X4449 Steam Train

[MrChevy]

For the train buffs :D Took this when the 4449 came to Salem for the Oregon State Fair.

Comments welcome.

http://mrchevy.com/4449.jpg

[Belmondo]

This is probably the most famous steam engine currently operating in the U.S. It's the engine that pulled the American Freedom Train around in 1975-6, and this is the paint job they put on it for that occasion. When all the bicentennial hubbub died down, they went back to the authentic paint scheme. I don't know why they've resurrected the Freedom Train paint scheme because the Daylight colors are so strikingly beautiful and much more recongnizable. Hopefully this is just temporary and they'll go back to the red and orange sometime soon.

Nice shot.

[RockOne]

Beautiful !. Looks like a fairly large machine.

[John Trogdon]

Another great shot Ken. Who out there doesn't enjoy a nice train shot? Thanks for sharing.

[MrChevy]

This is probably the most famous steam engine currently operating in the U.S. It's the engine that pulled the American Freedom Train around in 1975-6, and this is the paint job they put on it for that occasion. When all the bicentennial hubbub died down, they went back to the authentic paint scheme. I don't know why they've resurrected the Freedom Train paint scheme because the Daylight colors are so strikingly beautiful and much more recongnizable. Hopefully this is just temporary and they'll go back to the red and orange sometime soon.

Nice shot.

Thanks Fred... geeez, I always thought you were Tom too :lol: :lol: :lol:

Look at your ID card, I am sure it says Tom :)

It's been painted like this for quite a while :( Somewhere I have a shot of it Orange/Red, looks beautiful!

[MrChevy]

Beautiful !. Looks like a fairly large machine.


Thanks RockOne! Yep, those wheels are HUGH! Tom should be able to tell us how tall they are... over 6 foot I think.

[MrChevy]

Another great shot Ken. Who out there doesn't enjoy a nice train shot? Thanks for sharing.

Thanks John! You are more than welcome. Yes! I enjoy nice train shots very much myself. ;)

[Skip Souza]

Thanks for sharing a great photo of a beautiful engine.

[sparker1]

Good shot, Ken. And thanks, Tom, for the additional info. I thought it may be the Freedom Train engine, but you confirmed it for me. We boarded the train and engine in 1976 in NJ, shortly after moving there on July 1st. It was a thrilling week-end to be near New York City, too. Tall Ships and the greatest fireworks ever.

[Belmondo]

This is the original (preferred, IMHO) paint job.

http://members.aol.com/impytoo/4449/desch5.jpg

[thomascanty]

That's a great looking, colorful engine!

This is probably the most famous steam engine currently operating in the U.S. It's the engine that pulled the American Freedom Train around in 1975-6,

I remember that train! I was just a little tyke then, but I remember visiting it when it stopped off in Omaha, Nebraska where we were living at the time.

[Belmondo]

I caught up with it in 1975 at the Fairgrounds in Pomona, CA. I was already old.

[Tom W]

She's a beaut - that's for sure. I'd like to see her in the other color scheme that Belmondo refers to. I believe that it matches the cars color scheme.

[Tom W]

This is probably the most famous steam engine currently operating in the U.S. It's the engine that pulled the American Freedom Train around in 1975-6, and this is the paint job they put on it for that occasion. When all the bicentennial hubbub died down, they went back to the authentic paint scheme. I don't know why they've resurrected the Freedom Train paint scheme because the Daylight colors are so strikingly beautiful and much more recongnizable. Hopefully this is just temporary and they'll go back to the red and orange sometime soon.

Nice shot.

MOre information on this engine - it was built in 1941 by the Lima Locomotive Works of Lima, Ohio. It is one of 27 "GS-4" class 4-8-4 engines built for service on Southern Pacific Railroad's "Coast Daylight" trains that ran up and down the California coast from 1941-1955. This particular engine began its career as a troop and freight train engine during WW-2. Following the war, it was used on the "Coast Daylight" run until it was retired in 1956.

Specs for the engine include driver wheels 80 inches in diameter, an engine weight of 475,000 pounds (must have used an L boiler), a 300 psi maximum boiler pressure, and a maximum tractive effort of 64,800 pounds (77,760 pounds with booster).

Note that the "GS" designation given stood for "Golden State" (California is known as the golden state), but that title was morphed into "General Service" due to the diversion of resources (including several of these engines) towards the war effort.

[Belmondo]

As they neared the end of their careers, they were relegated to considerably less glamorous roles including pulling commute trains on the San Francisco peninsula. Most of them lost their side skirts near the end of their service life, and were painted plain old basic black (except for the smoke box door which was always silver).

A few of these were built during WW2, and were class GS5 and GS6. The GS5s were unique because they rode on friction bearings instead of roller bearings which were hard to get during the war, and only two were built. The GS6 was the last of the series, and a number of those were allocated to the Western Pacific Railroad. They were all built without the skirts.

I believe none were built after 1943.

[sageone]

Nice shot...the rusted out box car on the left bugs the crap out of me though. Sorry...being nitpicky.

[MrChevy]

Thanks everyone! And thanks for all the additional info on such a great looking engine. I was digging around and found a crappy shot of her in her other clothes. Sorry the quality is so low, scanned way back when I didn't know what I was doing (probably :) ). Look at the smoke poor out as he pours the coal to her (figuratively speaking of course).

Enjoy!

http://www.mrchevy.com/freedomtrainorange.jpg

[stoneylonesome]

Fantastic shots Ken, Ya just gotta love trains, especially Steam. :lol: :lol:
Thanks for sharing she sure is a beauty.

[MrChevy]

Fantastic shots Ken, Ya just gotta love trains, especially Steam. :lol: :lol:
Thanks for sharing she sure is a beauty.Thanks Sandy! Yep, gotta love those Steam trains.

[nomadicman]

Nice shot of the 4449. Been 30 years since I last saw/rode her. Glad she is not rotting as a park display.

[Mike R]

Nice image, it brings back memories of seeing the Freedom Train in CT.