St. Louis Southwestern 819
Encyclopedia
The St. Louis Southwestern #819 is a 4-8-4
steam locomotive
. It was completed in 1943 and was the last engine built by the railway affectionately known as the "Cotton Belt Route
". It was also the last locomotive built in Arkansas to date. It is located at the Arkansas Railroad Museum
.
initially purchased ten Northern 4-8-4
engines (#800–809) from Baldwin Locomotive Works
located at Eddystone, Pennsylvania in 1930. Seven years later, Cotton Belt built five more Northern engines (#810–814) from their own shops in Pine Bluff, Arkansas
in 1937. These Northern locomotives were Class L1 on the Cotton Belt.
In 1942, Cotton Belt officials petitioned the War Production Board for authorization to buy five new EMD FT
diesel locomotives for their growing passenger and freight lines. Instead, they were granted approval to produce five more 4-8-4 type locomotives (#815–819). Although similar to the previous set of five steam engines, these new locomotives had many modern improvements.
Since the 819 was built during World War II, some materials were in short supply. The Cotton Belt emblems, which would have normally been made of brass
, were made of steel
to save brass for the war effort. Decorative emblems, numbers, etc., were also made of steel and chromium plating was entirely eliminated. Work on the new L1 Northerns began on Tuesday June 2, 1942. But delivery of the boilers from the Baldwin Locomotive works lagged. The five new boilers were shipped by Baldwin to Pine Bluff between November 5 and December 12, 1942. The rail journey from Philadelphia to Pine Bluff to about five days for each boiler. Work by the Cotton Belt shop forces took an additional five or six weeks to complete each new locomotive.
On Monday February 8, 1943, the last of these five steam locomotives, Engine 819, was placed in active service. It was the final locomotive constructed by the Cotton Belt's own staff of mechanical engineers, mechanical officers, foremen and workers in the company shops at Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The cost to build was $143,607.00 and it was to be the last locomotive produced in Arkansas.
Engine 819 traveled more than 804,000 miles during its 10½ years of service, before being forced aside by the more modern diesel locomotives. On July 19, 1955 Cotton Belt's President H. J. McKenzie presented retired Engine 819 to the City of Pine Bluff to show the Cotton Belt's gratitude for the part the city had played in their steam locomotive operations. McKenzie commented that this model engine is generally conceded to be one of the best designed and most attractive of its type ever built. He recalled how the engine had been built by local craftsmen, who were very proud of them and he hoped that the people of Pine Bluff would be equally proud to display it in their public park.
. Children were requested to "buy" Engine 819 by contributing a one penny per pound (the engine & tender weigh 541,300 pounds) and were presented with cards signed by the mayor indicating the number of "shares" purchased. It had been estimated they needed to raise $4,000.00 for the concrete based, metal roofed, pipe framed shed surrounded by a concrete walkway and 6 feet (1.8 m) fence. The problem of getting the locomotive moved to the display was solved when Cotton Belt agreed to lend materials for a temporary spur to the park. Cotton Belt and Missouri Pacific employees contributed the labor in building the spur and moving the historic locomotive and tender.
However, just four years later, the Pine Bluff Commercial ran this note in the October 6, 1959 edition:
It took the better part of a year to get 819's situation improved. It was decided to move the engine to a new location approximately 150 yards west of its old spot, near the front of the Reserve building. The Pine Bluff Jaycees spearheaded the drive to build a green and white steel shed at the new location, while the move and reconditioning was being coordinated by members of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and Cotton Belt employees. Several civic organizations talked of undertaking the project of restoring the engine to better condition, only to find out that such a project required technical know-how that only railmen possessed. That was when BRT stepped in and offered to assist with the engine.
"Before we're through," one of the men said "that old engine will look just like it did the day it rolled out of the shop she was built in. We hope to have her fixed where she'll be better taken care of, too."
One exciting footnote occurred during the short move: During the move to her new location between Townsend and Oakland Parks, Engine 819 "broke loose" and coasted down an incline on her temporary track. The locomotive, after starting to coast, rammed the park's lake embankment and finally stopped against a large black oak tree. The workmen labored the next day to get the engine back on her rails and into place. Crews stated they expected to have the locomotive in her new quarters in about two more weeks.
Although the engine and tender were successfully relocated during the Fall of 1960, it was several more years before the steel shed was erected overhead to protect the locomotive. In addition to the Pine Bluff Jaycees, the City of Pine Bluff and the Pine Bluff Park Commission each donated $500. Pine Bluff Mayor Franks personally donated $250 and another $250 was donated by the Townsend Park Commission. Gene Gardner, an engineer with International Paper
, designed the green and white steel shed and drew up the plans for it. International Paper Company and the Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel Company furnished the concrete footings for the shed, while Varco Steel did the construction work. Construction of the shed was completed in September 1965 when a chain-link fence was installed and the landscaping was finished.
Upon completion of Engine 819's new home in 1965, Mayor Austin Franks shared one of the two keys to the gate with long-time railfan James Norris. Norris' father had taken the locomotive out for her first run in 1943 and young James always remembered his late-father when he saw the engine. Despite being in his late 50s and in failing health, James Norris faithfully visited the locomotive every week to knock off the bird nests and occasionally replace some broken glass in the cab. He would open the gate on Sundays while he was there to let kids climb on the locomotive, ring the bell and answer their many questions.
"Every time I come out here I can see my daddy standing right on that step." Norris said "It kinda gets down in your heart."
It is uncertain when Mr. Norris' health got so bad that he could no longer continue his weekly maintenance visits to the 819, but he admitted in 1965 that his doctor had told him to stay away from the locomotive. Records indicate that Mr. Norris died in 1970 and by 1983 the Arkansas Democrat described the locomotive as "covered in graffiti and vandals have removed, or tried to take, whatever wasn't too heavy to carry off." Miss Arkansas
of 1958, Sally Miller Perdue, from Pine Bluff complained "It had been abandoned and stripped of all its dignity. It has become the iron-horse that was put out to pasture, neglected and abused."
Ms. Perdue, whose family had a long history with the railroad, agreed to chair a sub-committee of the Chamber of Commerce's Publicity & Tourism to get the 819 rejuvenated and relocated. With a slogan of "Let's Put the Steam Back in Pine Bluff", she felt that a lot of volunteers, mainly retired Cotton Belt craftsmen and engineers, would be interested in working to restore the 819. Superintendent R. R. McClanahan of the Cotton Belt Pine Bluff Division worked hard to get the locomotive and tender transported from the park back to the shops to make those repairs.
lovingly moved the locomotive back to the Cotton Belt shops, where it was to be restored in a bold project to show Arkansans what the great super locomotives looked like.
Although the ownership of the locomotive was retained by the city, the restoration of the 819 was the responsibility of "Project 819", an all-volunteer effort by two rail historical preservation groups: the Arkansas Railroad Club and the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society. The project leased space needed at the Cotton Belt shops in Pine Bluff to complete the restoration, which was projected to take 18–24 months.
While the engine languished in the park, various parts disappeared including its bell, whistle, Cotton Belt emblems and many of the gauges. Jake Commer, President of the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society at the time, offered a "no questions asked" policy for the return of these items and received many of the parts back, including the whistle and one of the emblems. The original bell was never located however and the one currently on the engine is from another 800 class locomotive. That bell was used for many years by the Wesley United Methodist Church in Pine Bluff before being donated to Project 819.
Led by Bill B. Bailey, the Restoration Director for "Project 819", seven separate volunteer groups worked six days a week on various sections of the locomotive and tender in hopes of getting the engine totally restored and federally certified as worthy to run on the rails again. Mr. Bailey estimated that about 20% of the volunteers had actually worked on the locomotive or went through an apprenticeship in the early 1940s when the 819 or other 800-class steam locomotives were built in the Cotton Belt Shops at Pine Bluff.
Engine 819 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2003.
Twenty days later, on April 26, 1986, Engine 819 pulled into Fordyce
on her first full-fledged trip out of Pine Bluff in 31 years. School children from Pine Bluff, Rison
, Kingsland and Fordyce waved and shouted their delight at the old engine that looked like it had rolled right out of a storybook. Cars of camera-laden steam engine buffs followed the train's path shooting hundreds of pictures.
June 13, 1986, Engine 819 participated in the Arkansas State Sesquicentennial with a trip to Little Rock
and was perhaps Pine Bluff's most visible contribution to the weekend events marking the state's 150th birthday. In addition to Pine Bluff's Mayor Robinson, Louis Ramsay - Chairman of the state's Sesquicentennial Commission, and Judge Earl Chadick, Sr. of Jefferson County, Hillary Clinton also rode up from Pine Bluff in the opulent VIP car named "The Houston" on loan from the Cotton Belt. Governor Bill Clinton
joined his wife and the other riders onboard when the train slowed to a crawl behind Barton Coliseum
, just minutes from Little Rock's Union Station
. Engine 819 spent the weekend on display at Union Station, just a few blocks north of the state capitol, as part of Arkansas' Sesquicentennial celebration, before returning to Pine Bluff.
During the summer of 1986, film crews came to Pine Bluff for the production of a movie called End of the Line. Engine 819 played a major role along with 35 Pine Bluff residents turned-actors, many of them members of the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society who had helped restore the steam engine. Arkansas-born actress Mary Steenburgen
was the film's executive producer, who worked hard to be able to use the newly-restored locomotive for the movie. On August 27, Pine Bluff residents were treated to a special premiere showing of the Orion Pictures
film at the Pine Mall Cinema. Proceeds from the $5.00 tickets were given to the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society.
For the next 15 years, the locomotive traveled on numerous excursions, including a trip to the 1990 NRHS convention in St. Louis, where she stood proudly at Union Station
with the Union Pacific No. 844
, Frisco No. 1522
and Norfolk & Western No. 1218
.
Today, the engine is partially disassembled for the mandated 15-year Federal Railroad Administration
inspection. The boiler has been “ultra-sounded” and documented, with only a small area of the firebox remaining to be checked. The flue tubes were removed with plans made for their replacement. A sudden increase in material costs and various emergency repairs needed at the museum over the years have exhausted funds that were hoped to be used to complete the project. The locomotive has sat idle inside the museum, quietly awaiting its return to steam and possible future travels.
4-8-4
Under the Whyte notation classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification: 2D2...
steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
. It was completed in 1943 and was the last engine built by the railway affectionately known as the "Cotton Belt Route
St. Louis Southwestern Railway
The St. Louis Southwestern Railway , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply Cotton Belt, was organized on January 15, 1891, although it had its origins in a series of short lines founded in Tyler, Texas, in 1870 that connected northeastern Texas to Arkansas and southeastern...
". It was also the last locomotive built in Arkansas to date. It is located at the Arkansas Railroad Museum
Arkansas Railroad Museum
Arkansas Railroad Museum is located on Port Road in Pine Bluff, Arkansas at the former Cotton Belt yard.The former SSW shops are occupied by the historic collection of railroad equipment. This museum is about an hour's drive from Little Rock, AR, and is one of the largest displays of historic...
.
History
The Cotton BeltCotton Belt
Cotton Belt may refer to:* Cotton Belt , a term applied to a region of the southern United States* St. Louis Southwestern Railway, commonly known as the Cotton Belt Railroad...
initially purchased ten Northern 4-8-4
4-8-4
Under the Whyte notation classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification: 2D2...
engines (#800–809) from Baldwin Locomotive Works
Baldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
located at Eddystone, Pennsylvania in 1930. Seven years later, Cotton Belt built five more Northern engines (#810–814) from their own shops in Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...
in 1937. These Northern locomotives were Class L1 on the Cotton Belt.
In 1942, Cotton Belt officials petitioned the War Production Board for authorization to buy five new EMD FT
EMD FT
The EMD FT was a diesel-electric locomotive produced between November 1939, and November 1945, by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division . All told 555 cab-equipped A units were built, along with 541 cabless booster B units, for a grand total of 1,096 units. The locomotives were all sold to...
diesel locomotives for their growing passenger and freight lines. Instead, they were granted approval to produce five more 4-8-4 type locomotives (#815–819). Although similar to the previous set of five steam engines, these new locomotives had many modern improvements.
Since the 819 was built during World War II, some materials were in short supply. The Cotton Belt emblems, which would have normally been made of brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
, were made of steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
to save brass for the war effort. Decorative emblems, numbers, etc., were also made of steel and chromium plating was entirely eliminated. Work on the new L1 Northerns began on Tuesday June 2, 1942. But delivery of the boilers from the Baldwin Locomotive works lagged. The five new boilers were shipped by Baldwin to Pine Bluff between November 5 and December 12, 1942. The rail journey from Philadelphia to Pine Bluff to about five days for each boiler. Work by the Cotton Belt shop forces took an additional five or six weeks to complete each new locomotive.
On Monday February 8, 1943, the last of these five steam locomotives, Engine 819, was placed in active service. It was the final locomotive constructed by the Cotton Belt's own staff of mechanical engineers, mechanical officers, foremen and workers in the company shops at Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The cost to build was $143,607.00 and it was to be the last locomotive produced in Arkansas.
Engine 819 traveled more than 804,000 miles during its 10½ years of service, before being forced aside by the more modern diesel locomotives. On July 19, 1955 Cotton Belt's President H. J. McKenzie presented retired Engine 819 to the City of Pine Bluff to show the Cotton Belt's gratitude for the part the city had played in their steam locomotive operations. McKenzie commented that this model engine is generally conceded to be one of the best designed and most attractive of its type ever built. He recalled how the engine had been built by local craftsmen, who were very proud of them and he hoped that the people of Pine Bluff would be equally proud to display it in their public park.
Retired to the park
In order to raise money for the cost of moving and constructing a permanent display structure for the engine, the City of Pine Bluff sold "shares" in the locomotive to the school children in Jefferson CountyJefferson County, Arkansas
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its population was 77,435 at the 2010 United States Census. It is included in the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area. Jefferson County's county seat and largest city is Pine Bluff...
. Children were requested to "buy" Engine 819 by contributing a one penny per pound (the engine & tender weigh 541,300 pounds) and were presented with cards signed by the mayor indicating the number of "shares" purchased. It had been estimated they needed to raise $4,000.00 for the concrete based, metal roofed, pipe framed shed surrounded by a concrete walkway and 6 feet (1.8 m) fence. The problem of getting the locomotive moved to the display was solved when Cotton Belt agreed to lend materials for a temporary spur to the park. Cotton Belt and Missouri Pacific employees contributed the labor in building the spur and moving the historic locomotive and tender.
However, just four years later, the Pine Bluff Commercial ran this note in the October 6, 1959 edition:
- A Commercial newsman's inspection this week of the Cotton Belt locomotive permanently on display on a site between Oakland and Townsend Parks revealed the old steam engine has been neglected by the city. When the railroad donated the engine to the city it did so with the stipulation that the locomotive would receive proper care. Not only had the engine been allowed to deteriorate through rust, the effects of the weather in non-metal portions and acts of vandalism, but the grounds have been allowed to grow up around the fenced-in area so that visitors must trudge through weeds to get an up-close look at the locomotive.
It took the better part of a year to get 819's situation improved. It was decided to move the engine to a new location approximately 150 yards west of its old spot, near the front of the Reserve building. The Pine Bluff Jaycees spearheaded the drive to build a green and white steel shed at the new location, while the move and reconditioning was being coordinated by members of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and Cotton Belt employees. Several civic organizations talked of undertaking the project of restoring the engine to better condition, only to find out that such a project required technical know-how that only railmen possessed. That was when BRT stepped in and offered to assist with the engine.
"Before we're through," one of the men said "that old engine will look just like it did the day it rolled out of the shop she was built in. We hope to have her fixed where she'll be better taken care of, too."
One exciting footnote occurred during the short move: During the move to her new location between Townsend and Oakland Parks, Engine 819 "broke loose" and coasted down an incline on her temporary track. The locomotive, after starting to coast, rammed the park's lake embankment and finally stopped against a large black oak tree. The workmen labored the next day to get the engine back on her rails and into place. Crews stated they expected to have the locomotive in her new quarters in about two more weeks.
Although the engine and tender were successfully relocated during the Fall of 1960, it was several more years before the steel shed was erected overhead to protect the locomotive. In addition to the Pine Bluff Jaycees, the City of Pine Bluff and the Pine Bluff Park Commission each donated $500. Pine Bluff Mayor Franks personally donated $250 and another $250 was donated by the Townsend Park Commission. Gene Gardner, an engineer with International Paper
International Paper
International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 59,500 employees, and it is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.-History:...
, designed the green and white steel shed and drew up the plans for it. International Paper Company and the Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel Company furnished the concrete footings for the shed, while Varco Steel did the construction work. Construction of the shed was completed in September 1965 when a chain-link fence was installed and the landscaping was finished.
Upon completion of Engine 819's new home in 1965, Mayor Austin Franks shared one of the two keys to the gate with long-time railfan James Norris. Norris' father had taken the locomotive out for her first run in 1943 and young James always remembered his late-father when he saw the engine. Despite being in his late 50s and in failing health, James Norris faithfully visited the locomotive every week to knock off the bird nests and occasionally replace some broken glass in the cab. He would open the gate on Sundays while he was there to let kids climb on the locomotive, ring the bell and answer their many questions.
"Every time I come out here I can see my daddy standing right on that step." Norris said "It kinda gets down in your heart."
It is uncertain when Mr. Norris' health got so bad that he could no longer continue his weekly maintenance visits to the 819, but he admitted in 1965 that his doctor had told him to stay away from the locomotive. Records indicate that Mr. Norris died in 1970 and by 1983 the Arkansas Democrat described the locomotive as "covered in graffiti and vandals have removed, or tried to take, whatever wasn't too heavy to carry off." Miss Arkansas
Miss Arkansas
The Miss Arkansas competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Arkansas in the Miss America pageant. Arkansas has twice won the Miss America title.-Results summary:...
of 1958, Sally Miller Perdue, from Pine Bluff complained "It had been abandoned and stripped of all its dignity. It has become the iron-horse that was put out to pasture, neglected and abused."
Ms. Perdue, whose family had a long history with the railroad, agreed to chair a sub-committee of the Chamber of Commerce's Publicity & Tourism to get the 819 rejuvenated and relocated. With a slogan of "Let's Put the Steam Back in Pine Bluff", she felt that a lot of volunteers, mainly retired Cotton Belt craftsmen and engineers, would be interested in working to restore the 819. Superintendent R. R. McClanahan of the Cotton Belt Pine Bluff Division worked hard to get the locomotive and tender transported from the park back to the shops to make those repairs.
Return to the Cotton Belt shops
An almost carnival-like atmosphere permeated Pine Bluff on December 1, 1983 as a force of between 50–100 Cotton Belt employees, most of the volunteers, assisted railfans and rail historical groups, placed Engine 819 back on Cotton Belt rails for the first time in nearly three decades and transported the beloved engine 3+1/2 mi from the park back to the site of its birth 40 years earlier. Twenty-five years of abuse by vandals and the ravages of time and the elements had reduced the once proud behemoth of the rails to little more than a graffiti-marred eyesore. Members of the newly formed Cotton Belt Rail Historical SocietyCotton Belt Rail Historical Society
The Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society, Inc. is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the history of the St...
lovingly moved the locomotive back to the Cotton Belt shops, where it was to be restored in a bold project to show Arkansans what the great super locomotives looked like.
Although the ownership of the locomotive was retained by the city, the restoration of the 819 was the responsibility of "Project 819", an all-volunteer effort by two rail historical preservation groups: the Arkansas Railroad Club and the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society. The project leased space needed at the Cotton Belt shops in Pine Bluff to complete the restoration, which was projected to take 18–24 months.
While the engine languished in the park, various parts disappeared including its bell, whistle, Cotton Belt emblems and many of the gauges. Jake Commer, President of the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society at the time, offered a "no questions asked" policy for the return of these items and received many of the parts back, including the whistle and one of the emblems. The original bell was never located however and the one currently on the engine is from another 800 class locomotive. That bell was used for many years by the Wesley United Methodist Church in Pine Bluff before being donated to Project 819.
Led by Bill B. Bailey, the Restoration Director for "Project 819", seven separate volunteer groups worked six days a week on various sections of the locomotive and tender in hopes of getting the engine totally restored and federally certified as worthy to run on the rails again. Mr. Bailey estimated that about 20% of the volunteers had actually worked on the locomotive or went through an apprenticeship in the early 1940s when the 819 or other 800-class steam locomotives were built in the Cotton Belt Shops at Pine Bluff.
Engine 819 was listed on 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...
in 2003.
Excursions
On April 6, 1986, Engine 819 moved out of the Cotton Belt Route's yard at Pine Bluff marking the first time it had moved under its own power since 1953. The large crowd gathered at the railyard, including a number of railroad employees, burst into applause and shouted their approval as the locomotive's nose emerged out of the shop building and into the bright sunshine. The American flag and the Arkansas state flag affixed to the right and left sides of the shiny black engine gave a patriotic air to the event. Members of the Cotton Belt Railroad Historical Society invested over 35,000 man-hours into this restoration project. Jake Commer praised the efforts the Cotton Belt Route had extended stating, "They helped us so much I can't even begin to tell you about all of it. If it hadn't been for the railroad, we couldn't have done it."Twenty days later, on April 26, 1986, Engine 819 pulled into Fordyce
Fordyce, Arkansas
Fordyce is a city in Dallas County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 4,799 at the 2000 census.The city is the county seat, home to the 1911 Dallas County Courthouse .-Geography:...
on her first full-fledged trip out of Pine Bluff in 31 years. School children from Pine Bluff, Rison
Rison, Arkansas
Rison is a city in and the county seat of Cleveland County , Arkansas, United States. Its population was 1,271 at the 2000 U.S. census. It is included in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Rison is located at ....
, Kingsland and Fordyce waved and shouted their delight at the old engine that looked like it had rolled right out of a storybook. Cars of camera-laden steam engine buffs followed the train's path shooting hundreds of pictures.
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
and was perhaps Pine Bluff's most visible contribution to the weekend events marking the state's 150th birthday. In addition to Pine Bluff's Mayor Robinson, Louis Ramsay - Chairman of the state's Sesquicentennial Commission, and Judge Earl Chadick, Sr. of Jefferson County, Hillary Clinton also rode up from Pine Bluff in the opulent VIP car named "The Houston" on loan from the Cotton Belt. Governor Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
joined his wife and the other riders onboard when the train slowed to a crawl behind Barton Coliseum
Barton Coliseum
T. H. Barton Coliseum is a 7,150-seat multi-purpose arena, located within the Arkansas State Fairgrounds, in Little Rock, Arkansas.It is the former home of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Trojans basketball team, the defunct Arkansas GlacierCats ice hockey team of the WPHL T. H. Barton...
, just minutes from Little Rock's Union Station
Little Rock (Amtrak station)
The Little Rock Amtrak station is a train station in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system....
. Engine 819 spent the weekend on display at Union Station, just a few blocks north of the state capitol, as part of Arkansas' Sesquicentennial celebration, before returning to Pine Bluff.
During the summer of 1986, film crews came to Pine Bluff for the production of a movie called End of the Line. Engine 819 played a major role along with 35 Pine Bluff residents turned-actors, many of them members of the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society who had helped restore the steam engine. Arkansas-born actress Mary Steenburgen
Mary Steenburgen
Mary Nell Steenburgen is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Lynda Dummar in Jonathan Demme's Melvin and Howard, which earned her an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.-Early life:...
was the film's executive producer, who worked hard to be able to use the newly-restored locomotive for the movie. On August 27, Pine Bluff residents were treated to a special premiere showing of the Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures Corporation was an American independent production company that produced movies from 1978 until 1998. It was formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and three former top-level executives of United Artists. Although it was never a large motion picture producer, Orion...
film at the Pine Mall Cinema. Proceeds from the $5.00 tickets were given to the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society.
For the next 15 years, the locomotive traveled on numerous excursions, including a trip to the 1990 NRHS convention in St. Louis, where she stood proudly at Union Station
St. Louis Union Station
St. Louis Union Station, a National Historic Landmark, is a passenger train terminal in St. Louis, Missouri. Once the world's largest and busiest train station, it was converted in the early 1980s into a luxury hotel, shopping center, and entertainment complex...
with the Union Pacific No. 844
Union Pacific 844
Union Pacific 844 is a 4-8-4 steam locomotive owned by Union Pacific Railroad. It was the last steam locomotive delivered to Union Pacific and is unique in that it is the only steam locomotive never retired by a North American Class I railroad....
, Frisco No. 1522
SLSF 1522
SLSF 1522 is a two-cylinder, simple 4-8-2 Mountain-type steam locomotive built in 1926 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. It was retired, and in May 1959 donated to the Museum of Transportation, St. Louis, Missouri, where it is currently on display.-History:The...
and Norfolk & Western No. 1218
Norfolk & Western 1218
Norfolk & Western 1218 is a steam locomotive that at one time was the strongest-pulling operational steam locomotive in the world. It is a four-cylinder simple articulated locomotive with a 2-6-6-4 wheel arrangement. The Norfolk & Western Railway built it in 1943 at its Roanoke Shops in Roanoke,...
.
Today, the engine is partially disassembled for the mandated 15-year Federal Railroad Administration
Federal Railroad Administration
The Federal Railroad Administration is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation. The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966...
inspection. The boiler has been “ultra-sounded” and documented, with only a small area of the firebox remaining to be checked. The flue tubes were removed with plans made for their replacement. A sudden increase in material costs and various emergency repairs needed at the museum over the years have exhausted funds that were hoped to be used to complete the project. The locomotive has sat idle inside the museum, quietly awaiting its return to steam and possible future travels.