Nevada State Railroad Museum

The Nevada State Railroad Museum’s locomotive No. 8 was built by Cooke Locomotive Works of Patterson, New Jersey. Assigned construction number 1861, it was completed on 3 February 1888. It was an “American Standard” 4-4-0 with 17-inch x 24-inch cylinders and 61-inch drivers. During the first four months of 1888 Cooke turned out 12 identical locomotives (construction numbers 1859-1870) for the Denver, Texas & Ft. Worth as numbers 7-18. The NSRM locomotive is believed to have been assigned DT&FW No. 9. (Cooke c/n 1860, completed 31 January 1888 became no. 8; c/n 1865, completed 3 March 1888, became no. 13).

 

The Denver, Texas & Ft. Worth was organized in April 1889 to build from Pueblo, Colorado to the Texas state line to meet the affiliated Ft. Worth & Denver City, building northward from Ft. Worth. After the two railroads met at Union Park, NM on 14 March 1888, their respective locomotives were numbered into a single system, with the DT&FW 9 being renumbered to 114. On 1 April 1890 these and eleven other affiliated lines were consolidated into the Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf, a Union Pacific affiliate. (The FW&DC was not included because of Texas corporation laws.) On 11 January 1899 the UPD&G passed to the Colorado & Southern. 1908 C&S became part of Chicago Burlington & Quincy. The road was absorbed into Burlington Northern in 1981 and into the Burlington Northern Santa Fe in 1996.

 

Of the 12 identical Cooke-built DT&FW locomotives of 1888, seven became UPD&G 521-527 in 1890; in 1896 they were renumbered 26-32. Subsequently they became Colorado & Southern nos. 132-138. Three of these were still in service on the C&S in 1906, and the no. 134 survived as an inspection engine until 1930. However, five of the original group of DT&FW locomotives—those with construction numbers 1861-1864, 1866—were not numbered into the UPD&G in 1890. This block of five identical Cooke 4-4-0s 17”x24” 61” locomotives cannot be accounted for on UPD&G or subsequent Colorado & Southern rosters, nor have these locomotives been identified on any known roster. It is assumed they were disposed of by the DT&FW prior to 1890, but their disposition is unknown.

 

Thus, a 17-year gap exists in the history of the locomotive which became NSRM No. 8 from about 1890 until September 1907, when it was purchased by the Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad in northwest Arkansas. This company assigned the number 8 to this locomotive, the number it still bears. Legend has it that D&R no. 8 was a former Little Rock & Ft. Smith, or St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern locomotive. However, there is no contemporary record which shows either railroads owning any Cooke 4-4-0 with cylinders and drivers matching those of Cooke no. 1861 and the locomotive definitely does not appear in the Missouri Pacific system renumbering schedule of 1905. Furthermore, the locomotive was sold FOB St. Louis. Had it been a MP locomotive, it most likely would have been delivered over that road and sold FOB Russellville. Too, the D&R found the locomotive defective upon arrival and sent it to an independent machine shop in Little Rock; had it been a former MP engine, it more likely would have been reconditioned in the Iron Mountain’s North Little Rock before the sale, or at least sent back to that shop for conditioning. Indeed all of this hints that no. 8 was sold to the D&R by an independent equipment dealer (the most likely being Walter A. Zelnicker Supply Co.) of St. Louis. The purchase cost was $2,272.03, but with repairs costing $3,044.88, the locomotive was carried on the books at an initial value of $5,316.91.

 

The specifications provided to the Interstate Commerce Commission by the D&R in 1908 listed the locomotive with 60-inch drivers, 13,720 pounds of tractive effort, and operating steam pressure of 140 p.s.i. No. 8’s tender carried 3,700 gallons of water and 5 tons of coal. Grate area was 18 square feet. There were 168 tubes 12-foot long with 2-inch outside diameter. Safety valves included one 2-1/2 inch Crosby Muffled pop and one 2-1/2-inch Richmond open valve. The firebox staybolts were 15/16 inch outside diameter, spaced 4-1/4 by 4-1/4.

 

No. 8 was in service on the D&R from 1908 through 1911. It was given new grates in May 1909.

 

After only four years of service on the D&R, locomotive no. 8 was condemned by the ICC on 31 January 1912 because of safety defects. It had nine stay bolts broken in the right side sheet, eight stay bolts broken in the left side sheet, and one stay bolt broken in the throat sheet. Also noted: the right and left front driver springs were wearing the firebox sheets. In the D&R’s effort to comply with ICC regulations, the railroad wrote to American Locomotive Works (successor to Cooke), identifying the locomotive as construction no. 1861. On 20 June 1912, ALCO provided the D&R with an ICC form 4 for locomotive no. 8. This was forwarded to the ICC on 26 June with a note that no repairs had been made to the locomotive since it had been condemned in January, and that the railroad intended to sell the engine. However, in August 1912 the railroad company determined that it was more economical to repair the locomotive than to replace it, and it was shipped to Little Rock for repairs. It was returned to the D&R in late December 1912.

 

Number 8’s second period of service on the D&R lasted from 1913 through 1925.

 

In July 1916 the box oil burning headlight was replaced with electric headlight, powered by a Pyle National Type E generator. Flues were changed in January 1919. A new number plate was ordered from ALCO in 1923. The 1923 number plate had a thin rim with a heavily raised number. (The earlier plate had a heavier rim with a shallow number.) Photographs of the locomotive while still on the D&R reveal that this new number plate is not the plate presently on the engine.

 

On 15 February 1924 D&R requested a flue time extension. The flues dated from January 1919, but the locomotive had been out of service for 23 full calendar months in the intervening years. A two-year extension was apparently granted as the locomotive operated sporadically until January 1926, when the flue extension expired.

 

After a four year hiatus, Number 8 was shopped at North Dardanelle in November-December 1929. All flues were removed and the boiler inspected, and upon overhaul it was returned to service condition in December 1929. However, it was not used until March 1930.

 

The no. 8’s third period of service on the D&R lasted from 1930 through 1934, though it was used only intermittently during periods of light traffic, when the roads two other steamers were overhauled. Those periods of use were: March-April 1930, March 1931; December 1931-January 1932, March-July 1932, and March-July 1933.

 

With four year tube time, plus one year automatic extension, no. 8 was legal only until December 1934. However, despite this, it was operated again in April 1935, resulting in notification of violation from the ICC. Though the D&R expressed contrition, the company’s subsequent request for an extension of tube time was denied. In an inspection of November 1935, the ICC noted that the flues were badly pitted, the crown sheet pitted and covered with scale, five sling stay lugs were broken, and the side sheets and flue sheets were badly pitted and thin in places. As of this date, there were only 231 actual days of service on the 1929 tubes.

 

The D&R filed monthly “out of service” reports with the ICC on no. 8 until April 1937. Upon omitting those reports in May and June 1937, the ICC inquired of status of the locomotive, suggesting that if the railroad was not going to repair the locomotive, they should simply report it as retired rather than filing monthly reports.

 

This probably would have been the end of locomotive no. 8, except in August 1938 Twentieth Century-Fox Film Co. discovered the locomotive and asked to use it in the motion picture Jesse James, scheduled for filming in September. To meet this request, the D&R asked the ICC for permission to move locomotive under its own power after hydrostatic test. This the ICC refused, and the locomotive was hauled to MP’s North Little Rock shops for complete overhaul, arriving on 17 August.

 

The North Little Rock shops replaced all the tubes, made a new front flue sheet, installed two new 2-1/2” safety valves (one at 125, one at 128 pounds), and gave the boiler a hydrostatic test to 170 pounds. Thee also installed a fake diamond stack, a fake box headlight casing, and repainted the engine with ; repainting—dark green boiler jacket, gold bands. Work completed and recertified on 31 August 1938. A comparison of photographs taken before 1916 and after the 1938 shopping reveal that the locomotive received replacement drivers and a repair to a cracked cylinder saddle. However, it is not know if these changes were made at the 1938 shopping or some time earlier.

 

After the locomotive’s return to the D&R after the movie shoot in the fall of 1938, no. 8 was used in April, June, and half of July 1939, again in April, May, June 1940, and in April, May, and June 1941.

 

A request for a one-year extension of flu time filed in August 1943 extended the life of the locomotive until 31 August 1944. During 1943 and 1944, locomotive no. 8 was used alternately with locomotives nos. 9 and 10, seeing it used more than any time since the early 1920s.

 

In May 1944 D&R offered locomotive no. 8 to Twentieth Century-Fox Film Co. The offer was accepted in early June, but delays for construction of a side track at the studio and acceptance of the boiler by Los Angeles County inspectors kept the locomotive in Arkansas until 17 July 1945, when it was finally shipped. The sale price was $2,000, and the D&R charged an additional $885 for preparing locomotive for inspection, loading, and bracing. It arrived at

Twentieth Century-Fox studios on 29 July 1945.

 

While at the Los Angeles studio lot, the locomotive was used by the studio in Sentimental Journey (released in 1946), Centennial Summer (released in 1946), and Walls of Jericho (released in 1948) before being moved to the company’s Malibu Canyon studio ranch in the late 1950s. Following that, it appeared in The True Story of Jesse James (released 1957), The Second Time Around (released in 1961), and Scandalous John (1971).

 

January 1972 Short Line Enterprises

 

April 1973 Short Line Enterprises, Inc.

 

April 1973 to Alta Loma for “restoration”. New cab and tender frame built.

 

June 1974: Sandburg’s Lincoln

 

April 1976-December 1976 leased to V&T

 

June 1977 to Sierra Ry

 

Jun 1978: The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang

 

CSRM orientation film (May 1979).

 

January 1980: Kenney Rogers as The Gambler

 

May 1981 to SPRM

 

April 22, 1985 to Railtown 1897 SHP, Jamestown

 

1986 Dec: locomotive no. 8 delivered to NSRM [SH 8/4 and 9/2]

 

1987 Dec 30: NSRM purchased locomotive from Shortline Enterprises along with eleven other pieces of rolling stock for $256,000.

1988 February 16: fired for first time at NSRM.

December 1990: operated at Boulder City

 

Out of service at NSRM from January 1993-February 1993 for correction of lap seams in boiler.

 

The original longitudinal seams of the barrel were of a single riveted lap with an interior welt strap. This joint is of a ruinously low efficiency, and it was discovered that the welt strap was of a poor grade of wrought iron. The decision was made to cut the entire seam out and replace it with an extended double strap butt seam with a field piece. All the work was in-kind and riveted. The work was completed and the engine returned to service.

 

At Portola July 1994

 

2008 Oct 19: last day operated.

 

Following the last day of operation an inspection was made by NSRM of the boiler. An area of concern was identified in the crown sheet. It was examined ultrasonically for thickness and was found to be thinner than was permittable by the state of Nevada under the boiler inspection laws and rules, the FRA, The NBIC, and boiler insurance companies. To confirm this reading a qualified inspection company was contacted, and a thorough inspection was contracted for. Using NDT methods, an inspection was performed, and a signed and stamped record was received by NSRM.

 

The firebox was removed from the boiler and those areas that were not otherwise inspectable were inspected visually revealing further problems. Accordingly, it was determined that the boiler could not be economically repaired.

 

Some time later the locomotive which had been stored inside was moved to its current location as a living billboard and to make available valuable inside track storage space.

 

NSRM has no plans to reboiler the locomotive in the near future.

 

 

 

 

 

Done