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AT&SF No. 2926 -operate north of Albuquerque due to little to no freight or passenger traffic.
Author: Barry
Date: 07-29-2021 - 07:16
Under strict supervision by the Federal Railroad Administration and piloted by a professional railroad engineer and crew, AT&SF No. 2926 successfully rolled under her own steam power around 3:44 PM Saturday July 24th, 2021 - for the first time since the locomotive was taken out of service in 1953 and placed in a city park in 1956.
The movement was short; only a hundred feet or so back & forth since the engine was confined to operations only in the maintenance area of the spur.
None the less, it was a red letter day for all the restoration crew, donors and fans who have supported the restoration effort these past 22 years since her purchase for $1 from the city in 1999. The Society places her value at over $3.5M today.
ATSF 2926 (Steam Engine formerly in Coronado Park)
The steam engine is near completion and was scheduled to move under her own power in early 2020. She was gonna have her pistons & rods reinstalled along with the boiler steamed up to make this happen.
However due to COVID-19 and group restrictions, President of the New Mexico Steam Locomotive & Railroad Historical Society said he doesn’t want to fire up the engine until the whole team can enjoy the event.
There is 20+ persons who work on it.
That event is suspended until further notice. However once we move on from COVID -19.
The steam engine will need to have her crews qualified to operate it on the mainline track which is owned by NMRX Railroad (Rail Runner) and leased by Amtrak & BNSF Railway.
This will take a few months to a certain amount of weeks to have this happen.
You will see the steam engine most likely operate north of Albuquerque due to little to no freight or passenger traffic.
Once this is complete, ATSF 2926 will need to partner with Amtrak or BNSF to lease a locomotive to use behind the steam engine when they are pulling passenger cars.
Due to the Federal Railroad Administrations strict guidelines on operating a steam engine, a Diesel Powered locomotive is required to provide power to the passenger cars and also provide assistance to the steam engine if needed on steep grades.
ATSF 2926 does not own her own passenger car fleet so she will need to partner with owners across the country who own their own private rail cars.
The movement was short; only a hundred feet or so back & forth since the engine was confined to operations only in the maintenance area of the spur.
None the less, it was a red letter day for all the restoration crew, donors and fans who have supported the restoration effort these past 22 years since her purchase for $1 from the city in 1999. The Society places her value at over $3.5M today.
ATSF 2926 (Steam Engine formerly in Coronado Park)
The steam engine is near completion and was scheduled to move under her own power in early 2020. She was gonna have her pistons & rods reinstalled along with the boiler steamed up to make this happen.
However due to COVID-19 and group restrictions, President of the New Mexico Steam Locomotive & Railroad Historical Society said he doesn’t want to fire up the engine until the whole team can enjoy the event.
There is 20+ persons who work on it.
That event is suspended until further notice. However once we move on from COVID -19.
The steam engine will need to have her crews qualified to operate it on the mainline track which is owned by NMRX Railroad (Rail Runner) and leased by Amtrak & BNSF Railway.
This will take a few months to a certain amount of weeks to have this happen.
You will see the steam engine most likely operate north of Albuquerque due to little to no freight or passenger traffic.
Once this is complete, ATSF 2926 will need to partner with Amtrak or BNSF to lease a locomotive to use behind the steam engine when they are pulling passenger cars.
Due to the Federal Railroad Administrations strict guidelines on operating a steam engine, a Diesel Powered locomotive is required to provide power to the passenger cars and also provide assistance to the steam engine if needed on steep grades.
ATSF 2926 does not own her own passenger car fleet so she will need to partner with owners across the country who own their own private rail cars.
AT&SF No. 2926 -operate north of Albuquerque due to little to no freight or passenger traffic.