The upper level of my two-level layout is all narrow gauge, depicting a portion of the former Denver & Rio Grande Western’s Fourth Division line in southwestern Colorado and northern New Mexico.
I've been fortunate to photograph several well-known steam locomtoves pulling excursion trains, many in the St Louis area. Here are some of my favorite shots from those events.
Steam Excursion Trains
Norfolk & Western 1218
Frisco 1522
Norfolk & Western 611
Union Pacific "Challenger" 3985
Union Pacific 844
Southern Railway 4501
I've been fortunate to photograph several well-known steam locomtoves pulling excursion trains, many in the St Louis area. Here are some of my favorite shots from those events.
N&W 1218
In June 1990, the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) held their national convention in St Louis MO, and several steam locomotives were showcased at the event. I chose to chase Norfolk and Western 1218, a Class A 2-6-6-4, across central Illinois in route to St Louis. It was quite a show.
N&W 1218, built in 1943 at N&W’s Roanoke East End Shops, is over 121’ long, had 70” drivers, provided 5,400 horsepower and 114,000 pound-feet of tractive effort – more powerful than even the Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 Challenger. She was retired from revenue service in 1959 and eventually became part of the Steamtown USA’s collection in Bellows Fall, VT. It was restored for operation by the Norfolk Southern in 1987, and it ran excursions until the NS steam program was cancelled in 1994. Since then it has resided at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke.
Frisco 1522
Frisco 1522, a 4-8-2 “Mountain” type, Class 1500 steam locomotive of the St Louis - San Francisco Ry (“Frisco”) has run numerous excursions in the Midwest. On a day in May 1989, I photographed 1522 pulling an eastbound on the Norfolk Southern (former Wabash/Norfolk & Western) in north St Charles, MO, on its way to Moberly MO.
Frisco 1522, a 1500 Class 4-8-2 Mountain type, was built by Baldwin in 1926, for pulling passenger trains through the Ozarks. Retired in 1951, it was restored at its home at the National Museum of Transportation in St Louis in 1988. It pulled excursion trains until 2002, when it was again retired at the NMT, where it remains on display.
N&W 611
Norfolk & Western 611, a class J 4-8-4 streamlined Northern passenger locomotive, made the journey to Missouri – here on the former Wabash/Norfolk & Western, now the Norfolk Southern line to Moberly MO. The day began at dawn in north St Louis, and was photographed again in St. Charles MO.
N&W 611, the “Spirit of Roanoke” and the “Queen of Steam”, was built in 1950 in the East End shiops in Roanoke, VA. It pulled the premiere passenger trains until its retirement in 1959, and put on display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke. Restored in 1982, it pulled excursions until the end of the Norfolk Southern steam program in 1994. It returned to excursion service briefly from 2015 to 2017, then again in 2023 in the Staunton, VA area.
Union Pacific “Challenger” 3985
In 2001, the Union Pacific 3985, a 4-6-6-4 “Challenger”, pulled a multi-state excursion train through the St Louis suburb of Kirkwood MO on the former Missouri Pacific main line.
UP Challenger 3985, a 4-6-6-4 steam locomotive, was built by the American Locomotive Company (Alco) in 1943. Weighing over a million pounds and almost 122’ long, it developed 5,000 hp and had a maximum speed of 70 mph to pull fast freight and passenger trains. It was retired in 1957 and stored in Cheyenne WY, then restored in 1981 to be part of UP’s heritage fleet; at that time, it was the world’s largest operational steam locomotive. Mechanical problems led to on-and-off operation and retirement from 2010 to 2020. In 2022, the UP donated 3985 to the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America in Silvis, IL, where it was undergoing restoration in 2023.
Union Pacific 844
OnJune 2, 2011, Union Pacific 844 pulled an eastbound excursion train through St Louis, with a stop at the Kirkwood MO depot. This was part of the UP’s “Little Rock Express” that month, from Kansas City to Little Rock AR via St Louis. The large crowd made it impossible to get close to the tracks. Behind 844 was UP 1982, sporting a Missouri Pacific heritage paint scheme in honor of the former MoPac tracks that the train was following.
On October 19, 2016, UP 844 made another stop in St Louis, as part of its “Trek to Tennessee” excursion. On this day, Ed Walton and I photographed 844 in East St Louis IL at Valley Junction, coming from St Louis off the long viaduct from the Mac Arthur bridge over the Mississippi River bridge.
UP 844 is an FEF-3 class 4-8-4 “Northern” steam locomotive, built by Alco in 1944. Nicknamed “The Living Legend”, it was capable of 120 mph for pulling passenger trains. It was not retired when its revenue service ended in 1959, but became a member of UP’s heritage fleet for steam excursions beginning in 1960. These were interrupted by the pandemic in 2020, and while still operational, it has been idled, with “Big Boy” 4014 taking over excursion duties.
Southern Railway 4501 in North Carolina
In the 1970s, Southern Railway had an active steam program, featuring 4501, a 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive. My first encounter with 4501 was a ride on an excursion train from Raleigh to New Bern, NC, on August 17, 1975, with my wife and friend Larry. We were not able to photograph the engine until our arrival at New Bern, near the Atlantic coast, where the photos below were taken.
A year later, 4501 returned to North Carolina for another trip departing from Raleigh. We did not ride that year, as I was busy writing my thesis, but we did some train-chasing outside of Raleigh and took these shots.
Southern Railway 4501, a 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive, was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Co in 1911 in Philadelphia. It was used in freight service until 1948, when it was replaced by diesels and sold to the Kentucky and Tennessee shortline RR for hauling coal trains. It was later sold to Paul Merriman, who brought 4501 to Chattanooga TN and returned it to service for excursion trains as part of Southern Railway’s steam program, beginning in 1966. It was operated on-and-off until Norfolk Southern discontinued the steam program in 1994. Merriman moved the locomotive to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, as he was a founding member; where it has operated since 2014.