Grand Canyon Railway 4960

Beginning in the early 1910s, the Chicago Burlington and Quincy ordered a total of 388 2-8-2 mikados[1] from Baldwin Locomotive Works to replace their aging 2-6-2 Prairies in the growing heavy freight traffic.[2] The first 60 class O-1 locomotives were built between 1910 and 1911, being numbered 5000-5059. In 1911, five E-4s, which were numbered 800-804, were delivered to the CB&Q themselves, as well as more for some of the CB&Q's subsidiary companies, including the Fort Worth and Denver Railway. Later on, one hundred O-2’s were delivered, numbered 5200-5299, just between 1912 and 1913. And then sixty O-3 mikados between 1915 and 1919, numbered 5300-5359. That same year, fifteen O-4’s arrived, being numbered 5500-5514. Then between 1917 and 1923, 148 O-1a’s were produced and delivered, being numbered 5060-5147, as well as 4940-4999, and 4960 was among the last locomotives completed for the railroad. In 1925, all the O-2’s were sent to the Burlington Route’s own West Burlington, Iowa shops to be rebuilt as O-2a’s and O-2b’s. All these locomotives were mainly used for hauling heavy freight trains mostly around the Iowa division for more than 30 years, but then diesels began to take over the secondary assignments, and by 1957, all 2-8-2's on the CB&Q were withdrawn from revenue service and mostly cut up.

No. 4960 with O-5b No. 5632 in the Clyde Roundhouse in 1962.

What saved No. 4960 from the scrapper's torch was being used for the Burlington Route's steam excursion program.[3] Its first fan trip run occurred on December 28, 1958, which was sponsored by the Illinois Railroad Club. Back then, those fan trips would be sponsored by railfan clubs and groups from the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS).[4] After the fan trips, the Burlington Route's president, Harry C. Murphy,[5] would officially start the steam excursion program, which would star No. 4960, as well as O-5b 4-8-4 "Northern" type No. 5632, which was built by the Burlington Route's own shops in 1940. The railroad has given 4960 a complete overhaul, in 1961, in order to keep the locomotive working for the program.

During the steam program, the husky mikado was nicknamed 'The Teacher', as it occasionally hauled groups of school children for their field trips. In 1963, during the 50th anniversary of the railroad's service to Casper, Wyoming, No. 4960 was painted gold all over[6] as the 'Tenshodo Mikado', as nicknamed by Trains Magazine. Afterwards, No. 4960 was painted black once again, and resumed to pull excursions for the CB&Q between Chicago and Ottowa, Illinois. Around the same time, the railroad reacquired one of 4960's sister engines, 4963, which had recently been retired from the Bevier and Southern railroad. However, she was only kept as a spare parts provider for the 4960. Between 1965 and 1966, No. 4960 was used to pull the Circus World Museum's[7] train from Baraboo to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

However, the excursion program on the Burlington Route didn't last any longer. In 1966, Harry C. Murphy retired from his position as president of the Burlington Route, and Louis W. Menk[8] took his place, who wasn't interested in running a steam program, and he had plans to combine the CB&Q with the Milwaukee Road, Spokane Portland and Seattle, Northern Pacific, and Great Northern railroads to create the Burlington Northern System.[9] No. 4960's last excursion run for the CB&Q occurred on July 17, 1966. Shortly afterwards, it was sold to the Circus World Museum for static display. In November 1970, it was donated by the State Historical Society[10] to the Mid-Continent Railway Historical Society's Museum[11] at North Freedom, Wisconsin, where it remained in storage to face an uncertain future.

After almost a decade of quiet storage in North Freedom, No. 4960 was leased to Harold Keene, who moved it to the Bristol and Northwestern tourist railroad, which ran over Ex-Southern Railway trackage in Bristol, Virginia. The mikado would find a new relationship with two employees, Ervin White and Robert Franzen. At this time, White was part of the crew that moved the locomotive to Bristol and restored it back to operation, while Franzen was a volunteer fireman and brakeman for the tourist railroad. The 4960 was back under steam again, however the restoration was still technically incomplete; the 4960 was missing it's boiler jacket and the cylinders were also partially uncovered.[12] Regardless of some of the exposed parts though, the 4960 was still functional, and she began pulling tourist trips between Bristol and Benham beginning in the summer of 1981. Just three years later, however, No. 4960's time on the B&NW was already cut short, when the line had declared bankruptcy, due to the unsuccess of the line, and it was fixing to go out of business. This was the last time No. 4960 ran under her own power in her CB&Q appearance. In 1985, the 4960 was towed to Fort Wayne, Indiana for more time out of service.[13]

In 1989, the Grand Canyon Railway,[14] a former Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe short line between Williams, Arizona and the Grand Canyon National Park,[15] was reopened for public excursions, thanks to Max and Thelma Biegert, a couple from Phoenix. The first four locomotives they acquired were former Lake Superior and Ishpheming 2-8-0 consolidations, 18, 19, 20 and 29, and two of which were restored to run there.[16] The GCR had the hopes of pulling ten or more loaded passenger cars on their trackage. However, the 18 was limited to pull five cars unassisted, and the 29 couldn’t pull any more than nine cars unassisted, so the GCR needed a larger and more powerful locomotive to meet the demand. Ervin White and Robert Franzen, the same employees from the B&NW, suggested to the railway that the 4960, which was still in dead storage at Fort Wayne, should be given another chance at life. The mikado was purchased by the GCR in 1989. When mechanics arrived at Fort Wayne, they disassembled the mikado into sections for easier shipment. The running gear was hauled by truck to Birmingham, Alabama for refurbishment, and the rest of the components, including the boiler, frame, cab, and tender, were hauled on flatbeds straight to Arizona. Restoration work finally began in July 1993 in the GCRY's Williams shops, and this time, the work was much more advanced than it was on the B&NW and even a little more advanced than most of her overhauls on the CB&Q. Flues, tubes, bearings, coal systems, and other old parts were removed to either be repaired, or be replaced. Boiler men, welders, and electricians took their time to get the work done, and Robert Franzen, who became 4960's fireman again,[17] was supervising the restoration process. Ervin White also supervised the GCRY’s train operations. The restoration process was finally completed after three years, 80,000 man hours, and a cost of 1 million dollars,[18] and the 4960 was back under steam once more. Only this time, it has been so heavily modified, it now has an appearance of a typical USRA mikado, instead of its CB&Q appearance. The locomotive's top speed was also increased to 65 miles per hour, but on the railway, it's limited to 40 mph.

No. 4960 on the GCRY in 2011.

No. 4960 with Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 3751 in 2002.

The 4960 has now been pulling tourist trips from Williams to the Grand Canyon Village, and back, and it stole ex-LS&I 18's title as the GCRY's favorite steam locomotive. In 2002, Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe 3751,[19] a 4-8-4 "northern" based from San Bernardino, California, traveled to Williams to participate in that year's National Railway Historical Society Convention, and it performed a doubleheader with the 4960, as well as a tripleheader with No. 18, to the Grand Canyon, and back to Williams. This event was not without a night photo session.[20] Once the convention was over, No. 3751 returned home, while the 4960 and 18 resumed on the GCRY. In 2005, the 4960 performed a doubleheader with No. 29, as well as posing side by side in front of the GCV log depot for some more night photo sessions.[21]

By 2008, almost all the Ex-LS&I 2-8-0s rostered by the GCRY were sold off. No. 19 was sold to the city of Frisco, Texas, where it resides today in Frisco livery. In 2007, the GCRY purchased Ex-Spokane Portland and Seattle 2-8-2 No. 539 from Brian Fleming with the hopes of refurbishing it to operation, and in exchange, Nos 18 and 20 were transferred to the Mount Hood Railroad[22] in Oregon. Then, they ended up at the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad in Alamosa, Colorado, where No. 18 is put up for sale under the Ozark Mountain Railcar Equipment.[23] No. 20 was sold to the City of Allen, Texas, in October 2020, where it also stays put with Frisco lettering.

In 2007, the entire GCRY was purchased by Xanterra Travel Collection, and the 539 only received some cosmetic improvements, instead of a full operational restoration. In 2008, Xanterra ceased all steam operations on the GCRY due to fuel costs and environmental concerns, and the 4960 was put on static display in front of the Williams Depot. Just one year later, the GCRY brought back steam operations for only one or two times per month, and in order to keep costs low, the 4960 has been burning recycled waste vegetable oil collected from restaurants in the South Rim and Williams instead of regular oil. By 2012 No. 4960's 1,472 day inspection required by the Federal Railroad Administration has been completed, and the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society took Santa Fe 3751 for a second visit to the GCRY, where she would perform another doubleheader with the 2-8-2 as part of the state's Centennial. Between 2013 and 2014, the 4960 pulled occasional freight trains[24] for, yet, another photo shoot. In 2016, The 4960 performed another doubleheader with 29 as part of the Centennial of the National Park Service.[25] As of 2021, the 4960 remains operational, only pulling excursions on Steam Saturday’s, and is occasionally on display at Williams during the winter season.