Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad
All-Time Roster

    Steam locomotives

    • JS.8419, 2-8-2, DTLW (10/1988), operating. Notes
    • CO&E 17, 2-8-0, CLC 1959(1/1940), static display. Notes
    • N&W 475, 4-8-0, BLW 28343(6/1906), now operating on the Strasburg Railroad. Notes

    Diesel locomotives

    • 1858, GE 45-tonner, model BB 90-90, built 1944, 390hp, operating. Notes
    • 2254, GE 65-tonner, model TC655, built 1943, 500hp, operating. Notes
    • 1003, EMD NW-2, built 1942, 1000hp, 113 tonne, operating. Notes
    • 1103, EMD TR-2B, built 1949, 1000hp, stored. Notes
    • 5202, EMD NW-2, built 1949, 1000hp, 113 tonne, stored. Notes
    • 1098, ALCo S-2, built 1942, 1000hp, 104 tonne, stored. Notes
    • 244 (ex 205), ALCo RS-1, built 1951, 1000hp, 114 tonne, operating. Notes
    • 401, EMD F-7A, built 1949, 1500hp, 112 tonne, unserviceable. Notes
    • 751, EMD GP9R, built 1956, 1750hp, 112 tonne, operating. Notes
    • 6540, GMD FP9A, built 1958, 1950hp, 117 tonne, operating. Notes
    • 2921, EMD SD40T-2, built 1979, 3000hp, 179 tonne, traded to MWLX. Notes

    Electric traction

    • CCW 50, McGuire-Cummings interurban car, built 1915, operating. Notes
    • CSS&SB 106, Pullman interurban car, built 1926, operating. Notes
    • IC 1506, 1511, 1523, 1538, 1557, 1628, St. Louis Car Highliners, built 1971-2, scrapped (1506, 1523-1557) or stored (1511, 1628). Notes
    • DMR 512, McGuire-Cummings low-floor car, built 1916, under restoration. Notes
    • IATR 53, formerly TER Bo-Bo 50 tonne Class A freight motor, rebuilt 1928 in Monroe Shops from St. Louis Car interurban car, built 1913, under restoration. Notes
    • KCC 702, 703, Bo+Bo GE 75-ton steeple cabs, stored/scrapped. Notes
    • KCC 408, 409, Bo+Bo GE/Westinghouse 125-ton "Magna Motors," scrapped. Notes

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JS 8419

JS 8419 was built by Datong Locomotive Works, Shanxi, China, in October 1988. It was one of the last batch of JS (Jian She, or "Construction") class locomotives built there, the highest-numbered locomotive of the batch being JS 8423. A batch of QJ (Qian Jin, or "Advance") class 2-10-2 locomotives was also completed at Datong in December 1988. Occasional construction of lighter SY (Shang You, "Aiming High") class 2-8-2 switchers continued throughout the nineteen-nineties elsewhere in China.

JS 8419 was purchased new by the BSV in 1989, and publicly steamed December 6, 1989. With two exceptions, it was used in regular summer weekend service each year from 1990 to 2007. (The exceptions were 1993, when the railroad suffered severe flood damage, and 2002, while the locomotive was being prepared to meet newly-introduced federal regulations.) Starting from 2008, it was used in regular summer Saturday service through 2017, when its certification expired. Following a retubing, this service was resumed in October 2023.

Dimensions of JS 8419

Weight of locomotive in working order: 104 tonne (230,000 lb)
(9 tonne on front axle, 80 tonne on coupled wheels, 15 tonne on trailing truck, but see Note 2)
Tare weight of locomotive: 92 tonne (203,000 lb)
Coupled wheel diameter: 1370mm (54 inch)
Boiler pressure: 200psi (originally 1.5MPa = 218psi)
Cylinders: 580mm x 710mm (22¾ x 28 inch)
Grate area: 5.08m2 (55 sq.ft.)
Evaporating surface: 170m2 fire side (1730 sq.ft. water side)
Superheater (Type A): 89m2 fire side (765 sq.ft. steam side)
Tender water capacity: 35 tonne (9,250 gal)
Tender coal capacity: 12 tonne (25,000lb) -- originally 16 tonne (35,000 lb)
Tender tare weight: 35 tonne (77,000 lb)

Notes

  1. The locomotive has plain bearings, while the tender has roller-bearing axles.
  2. An air-operated device (not used on the BSV) can transfer some weight from the idling axles to the coupled wheels.

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CO&E 17

This locomotive was built in 1940 by the Canadian Locomotive Co. for the Roberval & Saguenay Railway of Arvida, PQ, as their number 17. Retired in 1970, it was sold to J. Thompson of Monee, IL, and stored in the Central Vermont roundhouse in New London, CT. In 1975 it was purchased by the Crab Orchard and Egyptian R.R. of Marion, IL, which at that time was running a tourist passenger service. Following a depot fire in 1977, the CO&E became a freight-only short line, and the 17 was prepared for service in 1979. The superheater and feedwater heater were removed; the original vestibule cab was opened up and moved back two feet. In this form the locomotive worked freight for a couple of years. In 1987 it was purchased by the BSV and moved to Boone.

Dimensions of CO&E 17

Weight of locomotive in working order: 105 tonne (231,000 lb)
(11 tonne on front truck, 94 tonne on coupled wheels)
Coupled wheel diameter: 57 inch
Boiler pressure: 200psi
Cylinders: 23 x 30 inch
Grate area: 50 sq.ft.
Evaporating surface: 2320 sq.ft., rebuilt to 3000 sq.ft.
Superheating surface: 565 sq.ft., removed when rebuilt
Tender water capacity: 32 tonne (7,000 Imp. gal)
Tender coal capacity: 14 tonne (31,000 lb)
Tender tare weight: 31 tonne (68,000 lb)

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N&W 475

Norfolk and Western Railway M class 4-8-0 No. 475 was built in June, 1906 by Burnham, Williams & Co. (Baldwin Locomotive Works). Retained for service on the lightly laid Blacksburg, VA branch, it was sold in the early nineteen-sixties to the Virginia Scrap Iron and Metal Co. of Roanoke, VA, but was then purchased by W. Armagost of Holsopple, PA. In 1980 it was sold to H.S. Kuyper, and then conveyed to the Pella Historical Society, being stored at Union, IL. In 1982 it was purchased by C. Rosenberg and others, being donated to the BSV in 1985 and moved to Boone for display in 1986. In the nineteen-nineties the Strasburg Railroad purchased it and returned it to service.

Dimensions of N&W 475

Weight of locomotive in working order: 93 tonne (206,000 lb)
(18 tonne on front truck, 75 tonne on coupled wheels)
Coupled wheel diameter: 56 inch
Boiler pressure: 200psi
Cylinders: 21 x 30 inch
Grate area: 44.5 sq.ft.
Evaporating surface: 2940 sq.ft.
Tender water capacity: 19 tonne (5,000 gal)
Tender coal capacity: 8.4 tonne (18,500 lb)
Tender tare weight: 24.3 tonne (53,500 lb)

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1858

Number 1858 is a General Electric B'B' steeplecab unit, of the model popularly described as a "45-tonner". Each truck has a single motor driving through a double-reduction gear system, and the two axles are coupled by side rods, as on a steam locomotive. The 45-tonners were designed for industrial service. They are simpler than the comparable "44-tonner" Bo'Bo' steeplecabs, which were intended for service on railroads subject to the 1937 agreement protecting the job of fireman, whereby diesel locomotives under 90,000lb. could be single-manned.

The 1858 used to switch the Iowa State University power plant, which was supplied with coal by rail along the remnants of the old Ames and College Railway, later purchased by the Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern. The number of the locomotive reflects the year in which Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, the predecessor of Iowa State University, was established. The locomotive was loaned to the Boone and Scenic Valley after the ISU power plant began receiving its coal by truck. It has been repainted in the Iowa State colors of cardinal and gold.

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2254

"Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern" 2254 is a General Electric Bo'Bo' steeplecab unit, of the model popularly described as a "65-tonner". In fact, it is ballasted up to a weight of 80 short tons (73 metric tons). It was built in 1943 as United States Air Force number 7858, but renumbered on the Boone & Scenic Valley to commemorate the 2,254 initial members of the Boone Railroad Historical Society (now Iowa Railroad Historical Society) who helped to save the line from abandonment in the early nineteen-eighties. For a long period, the unit was painted in a shade of yellow similar to that used by the Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern, carrying their herald on the side of the cab. In 2012, it was repainted in an attractive yellow and white scheme also used by the Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern.

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1003 and 1103

Chicago & North Western 1003 and 1103 came to the Boone & Scenic Valley as a matching cow-and-calf set in 1986, and operated in this fashion during the peak season until the advent of the JS.8419. CNW 1003 is an NW-2 built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in 1942. It first operated on the Grand Trunk Western as GTW 7914. CNW acquired it from Precision National in 1973. CNW 1103 was built by EMD in 1949 as the cabless "calf" of Chicago Great Western TR-2 cow-and-calf set 65A/65B. The two were matched up in 1973, and 1003 was equipped with a self-lapping 26-L brake stand. In 1992, the 1003 was repainted into a Chicago Great Western-style livery, but lettered for the Boone and Scenic Valley. It received major engine repairs in 2003, and is currently in regular summer service on trains to Fraser. Meanwhile, 1103 is in storage, having contributed some parts to 1003.

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5202

Chesapeake & Ohio 5202 is an NW-2 built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in 1949, ordered for service on the recently acquired Pere Marquette. It is a sister engine to 1003, with minor detail differences. After a main-line service life of some thirty years, it was moved to Bondurant, Iowa, for the so-called "Bondurant Grain Express" switching operation. When rail service there ceased, the locomotive stood idle until being brought to Boone in June, 2012.

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1098

"Union Pacific" 1098 is a 1000hp ALCo S-2 built in 1942. Before coming to the Boone & Scenic Valley, it worked for an elevator in Denison, Iowa under the number 1031. Although it never belonged to the Union Pacific Railroad, they helped with its movement to Boone, and gave permission for it to be painted in their classic Armour Yellow in 1998. The "fictitious" number fits in to the UP switcher series, and reflects the date when the locomotive was restored to working order. For almost a decade it was used as the main standby locomotive, especially covering for 1003 and 8419 when they were not available.

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244 (ex 205)

This locomotive is a 1000hp ALCo RS-1 built in 1951. It started life as Lake Superior & Ishpeming 1002, later passing to the Calumet & Hecla. Before moving to the Boone & Scenic Valley, it operated for the Continental Grain Company as their number 205 at the elevator in Pickering, Iowa, south of Marshalltown. The 205 was on static display in Boone for many years, in a grey primer paint that earned it the nickname of "Titanic." In 2008 it received attention in the Boone & Scenic Valley shops. It was renumbered 244, painted in Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad blue (one of several different diesel liveries on the M&StL), and returned to service.

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401

This unit was originally built in 1949 for the Chicago and North Western Railway as part of a group of 3-unit locomotives (identified with A,B,C suffices) and 2-unit locomotives (identified with A,C suffices) numbered in the 4067-4102 series. In 1972 it was rebuilt and numbered 419 as a single locomotive, then renumbered to 401 in 1982 as an "Executive F7" for hauling business and other special trains, with a Cummins V12 diesel for head-end power. It passed to the Union Pacific at the 1995 merger, only to join the Union Pacific's heritage fleet a year later, It formed part of the eastbound Heritage Donation Special in November, 2022 as far as Omaha. Delivery to the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad was completed in April 2023.

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751

This locomotive was built in 1956, and delivered to the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad in 1957, as one of a batch of GP9M road switchers that used parts from traded-in FT and F2 cab units. Since it was only rated at 1500hp, it was often considered to be a GP7, although by the time it was built EMD production had moved to the 1750hp GP9. Its first road number was 603, which it retained on the Chicago North Western when that railroad absorbed the M&StL.

In 1972, the locomotive was rebuilt at Oelwein Shops as a 1750hp GP9R, emerging with the new road number of 4304. This number was retained when the unit passed to the newly formed Fox River Valley Railroad in 1988, and then its Wisconsin Central successor. The locomotive received its current number of 751 after it had moved to the Wiconsin & Southern. From there it passed to Midwest Locomotive Leasing (MWLX), working elevators in Dows, Iowa and Concordia, Kansas. It was traded to the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad in February, 2020.

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6540

Built by General Motors' London, Ontario factory in 1958, this cab unit started life as Canadian National GPA-17e class 6540. Maintaining this number, it passed to VIA, and was re-engined in 1983. It was retired from the VIA roster in 1991. After receiving some attention at Independent Locomotive Service in Bethel, Minnesota in 1993, it was loaned by a private owner to the Northeast Kansas Railroad Museum in Atchison, Kansas. The Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad acquired it in late 2002, and repainted it into a Chicago North Western-inspired livery to match the "Overland Route" cars of the Dinner Train, although keeping the same number. (On the CNW, this number belonged to an SD45, while the CNW's own FP9s were numbered 4051A-4A.) The locomotive has a 24-L brake stand, as originally equipped. It has retained its train heating boiler, out of use.

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2921

Union Pacific 2921 started life in June, 1979 as Southern Pacific 8385. It is one of a batch of 239 SD40T-2 "tunnel motors" purchased by that railroad for service in the Sierras. The low-level radiator air intakes were designed to avoid ingesting the overheated air that collected in the top of tunnels and snowsheds. The unit's extended nose, covering what would otherwise be the characteristic "front porch" of the SD-40, housed special radio control equipment. The unit rides on HT-C high traction trucks, and features other Dash 2 improvements such as a modular electronic control system. It passed to the UP following that road's takeover of the SP in 1999, acquiring the number 4476. In 2001 it was renumbered to 2921 (as SD70M 4476 was delivered). Becoming surplus to requirements in 2008, it was transferred to the BSV in March, 2010, but then sent to Midwest Locomotive Leasing (MWLX) in January, 2020.

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Charles City & Western 50

This 38-seat, 48-foot, 27-tonne semi-steel combine replaced a 55-foot McKeen windsplitter when the Charles City & Western was electrified (at 1200v DC) in 1915. It is equipped with two K-47A controllers, and four GE217B motors in McGuire-Cummings C20A trucks. Known colloquially as the "lead sled", it was geared down so that it was capable of pulling railroad cars. At the end of 1963, the CCW was sold to the Iowa Terminal Railroad, and the car became Iowa Terminal number 101. It was stored after dieselization of the CCW, until its movement to the BSV for restoration and conversion to 675v DC operation in the nineteen-eighties.

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Chicago South Shore & South Bend 106

Chicago South Shore & South Bend 106 was built in 1926 by the Pullman company as a 60 foot long coach and baggage combine. Some 20 years later, it was lengthened to 78 feet, becoming modernized with air conditioning and picture windows. It was brought to Boone after the CSS&SB introduced new Japanese cars in the 1980s. The electrical equipment received no major alterations or conversion from 1500v DC to 675v DC, since the car's full power and 80mph capabilities were not required for museum service.

Car 106 was the mainstay of the BSV's electric operation until Charles City & Western car 50 was restored. After a long period of occasional service as a trailing car in locomotive-hauled trains, it was returned to operation under its own power in 2017.

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Illinois Central 1506, 1511, 1523, 1538, 1551, 1628

These married pairs of electric multiple units were part of a batch of 130 cars purchased from the St Louis Car Division of General Steel Industries in 1971 and 1972 by the Chicago South Suburban Mass Transit District to operate on the 1500v DC electrified lines of the Illinois Central Railroad (later Illinois Central Gulf, then reverting to the Illinois Central, and finally the Canadian National). These lines went from Randolph Street in Chicago to Park Forest South, Blue Island, and South Chicago. Known as "Highliners," the cars were classified as type MA3A by Chcago's Regional Transit Authority (Metropolitan Rail or "Metra").

Each of the 6 units is 85 feet long and 126 inches wide, with 150 seats (originally 156) at floor level and in galleries. They weigh 62 tonnes. The GE-branded electrical equipment includes 4 traction motors, each rated at 120KW (150hp). Donated by Metra after becoming surplus to requirements, the cars were handed over to the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad in August 2007. At delivery, the pairs were 1506/1523 in Metra colors, and 1538/1551, 1511/1628 in Illinois Central orange, brown and silver. The first two pairs were scrapped during the winter of 2023-4.

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512

This 56-seat, 45-foot, 15-tonne semi-steel car was one of 40 built in 1916 for the then Des Moines City Railway. Their original numbers are believed to have been 325-364. In the nineteen-twenties, the Des Moines City Railway became the Des Moines Railway Company, and the cars were renumbered 500-539. They proved too light for the track conditions, and were soon taken out of service. The body of number 512 survived, and it has been moved into the old Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern car shop for restoration and the fitting of replacement trucks.

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IATR 53

Iowa Terminal 53 was originally built in 1913 by St Louis Car as interurban car 314 for Southern Traction, which merged with Texas Traction in 1917 to form the Texas Electric Railway. As Texas Electric 314, the car was wrecked in 1927. It was rebuilt at the company's Monroe Shops in 1928 as Class A freight motor 801. Following abandonment of the Texas Electric Railway at the end of 1948, the motor was purchased in 1949 by the Charles City & Western, becoming their number 303. It acquired its present identity after the Charles City & Western was sold at the end of 1963 to the Iowa Terminal Railroad. In 2016 the motor was purchased by Wayne Paterson and brought to Boone.

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KCC 702 and 703

These 85-ton (75 metric tons) General Electric Bo+Bo steeplecab locomotives were built for the 750v DC system of the Utah Copper Company in Bingham, Utah, subsequently taken over by the Kennecott Copper Company. They were acquired by the BSV because of their similarity to the Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern's No. 209. Originally, they could obtain power from top pantographs, side pantographs, storage batteries, or (in the case of the 702) from a cable reel under the cab.

KCC 702 was restored to operating condition in the nineteen-eighties, using second-hand forklift truck storage batteries and some parts from KCC 703. The side pantographs were removed.

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KCC 408 and 409

These two units (along with KCC 410) were originally built in 1954 to operate at 750v DC on the Kennecott Chino Mines Division. In 1964, they were converted by Westinghouse to 3000v DC operation, being rebuilt with full width car bodies at the rear, to work the Magna and Arthur car dumpers.

Units 408 and 409 were acquired by the BSV in the 1980s because of a perceived superficial similarity, when in original condition, to the Oregon Electric units that had worked on the Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern (as Nos. 360-2). Unfortunately, the conversion of units 408 and 409 to 3000v DC operation, along with their great weight, rendered them unsuitable for restoration and operation on the BSV. Due to the severe limitations on storage space in the Boone yard, they had to be scrapped a few years after arrival.

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References

  • P. Shuster, E.L. Huddleston and A. Staufer, "C&O Power," Staufer, 1965, p.308.
  • D. Rock Carling, "4-8-0 Tender Locomotives," David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK, 1971.
  • Norman Carlson (ed.), "Iowa Trolleys," Central Electric Railfans' Association, Chicago, IL, 1975.
  • "Train Shed Cyclopedia No. 37," Gregg, Novato, CA, 1975, p.1373.
  • Chris d'Amato, "The Crab Orchard and Egyptian R.R.," in Railfan and Railroad, July 1980, p.26.
  • Peter Clark, "Locomotives in China," Roundhouse Press, Waterloo, N.S.W., 1983.
  • "Steam Passenger Directory," Empire State Railway Museum, Middletown, NY, 1984 onwards.
  • Bob Baker, "North Western Motive Power," 1st Ed., C&NW Historical Society, 1987.
  • J. David Conrad, "The Steam Locomotive Directory of North America," Transportation Trails, Polo, IL, 1988.
  • "JS Class Steam Locomotive Brief Instruction of Structure and Operating Performance," Datong Locomotive Works, Datong, China, 1989?
  • Charles W. McDonald, "Diesel Locomotive Rosters," 3rd Ed., Kalmbach, Waukesha, WI, 1992, pp.192-3.
  • Extra 2200 South 103 (1994) p.19, 104 (1994) p.16.
  • Douglas C. Bailey, "Iowa's Scenic Line," in Railfan and Railroad, May 1995, p.54.
  • Continental Railway Journal 102 (1995), p.186.
  • Earl W. Roberts and David P. Stremes (eds.), "Canadian Trackside Guide® 1995," Bytown Railway Society, Ottawa, ON, 1995, p.1-83.
  • John Norwood, "American Railroads," Heimburger House, Forest Park, IL, 1995, p.160.
  • Andrew D. Young, "Veteran and Vintage Transit," Archway Publishing, St. Louis, MO, 1997, p.40.
  • Earl W. Roberts and David P. Stremes (eds.), "Canadian Trackside Guide® 1998," Bytown Railway Society, Ottawa, ON, 1998, p.3-114.
  • Greg McDonnell, "Field Guide to Modern Diesel Locomotives," Kalmbach, Waukesha, WI, 2002, pp.138-9.
  • Reg Carter, "China's Railways and Motive Power Pre-1949," 2008.
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