C. P. Huntington was originally purchased by
Central Pacific Railroad (CP) in 1863 as that railroad's number 3, along with its sister engine
T. D. Judah (CP no. 4). It was CP's third locomotive after
Gov. Stanford (number 1, built by
Norris Locomotive Works) and
Pacific (number 2, built by
Mason Machine Works). The locomotive is named in honor of
Collis P. Huntington, the third president of the
Southern Pacific Company (parent company of Southern Pacific Railroad). CP used the locomotive beginning on April 15, 1864, during construction of the western portion of the
First transcontinental railroad in
North America. Southern Pacific (SP) purchased
C. P. Huntington from CP on February 5, 1871, gave it their number 1, and used it in light service in northern California. It was rebuilt twice, first in 1873 with new valves and again in 1888 with a new
boiler built by CP's Sacramento shops. In 1888 the locomotive was also put on public display for the first time in Sacramento. In SP's 1891 renumbering plan,
C. P. Huntington was assigned
road number 1001. The locomotive was placed in storage for some time until it was rebuilt for use as a lineside weed burner in 1901. Its use as a weed burner proved unsatisfactory and the locomotive was again removed from active service. In 1910,
C. P. Huntington was again rebuilt and it was then kept at SP's machine shops where it remained for a few years. The locomotive was nearly scrapped in 1914; it was spared this fate by SP management so that it could be displayed at the
Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915 after a
cosmetic restoration. On May 3, 1939,
C. P. Huntington participated in the grand opening ceremonies for the
Los Angeles Union Station. Operating under her own steam, the
Huntington was paraded past large, cheering crowds to the newly completed passenger terminal, along with several other engines, including the famous
4-4-0,
Virginia & Truckee 22, the Inyo (still painted in
Union Pacific livery, from the filming of
Cecil B. DeMille's 1939 movie of the same name, which premiered two days later), and
Southern Pacific 4120, a massive
AC-5 class 4-8-8-2 cab forward. The moment was captured on film by
Disney animator and lifelong train enthusiast,
Ward Kimball, and may be some of the only known footage of the engine under steam. Southern Pacific donated the engine to the State of California in 1964. The locomotive was placed on display at the old state fairgrounds on Stockton Boulevard, in Sacramento, where it remained until a 1970 refurbishing at Southern Pacific's Sacramento Shops, when it was placed in the
Central Pacific Railroad Passenger Station in Old Sacramento in 1979. In 1981 it was moved into the newly opened
California State Railroad Museum, where it now remains on static display. ==Working replicas==