St. Louis–San Francisco 1352 is an Alco built

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 ...

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 1912 as 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 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 ...

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 ...

, for the

St. Louis–San Francisco Railway The St. Louis–San Francisco Railway , commonly known as the "Frisco", was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central United States from 1876 to April 17, 1980. At the end of 1970, it operated of road on of track, not includi ...

(SLSF or "Frisco"), the engine was later rebuilt into a

Mikado-type to keep up with the traffic demands from

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 ...

. After being retired from the Frisco, the locomotive was moved to many locations under several owners, until it ended up in a small engine house in

Rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. The locomotive was disassembled by a group with the intent to restore it to operation. Later, the American Steam Railroad ("ASR") was founded, and they purchased the No. 1352 locomotive in 2008 with the hopes of restoring it to operating condition. However, it was left partially disassembled in Taylorville, Illinois, due to the ASR being busy working on restoring another steam locomotive

Reading 2100 Reading 2100 is the prototype of the class "Reading T-1, T-1" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotives constructed in 1945 for use by the Reading Company. Constructed from an earlier 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type locomotive built in 1923, No. 2100 ha ...

. In November 2023, the No. 1352 locomotive was purchased by the Valley Railroad located in Essex, Connecticut.

History

The locomotive was built in April 1912 as engine No. 1321, a

"Consolidation" type, by the

at the former

Schenectady Locomotive Works The Schenectady Locomotive Works built railroad locomotives from its founding in 1848 through its merger into American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1901. After the 1901 merger, ALCO made the Schenectady plant its headquarters in Schenectady, New ...

. Due to the demands of

the Frisco railroad needed more heavy power to keep up with the demands in traffic. The War Production Board at that time would not allow new locomotive designs, but would allow existing locomotive designs to be built or existing locomotives to be rebuilt, so the Frisco took the task of rebuilding 6 of their existing 2-8-0s into

"Mikados". In June 1944 No. 1321 was rebuilt into a 2-8-2 and renumbered 1352. The locomotive went through a major overhaul/modernization including adding of Nicholson Thermic Syphons, Superheaters and a Coffin feedwater heater system. The locomotive continued in regular service until it was retired in 1956, and it was subsequently donated to

Swope Park Swope Park is a city park in Kansas City, Missouri. At , it is the 51st-largest municipal park in the United States, and the largest park in Kansas City. It is named in honor of Colonel Thomas H. Swope, a philanthropist who donated the land to t ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, for static display. Stored outside in the park, Frisco 1352 deteriorated greatly during the years on display and being exposed to the

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...

and

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...

took its toll on the locomotive. Due to

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

and vandalism, the KC Park Board wanted No. 1352 removed, and in the late 1970s and early 1980s, it was donated to the Smoky Hill Railway and Historical Society (SHR&HS), who removed the locomotive from the park. The

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

(MoPac) refused to allow its rail to be cut for a temporary turnout, so the movers constructed, for lack of a better description, a "vertical frog and vertical points" to lift the locomotive over the rails and then onto the MoPac mainline. After its removal from Swope Park, the SHR&HS kept No. 1352 in an industrial park in

Riverside, Missouri Riverside is a city in Platte County, Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the United States. The population was 2,937 at the 2010 census. History Riverside lies on the edge of the Missouri River and was formally ...

, where it suffered

on one occasion. The financially distressed SHR&HS sold the locomotive again to Ted Lemen, who moved it to

for storage. In November 2023, it was announced that the Valley Railroad, located in Essex, Connecticut, purchased the No. 1352 locomotive, and it would eventually ship it east for operational restoration work.

References

*
www.frisco.org

External links

American Steam Railroad
official website

1352 {{DEFAULTSORT:St. Louis-San Francisco 1352 St. Louis–San Francisco Railway locomotives, 1352 ALCO locomotives Individual locomotives of the United States 2-8-2 locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Preserved steam locomotives of Illinois