| Santa Fe 1951 was built by Baldwin in 1907, the second of forty two 1950-class 2-8-0's.
The engines of this class looked somewhat misproportioned, with huge boilers resting atop
squat 57-inch drivers. To make matters worse, they were originally equipped with extended
smokeboxes that housed a smokebox superheater. A redesigned superheater was eventually
applied, and the smokeboxes shortened accordingly. In 1911 four engines, #1972, 1974, 1975,
and 1976, were tapped for the dubious honor of participating in Santa Fe's short-lived
obsession with articulated compounds. The 2-8-0's were rebuilt with additional sets of
8 drivers and extended boilers to become 2-8-8-0's #3299, 3296, 3297, and 3298, respectively.
Twelve years later, the engines were restored to their original numbers and 2-8-0 configuration. The rough-riding 1950-class 2-8-0's found work as freight and eventually as yard and local engines over their 40-year careers. Most were sent to scrap in the late 40's and early 50's. Engine 1959 was sold to the Cady Lumber Co. in Arizona in 1935, becoming their #400 (later Apache Railway #400). Engine 1951, the only member of the class to be preserved, was donated to the city of Pauls Valley, OK in 1955 and placed on display in Wacker Park. |
 |
| Santa Fe 1951 was looking more than a little rough around the edges when photographed at Wacker Park in Pauls Valley, OK in 1992. |
 |
| Around 1993, Pauls Valley converted their abandoned Santa Fe station into a museum. Engine 1951 was relocated from the park to a location just north of the depot, given a fresh coat of paint, and mated with Frisco wooden caboose 593. Two photos by Brent Frerck, February 1999. |
 |
References |
|---|
| 1. Ellington, Frank, Steam Locomotives of the Santa Fe, Panora, IA: Railroad Car Press, 1991. |
| 2. Worley, E. D., Iron Horses of the Santa Fe Trail, Dallas: Southwest Railroad Historical Society, 1965. |
| 3. Kistler, Stan, private correspondence. |
Back to Santa Fe Preserved Locomotives