Southern Pacific 4460 is the only surviving class " GS-6"

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 ...

, together with " GS-4" class

Southern Pacific 4449 Southern Pacific 4449, also known as the Daylight, is the only surviving example of Southern Pacific Railroad's "GS-4" class of 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotives and one of only two GS-class locomotives surviving, the other being " GS-6" ...

, which is operational in

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 ...

. The GS-6 is a semi-streamlined 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive. GS stands for "Golden State" or "General Service." The locomotive was built by the

Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shop's location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between ...

(LLW) for 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 ...

(SP) in 1943. The GS-6 lacked side skirting and red and orange "Daylight" paint found on previous locomotives of the GS class and were painted black and silver instead. The War Production Board controlled locomotive manufacturers 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 ...

and had turned down Southern Pacific's order of fourteen new Daylight locomotives in 1942. Southern Pacific re-designed the new fleet based on the older GS-2s, only with 260 psi instead of 250 psi, an all-weather cab, and a new GS-4 style tender. The design was finally approved, but the War Production Board reassigned four to the smaller and power-starved

Western Pacific Railroad The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...

(only the tender from Western Pacific GS6/64 #484 remains). Their smaller size when compared to previous GS class locomotives and the fact that they were built during World War II earned them the nicknames "War Babies."

Revenue service years

SP 4460 was built in July 1943 and was used during

. The engine was the first GS-6 ever manufactured and is famous for pulling the last steam-powered passenger train and being the last operational steam locomotive on the Southern Pacific Railroad in October 1958. That final run was from Sacramento, California to Sparks, Nevada, and return, with no diesel assistance except for when 4460 developed a hot bearing. A local Boy Scout Bugler from the Bay Area Council, played taps for the funeral of the 4460, staged by the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Preservation

Following the final excursion, SP 4460 was donated to the

National Museum of Transportation The National Museum of Transportation (NMOT) is a private, 42-acre transportation museum in the Kirkwood suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1944, it restores, preserves, and displays a wide variety of vehicles spanning 15 decades of Amer ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, on April 16, 1959, where the engine has since sat along with many other historic steam and

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

s from around the country. Besides having the nicknames "Black Daylight" and "War Baby", it is also known as the "Forgotten Daylight" as it has not seen the fame sister locomotive SP 4449 has had when that engine was restored to operating condition. A full restoration to the operation of 4460 is unlikely to happen in the near future.

References

External links

Museum of Transportation

Friends of SP 4449
{{SP GS locomotives 4460 Individual locomotives of the United States 4-8-4 locomotives Lima locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1943 Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Preserved steam locomotives of Missouri