From Elizabeth Mitchell,
Your Guide to Southwest US Travel.
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Apr 18 2007

Grand Canyon Railway is expanding its steam locomotive fleet with the acquisition of locomotive No. 539. The large locomotive arrived in Williams after being transported by rail from Battle Ground, Wash., aboard three flat cars.

Locomotive No. 539 was built for the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1917. The locomotive ran on various lines, including the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway, for 40 years before being retired to a civic-monument in Vancouver’s Esther Short Park. The locomotive was then moved to Battle Ground before being recently displaced by a park project.

Grand Canyon Railway completed the acquisition in early April, which involved swapping two of the Railway’s smaller locomotives – No. 18 and No. 20, which are 2-8-0 type locomotives – for the big No. 539, which is a 2-8-2 type locomotive. The two smaller locomotives will be transported to the Mt. Hood Railway in Washington for service on that line.

Both small locomotives were in need of costly repairs before running the Grand Canyon line again, and their small size and subsequent lack of pulling power made the work impractical. No. 539 will be the Railway’s largest locomotive in its steam fleet, which also includes locomotives Nos. 29 and 4960.

“Once we restore and upgrade the locomotive, No. 539 will be able to pull more cars than No. 4960,” said Sam Lanter, chief mechanical officer for Grand Canyon Railway.

The Railway plans to duplicate enhances made on Nos. 29 and 4960 on the new locomotive. This will include converting the engine to operate on ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel, refitting the draft apparatus of the engine, and a remodel of the steam engine’s boiler feedwater system. These modifications will make it possible for the steam locomotive to burn less fuel and use less water than the conventional steam engine.

A timeline for rebuild is not yet established, however, the Railway tentatively plans to have the work complete in time for the 1,472 service days (or 15 years) Federal Railroad Administration mandatory inspections on Nos. 29 and 4969. These inspections are scheduled to take place in 2018 for No. 29 and 2011 for No. 4960.

Grand Canyon Railway operates daily train service between Williams, Ariz., and the Grand Canyon National Park - South Rim.

Article and Information Courtesy: Grand Canyon Railway