at the museum. Southern Pacific 2353 has at least one surviving sibling. Southern Pacific 2355 has been on static display in Mesa, Arizona's Pioneer Park since 1958. Efforts to cosmetically restore 2355 have been underway since at least 2008.

Film history

The 2353 was used for a brief action scene in the 2001 movie ''

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

''. The filming occurred on its last day of operation. The locomotive was also seen when the Irish girl group B*Witched filmed the music video of their hit single "Jesse Hold On" in 1999. And it can also be seen passing Barbara Stanwyck at the beginning of the film '' Clash By Night'' (1953). 2353 was also featured in a Levi's commercial.

References

{{reflist 2353 Baldwin locomotives 4-6-0 locomotives Individual locomotives of the United States Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1912 Preserved steam locomotives of California