Locomotives

Center for Transportation and Commerce #1983.

This General Electric 80-tonner was built in 1958. The museum uses it to switch the railyard, as well as pull the caboose for weekly caboose rides on Saturday.

Union Pacific Engine #410

This Fairbanks-Morse H20-44 was built in 1954, and was the last engine of its type built. It was donated to the museum by the Portland Cement Company in 1984. The museum painted the engine in Union Pacific colors to commemorate UP’s important role in Galveston’s history.

Center for Transportation and Commerce #555

Built in 1922 by the American Locomotive Company (Alco) in Dunkirk New York, the CTCR #555 is an oil-fired Consolidation. Weighing in at 96 tons, she has a 54.5 Square foot fire grate and operates at 190 pounds of steam pressure. The combined engine and tender are 66′ 4″ long, 11 feet across the cab, and stands at a height of 14′ 8″ from the top of the cab to the top of the rail.

This powerful girl has two pilot wheels in front, 8 driving wheels and no trailing wheels.  A  freight dragging engine, she has lots of power but not much speed. Slow and powerful, her boiler  is mounted very high relative to the frame, and wheels showing daylight between the frame and boiler to allow for the very large firebox, making her one hot mama!. 

The face of the #555 has the headlight mounted on the front of the smokebox and on top are the smokestack, sand dome, bell, steam dome, and generator which is right in front of the cab. Mounted on the right side of the boiler is the power reverse which is steam operated.  The compressor is on the left side of the boiler.  

The tender behind 555 has a cylindrical water tank that holds 7,000 gallons of water and 3,500 gallons of fuel. Designed by Cornelius Vanderbilt, the shape of the tender sets her apart from the common boxy cars.  

For most of her life, the 555 operated for the Magma Arizona Railroad in Magma, Arizona, as engine #5.  She pulled ore cars from the copper mines at Superior, Arizona, to Magma Junction, where they interchanged with Southern Pacific, and carried mine supplies back to Superior.  She was one of the last steam locomotives in revenue service in the United States, and was not replaced by diesels until September 3, 1968, when she made the last steam run for Magma. 

Waco, Beaumont, Trinity, & Sabine Railway #1

This 2-6-2 Prarie Class Locomotive was built in 1920 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The engine was acquired by the Waco, Beaumont, Trinity and Sabine Railway in 1949, and was donated to the museum in 1981. During its’ rail service, it was affectionately known as the “Wobbley, Bobbley, Turnover and Stop”, due to the line’s frequent issues. The locomotive is now named Mary and Elizabeth Too, after Mary Moody Northen, who was instrumental in founding the Galveston Railroad Museum. Mrs. Northen was known to say that her name was “Mary … and Elizabeth too” which led to the spelling of the engine’s name.

Southern Pacific #314

This 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler class locomotive was built by Cooke Locomotive Works in 1892, making it the museum’s oldest locomotive as well as the oldest surviving Ten Wheeler in Texas. This type of locomotive was commonly used as a passenger carrier to early 20th century Galveston.

Oregon, Pacific, and Eastern Engine #112

This locomotive was built by Lima Locomotive Works in 1923 and is a Class B Shay locomotive. Shays were famous for using a geared drive train as opposed to the piston and driving arm found on most steam locomotives. This gave them a low top speed but excellent torque, making them popular on logging railways.