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Great Western Railroad 90
Strasburg Railroad No. 90 at Leaman Place, Pennsylvania in 1989
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderBaldwin Locomotive Works
Serial number57812
Model12-42 F
Build dateJune 1924
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-10-0
 • UIC1′E h
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.56 in (1,422 mm)[1]
Axle load38,000 lb (17,000 kg)[1]
Adhesive weight190,000 lb (86,000 kg)
Loco weight212,000 lb (96,000 kg)[1]
Fuel typeCoal
Firebox:​
 • Grate area54.3 sq ft (5.04 m2)[1]
Boiler pressure200 psi (1,400 kPa)[1]
Cylinder size24 in × 28 in (610 mm × 710 mm)[1]
Valve gearWalschaerts
Performance figures
Maximum speed50 mph (80 km/h)
Tractive effort48,960 lbf (217.8 kN)[1]
Factor of adh.3.88
Career
OperatorsGreat Western
Strasburg Rail Road
Numbers
  • GW 90
  • SRC 90
RetiredApril 5, 1967
RestoredDecember 1968
Current ownerStrasburg Rail Road
DispositionOperational

Strasburg Rail Road (Great Western) No. 90 is a 2-10-0 "Decapod" type steam locomotive owned and operated by the Strasburg Rail Road outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania. Built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1924, No. 90 originally pulled sugar beet trains for the Great Western Railway of Colorado. In 1967, No. 90 was sold to the Strasburg Rail Road where it now resides and operates today for use on excursion trains. Today, No. 90 is one of only two operational Decapod type steam locomotives in America, the other being Frisco No. 1630 at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.

History

The locomotive was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in June 1924, in Philadelphia. it originally pulled sugar beet trains of about 40 to 50 cars length for the Great Western Railway of Colorado to the company's towering mill in Loveland, Colorado. It was the Great Western's largest and most powerful road locomotive, and saw extensive use on trains too large for the company's fleet of 2-8-0s. On November 7, 1944, the engine was hit by a truck at a grade crossing east of Loveland and knocked onto its fireman's side, killing both the fireman and the truck driver. The Great Western sent 90 to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad's shops in Denver for repairs.[2] Following WWII, the locomotive was used primarily in the Autumn during the harvest season.[2]

By the late 1950s, the engine was occasionally used in excursion service on the Great Western. On one such excursion in 1963, Strasburg Rail Road's Chief Mechanical Officer, Huber Leath, met the Great Western's superintendent, a man who grew up in the vicinity of the Strasburg Rail Road and struck a deal in which the Great Western would contact the Strasburg Rail Road as soon as the engine was available for purchase.[2] The Strasburg Rail Road purchased No. 90 on April 5, 1967, for a price of $23,000.00(~$175,000 in 2019) and the locomotive arrived on Strasburg's property a month later on May 5.[2][3]

In the winter of 1968, Ross Rowland's High Iron Company planned to operate a series of mainline steam excursions between Jersey City, New Jersey and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on the Central Railroad of New Jersey. Rowland had originally planned to lease two ex Canadian Pacific G5-class 4-6-2s, numbers 1238 and 1286, both owned by George M. Hart. However, those two locomotives were on emergency leases to the city of Reading, Pennsylvania to provide steam for the city after the boiler at the Reading Steam Heat and Power Co. became disabled.[4] Since tickets for the excursion had already been sold, and Rowland was unwilling to pull the trip with a diesel, he leased Steamtown's ex Canadian Pacific 127 (formerly 1278), a sister to the two locomotives he intended to use to pull the train. However, the 127 did not have enough power to pull the train over the grades on the CNJ near Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania on her own and Rowland leased the 90 to act as a helper engine for the trips, double-heading with the 127 between Bethlehem and Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. After the trips concluded, 90 was returned to Strasburg.

As it was on the Great Western, the engine is also the most powerful of the four steam locomotives in operation at the Strasburg Rail Road in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, rated for 1,211 tons on the line. It is currently one of the only two 2-10-0 Decapods operating in the United States, the other one is former Frisco No. 1630, which operates at the Illinois Railway Museum. However, starting at the end of 2022, No. 90 would eventually be taken out of service for its Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) 1,472 day inspection.[5]

  • Strasburg No. 90 pulling a tourist excursion tender-first on July 19, 1984
    Strasburg No. 90 pulling a tourist excursion tender-first on July 19, 1984
  • No. 90 pulling into the Strasburg Rail Road station on May 12, 2007
    No. 90 pulling into the Strasburg Rail Road station on May 12, 2007
  • No. 90 painted in its former Great Western colors
    No. 90 painted in its former Great Western colors
  • No. 90 sitting inside the Strasburg engine shed with CN No. 89 and BEDT No. 15
    No. 90 sitting inside the Strasburg engine shed with CN No. 89 and BEDT No. 15

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g King, E. W., Jr. in Drury p.351
  2. ^ a b c d Bell, Kurt; Plant, Jeremy (2015). The Strasburg Rail Road In Color. Scotch Plains, NJ: Morning Sun Books. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-58248-479-2.
  3. ^ "No. 90". Archived from the original on 2020-11-17. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  4. ^ "History Book: For a second time, Reading ran out of steam". Reading Eagle. February 25, 2015. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2021.(subscription required)
  5. ^ Cupper, Dan (November 2, 2022). "Strasburg collision damages No. 475, no one hurt". Trains. Kalmbach Media. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  • King, E. W., Jr. in Drury, George H. (1993), Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Company, p. 351, ISBN 0-89024-206-2, LCCN 93041472
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