Southern Pacific 5021 is an SP-2 class

4-10-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, represents the arrangement of four leading wheels, ten powered and coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. In South Africa, where the wheel arra ...

steam locomotive built in 1926 by

ALCO 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 ...

at their

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, shops. It is the only member of this class of SP locomotives to be preserved, and it is one of only five three-cylinder locomotives preserved in North America.

History

The locomotive was built in 1926 by the American Locomotive Company, it was designed to haul mixed freight and passenger trains over the Sierra Nevada range between northern California and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. Later in its career, No. 5021 was shifted to service in

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, where it remained until its retirement in 1955. Southern Pacific donated No. 5021 to the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society on March 8, 1956. In 1961, it was fired up and used for operation on the museum's spur line. However, the Southern Pacific did not like this, so they were forced to pull the tracks in 1963. Following this, No. 5021 was stored in the roundhouse of the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

. While it was stored, a possible excursion career for the No. 5021 was being arranged by the Santa Fe, but the plans were dropped. 5021 sat in Southern Pacific's San Bernardino yard until 1975, when it was moved to the Southern Pacific Taylor Yard in Glendale, CA. Shortly after, it was moved back to the RailGiants Train Museum, when Southern Pacific 4449 was on display with the American Freedom Train in the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds. As of 2022, No. 5021 is on permanent display at the Fairplex railway exhibit in

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Pol ...

References

* {{cite book, author1=Diebert, Timothy S. , author2=Strapac, Joseph A. , name-list-style=amp , title=Southern Pacific Company Steam Locomotive Conpendium, publisher=Shade Tree Books, year=1987, isbn=0-930742-12-5

External links

Southern Pacific 5021
5021 ALCO locomotives 4-10-2 locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1926 Preserved steam locomotives of California