Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Engine 3759
AT&SF Steam Engine in Locomotive Park, Kingman, Arizona
Feb 20, 2009
Engine #3759 was built for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad in 1928 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. This engine was a 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam engine. It was one of sixty-five engines of this type used by AT&SF.
What is 4-8-4?
4-8-4 refers to the wheel configuration of the engine. There is a four-wheel leading truck, supporting the cab of the engine. This four-wheel truck is followed by an eight wheel driver arrangement. The driver wheels on the steam engine were 73 inches in diameter.
The driver wheels are followed by another four-wheel truck, the trailing truck, which supported the fireboxes and the boilers. The 4-8-4 configuration made locomotives faster, and was used mainly on fast freight and passenger trains.
"Northern" Type
The term "northern" type came into use in reference to locomotives in 1927 when the first 4-8-4 engine was built for Northern Pacific Railroad. This first engine was built by the American Locomotive Company.
There were a total of 1,126 engines with the 4-8-4 wheel configuration built for 36 North American railroad companies. Many Southern railroads did not want to use the "northern" type designation, so they came up with their own names for these engines.
The AT&SF Engine 3759
Engine #3759 was a coal-burning steam engine that pulled passenger trains between Los Angeles and Kansas City, with Kingman, Arizona being a water stop. The engine was rebuilt in 1941 to burn oil since oil was more readily available and cleaner-burning than coal.
The 73 inch driver wheels were changed out to 80 inch wheels to provide more speed to the locomotive. Engine #3759 traveled 2,585,600 miles in its passenger runs before being retired in 1953. This engine is only one of nine 4-8-4 engines left in existence in the United States.
Kingman, Arizona and Locomotive Park
Kingman has its roots in the railroad. The town was started as a railroad camp for the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad, and is named for railroad surveyor Lewis Kingman.
The Santa Fe Railroad presented the engine to the people of Kingman as a gift in 1957. The town built Locomotive Park in August of that year to house #3759. Locomotive Park is located between Beale Street and Andy Devine Avenue near downtown Kingman. Andy Devine Avenue is also Historic Route 66. The park became listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. A year later, a retired caboose was donated to Kingman to become part of the #3759 display.
Resources:
www.steamlocomotive.com
www.kingmantourism.org
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