Southern Pacific 1673
Encyclopedia
Southern Pacific Railroad 1673 is a standard gauge
2-6-0
, Mogul type of the M-4 class, steam railway locomotive built in 1900 by the Schenectady Locomotive Works
, the engine rolled out in November of that year, and by early 1901 it was based in Tucson, Arizona
and operated primarily in southern Arizona hauling freight trains.
, and as far west as Yuma
. Other destinations included Benson
, Patagonia
, Elgin
, Fort Huachuca
, and Tombstone
.
No. 1673 also underwent several major overhauls and alterations during this time. In 1906, the engine was converted from using coal to oil. By 1922, the locomotive was taken out of service once again for a major rebuilding in the Sacremento, California, shops that saw the installation of a superheater
in the smokebox
, which in turn necessitated the conversion of the engine from using slide valves to piston valve
s.
By the early 1950s, No. 1673 was relegated to yard work as a switcher, its vanderbilt tender replaced by a smaller squarebox tender, and even then it was seldom made use of as time went by and diesel locomotives began to supersede steam powered ones. It had a brief starring role in the 1954 film Oklahoma, for which it was fitted with a diamond stack and other turn of the century equipment and colors. By 1955 it was seeing little use, mostly sitting in serviceable storage until May 18 when the engine was used for a few days for a publicity photo shoot in Sahuarita, Arizona
. Just two days later it was also the star of the Southern Pacific's 75th anniversary in Tucson, Arizona, during which the locomotive pulled an excursion train from the Southern Pacific Depot to the Pacific Fruit Express
yard all day long, after which the railroad presented the locomotive to the city.
). The locomotive was in excellent condition and still operable when donated to the City. However, due to construction at the Historical Society, it was moved to a display location at Himmel Park in Tucson in 1962. It sat there, exposed to the elements and gradually deteriorating, as well as suffering periodic vandalism and theft of equipment, including its builder's plates and gauges. Various proposals to move the locomotive to other locations, or to refurbish it were put forth, but little progress was made . During one abortive attempt in 1965 the locomotive was steamed up to clear out the whistle, and run a short distance on the display track at Himmel Park. No. 1673 was slightly damaged when it ran off the track, but a volunteer derailing crew had the engine back up and repaired in a year.
In 1984 a group of Tucson businessmen spent approximately $20,000 to perform a hydrostatic boiler inspection in anticipation of using the locomotive in public excursion service between Tucson and Nogales, Arizona
. Although it was determined that restoration to operational condition was feasible, the project was abandoned due to the higher than expected costs related to repairing or replacing the boiler
.
By the early 1990s, the engine was in bad shape. It had deteriorated to the point that many thought the engine would be scrapped. It was about this time that a group of Tucson residents decided that something must be done quickly, or there might not be a locomotive left. The group sprang into action, forming the 1673 Task Force, and by 1992, the locomotive was added to the National Register of Historic Places
as Southern Pacific Railroad Locomotive No. 1673. By 1994, the engine had been taken apart, sandblasted, cosmetically restored, and reassembled. The engine now appearing close to the way it did in 1955 when it was donated to the people of Tucson.
As of January 2011, the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum
began an effort to further repair and preserve No. 1673, starting with a modification of the engine's paint scheme to more accurately reflect how it appeared in the early to mid-1950s. This presently involves painting parts such as the injectors and check valve
s red in keeping with Southern Pacific practice, as well giving other parts such as the smokebox, boiler, rods, and driver wheels new coats of black, white, and silver paint.
By summer of 2011, work was started on cleaning, relubricating, reassembling and reinstalling on the locomotive parts that were removed during the 1992-1994 restoration, but kept in storage for many years. Additionally, work is being done to prepare the cab shell for restoration of the interior wood wall paneling and deck planking. Other work includes finding or fabricating suitable replacements for parts lost, stolen, or badly damaged beyond repair over the many years No. 1673 was on display at prior locations.
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
2-6-0
2-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Mogul...
, Mogul type of the M-4 class, steam railway locomotive built in 1900 by the Schenectady Locomotive Works
Schenectady Locomotive Works
The Schenectady Locomotive Works built railroad locomotives from its founding in 1848 through its merger into American Locomotive Company in 1901.After the 1901 merger, ALCO made the Schenectady plant its headquarters in Schenectady, New York....
, the engine rolled out in November of that year, and by early 1901 it was based in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
and operated primarily in southern Arizona hauling freight trains.
Revenue Service
From 1901 to the 1940s, No. 1673 logged over a million miles in service, primarily operating out of Tucson where it hauled freight trains on several short line routes in southern Arizona, occasionally traveling as far south as Nogales, ArizonaNogales, Arizona
Nogales is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 21,017 at the 2010 census. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,833. The city is the county seat of Santa Cruz County....
, and as far west as Yuma
Yuma
-Places:* Yuma Desert, desert in southwest U.S. and northwest MexicoUnited States* Yuma County, Arizona** Yuma, Arizona** Marine Corps Air Station Yuma** United States Army Yuma Proving Ground** Yuma Territorial Prison* Yuma County, Colorado** Yuma, Colorado...
. Other destinations included Benson
Benson, Arizona
-Transportation:Benson Airport is located 3 miles north west of the city.Benson is served by Interstate 10 to the north, which travels directly to downtown Tucson....
, Patagonia
Patagonia, Arizona
Patagonia is a town in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. As of 2010 Patagonia had a population of 913. Patagonia was formerly a supply center for nearby mines and ranches. Currently, it is a tourist destination, retirement community and arts & crafts center. The Nature Conservancy's...
, Elgin
Elgin, Arizona
Elgin is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 309 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Elgin is located at ....
, Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about north of the border with Mexico. Beginning in 1913, for 20 years the fort was the base for the "Buffalo...
, and Tombstone
Tombstone, Arizona
Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It was one of the last wide-open frontier boomtowns in the American Old West. From about 1877 to 1890, the town's mines produced USD $40 to $85 million...
.
No. 1673 also underwent several major overhauls and alterations during this time. In 1906, the engine was converted from using coal to oil. By 1922, the locomotive was taken out of service once again for a major rebuilding in the Sacremento, California, shops that saw the installation of a superheater
Superheater
A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into dry steam used for power generation or processes. There are three types of superheaters namely: radiant, convection, and separately fired...
in the smokebox
Smokebox
A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a Steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they pass heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is exhausted to the atmosphere through the chimney .To assist...
, which in turn necessitated the conversion of the engine from using slide valves to piston valve
Piston valve
A piston valve is a device used to control the motion of a fluid along a tube or pipe by means of the linear motion of a piston within a chamber or cylinder.Examples of piston valves are:...
s.
By the early 1950s, No. 1673 was relegated to yard work as a switcher, its vanderbilt tender replaced by a smaller squarebox tender, and even then it was seldom made use of as time went by and diesel locomotives began to supersede steam powered ones. It had a brief starring role in the 1954 film Oklahoma, for which it was fitted with a diamond stack and other turn of the century equipment and colors. By 1955 it was seeing little use, mostly sitting in serviceable storage until May 18 when the engine was used for a few days for a publicity photo shoot in Sahuarita, Arizona
Sahuarita, Arizona
Sahuarita is a town in Pima County, Arizona, United States. Sahuarita is located south of the Tohono O'odham Nation and abuts the north end of Green Valley, 15 miles south of Tucson...
. Just two days later it was also the star of the Southern Pacific's 75th anniversary in Tucson, Arizona, during which the locomotive pulled an excursion train from the Southern Pacific Depot to the Pacific Fruit Express
Pacific Fruit Express
Pacific Fruit Express was a railroad refrigerator car leasing company that at one point was the largest refrigerator car operator in the world. The company was founded on December 7, 1906 as a joint venture between the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads...
yard all day long, after which the railroad presented the locomotive to the city.
Display at Historical Society and Himmel Park
Shortly afterwards, the engine was placed on display in front of the then Pioneers Historical Society (later the Arizona Historical SocietyArizona Historical Society
The Arizona Historical Society is a non-profit organization whose goal is to collect, preserve, interpret, and disseminate the history of Arizona, the West, and Northern Mexico as it pertains to Arizona. It does this through 4 regional divisions. Each division has a representative museum...
). The locomotive was in excellent condition and still operable when donated to the City. However, due to construction at the Historical Society, it was moved to a display location at Himmel Park in Tucson in 1962. It sat there, exposed to the elements and gradually deteriorating, as well as suffering periodic vandalism and theft of equipment, including its builder's plates and gauges. Various proposals to move the locomotive to other locations, or to refurbish it were put forth, but little progress was made . During one abortive attempt in 1965 the locomotive was steamed up to clear out the whistle, and run a short distance on the display track at Himmel Park. No. 1673 was slightly damaged when it ran off the track, but a volunteer derailing crew had the engine back up and repaired in a year.
In 1984 a group of Tucson businessmen spent approximately $20,000 to perform a hydrostatic boiler inspection in anticipation of using the locomotive in public excursion service between Tucson and Nogales, Arizona
Nogales, Arizona
Nogales is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 21,017 at the 2010 census. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,833. The city is the county seat of Santa Cruz County....
. Although it was determined that restoration to operational condition was feasible, the project was abandoned due to the higher than expected costs related to repairing or replacing the boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
.
By the early 1990s, the engine was in bad shape. It had deteriorated to the point that many thought the engine would be scrapped. It was about this time that a group of Tucson residents decided that something must be done quickly, or there might not be a locomotive left. The group sprang into action, forming the 1673 Task Force, and by 1992, the locomotive was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as Southern Pacific Railroad Locomotive No. 1673. By 1994, the engine had been taken apart, sandblasted, cosmetically restored, and reassembled. The engine now appearing close to the way it did in 1955 when it was donated to the people of Tucson.
Display at the Historic Depot
In December 2000, the old engine was moved out of the park to the Southern Pacific Depot in downtown Tucson, and over the next two years a shelter and security fence were erected around it. By 2005 the locomotive was open once again to public display, and remains that way today.Disposition
No. 1673's enclosure is usually open to the public. Docents and volunteers answer questions on the locomotive's history, and how it works as well as answer general railroading questions.As of January 2011, the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum
Southern Arizona Transportation Museum
The Southern Arizona Transportation Museum is a railroad museum in Tucson, Arizona.The museum does not charge for admission. Guided tours of the facility are available for a small fee, by appointment only...
began an effort to further repair and preserve No. 1673, starting with a modification of the engine's paint scheme to more accurately reflect how it appeared in the early to mid-1950s. This presently involves painting parts such as the injectors and check valve
Check valve
A check valve, clack valve, non-return valve or one-way valve is a mechanical device, a valve, which normally allows fluid to flow through it in only one direction....
s red in keeping with Southern Pacific practice, as well giving other parts such as the smokebox, boiler, rods, and driver wheels new coats of black, white, and silver paint.
By summer of 2011, work was started on cleaning, relubricating, reassembling and reinstalling on the locomotive parts that were removed during the 1992-1994 restoration, but kept in storage for many years. Additionally, work is being done to prepare the cab shell for restoration of the interior wood wall paneling and deck planking. Other work includes finding or fabricating suitable replacements for parts lost, stolen, or badly damaged beyond repair over the many years No. 1673 was on display at prior locations.