Steam Sunday - Coming Home Here is another from this special day when the Alaska Railroad's last active steam locomotive, #557, returned after a 46 1/2 year hiatus in the lower 48. #557 is a Baldwin Locomotive Works class S-160 2-8-0 Consolidation built for the US Army Transportation Corps. and diverted to Alaska in December 1944. Retired and shipped out of state in 1965, she was purchased by a wealthy Alaskan philanthropic family, repatriated to the Last Frontier, and donated back to the ARR with the provision she must be returned to active service within 8 years. To learn more about her and see many historic photos click here to check out John Comb's excellent site on all things ARR. This particular link will take you specifically to the section on #557 to learn her history and see status and progress reports. While the 8 year timeline obviously hasn't been met, progress has been remarkable and is ongoing so please check if out. Two GP40-2s (3011 and 3005 both bought new for the railroad in 1975 and delivered in black and yellow paint) lead a lone ARR flat car with their special cargo northbound at MP 81. This view off the Seward Highway looking toward Bird Point and the icy waters of Turnagain Arm and frosted Kenai Mountains beyond is a signature location along the ARR mainline. This photo really illustrates 557's diminutive size. With a tender (that she will later be mated with donated from the Alaska Museum of Transportation and Industry's collection) she is only 63'1" long from coupler faces and weighs only 289,000 lbs with a fully loaded tender. For comparison a single one of those GP40-2s 32 years her junior is 59'2" long and weighs 250,000 lbs. The 557 is also rather squat comparatively with a height of only 13'4", which is more than 2 feet shorter than the geeps. And at 85% boiler pressure she generates about half the tractive effort of one GP40-2....so by any measure of mainline steam power she is rather small. Bird Point |
