Design of fellow CB&Q O-1A No. 4994 in 1923 Throughout the 1910s, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy (CB&Q) Railroad ordered a fleet of "Mikado" locomotives from the Baldwin Locomotive Works of
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, for use in general freight service. The first sixty 2-8-2s of the CB&Q (Nos. 5000-5059) were designated as the O-1 class. The first eighty-eight O-1As (Nos. 5060-5147) were built between 1917 and 1922, and sixty locomotives (Nos. 4940-4999) were built in 1923. No. 4960 was reassigned to work in the Beardstown Division—the final division on the CB&Q where almost all locomotives assigned were steam-powered. On the Beardstown Division, No. 4960 served as a mine switcher to pull
hopper cars loaded with
Southern Illinois coal out of
Herrin Junction, Illinois, and it pulled coal extras between Herrin Junction,
Beardstown, and
Centralia.
First excursion service Beginning in 1955, the CB&Q hosted a series of
excursion fantrips hosted by
railfan clubs, including the Illinois Railroad Club, and they kicked off
the CB&Q's new steam excursion program. In December 1958, No. 4960 moved from Herrin Junction to
Chicago, in preparation to pull its first fantrip. While the majority of the excursions in the 1950s were hauled by over twenty different steam locomotives, the excursions after 1960 would be exclusively hauled by No. 4960 and 4-8-4 "Northern" No. 5632. Having hauled over 45,000 students in their trains by the end of 1962, the CB&Q continued the
Steam Choo-Choo runs into 1963, when the railroad hauled over 75,000 students. On October 18, 1963, No. 4960 pulled a deadhead equipment train to Casper, Wyoming, in preparation to attend a special event, but en route, the locomotive smacked into the rear car of a passenger train in
Douglas. The locomotive received only superficial damage upon impact, and the Casper shop crew quickly replaced the damaged headlight bracket on the smokebox door with a makeshift platform. , in August 1965|left In 1964, the CB&Q discontinued the
Steam Choo-Choo runs, and Nos. 4960 and 5632 were relegated to running on limited dates. On July 1 that same year, the locomotive was selected to pull the first annual
Schlitz Circus World Museum (CWM) train on the
Chicago and North Western (C&NW) mainline between Baraboo and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Also on July 1, Harry Murphy retired from his position as president of the CB&Q, and he was succeeded by
Louis W. Menk.
Second excursion service Following the end of the program, the CB&Q donated No. 4960 to the
State Historical Society of Wisconsin (SHSW), the owner of the CWM in Baraboo, and the society was required to agree to keep No. 4960 in its CB&Q livery. The following day, No. 4960 was fired up and moved within the museum's yard; it was the only time No. 4960 ever ran at the MCRY. In October 1970, the SHSW donated No. 4960 to Mid-Continent, and the museum agreed to keep the locomotive in its CB&Q appearance. The museum was unable to use the locomotive on their light-weight trackage, due to its heavy weight, so for a number of years, No. 4960 sat idle in the MCRY's yard. In November 1980, Harold Keene entered negotiations with the MCRY about leasing No. 4960 for the Virginia-based operation. In January 1981, No. 4960 was moved out of North Freedom and shipped on the C&NW and
Conrail, bound for
Jackson, Ohio. Along the route, the locomotive had to climb a steep 3%-grade from Bristol to Haskell. Concerned about No. 4960's prolonged inactivity, one B&NW volunteer, Robert Franzen, convinced Keene to allow him and other volunteers to repair and operate No. 4960 on the B&NW for some weekends in the fall of 1984. Concurrently, a non-profit group from the
Quad Cities area, S&W Tourist Enterprises, expressed interest in leasing and operating No. 4960 for a higher price, and so the MCRY terminated the B&NW's lease. In March 1985, No. 4960 moved to the B&NW-
Norfolk Southern (NS) interchange in Bristol, and then it was towed westbound to
New Haven, Indiana. In New Haven, the locomotive was moved to a shop within Casad Industrial Park, where Gary Bensman based his Diversified Rail Services contracting firm, allowing him to simultaneously work on both No. 4960 and the nearby
Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society's (FWRHS) locomotive,
Nickel Plate Road 765. GCR's goal was to utilize steam locomotives for their operations, and after multiple options were mulled, including a group of American-built
China Railways KD7s, the railway acquired four Ex-Lake Superior and Ishpeming (LS&I) 2-8-0 "Consolidations" (
Nos. 18, 19, 20, and 29) in July 1989. Gary Bensman, who was hired as GCR's Chief Mechanical Officer (CMO) during the company's first year, remembered No. 4960 and informed Max Biegert that it was also available and suitable for GCR's requirements. As a last resort, Franzen and his crew opted to cut the boiler from the frame to ship No. 4960 in separate pieces via
flatcars to Williams, and the original smokebox was consequently damaged beyond salvaging. The boiler also received mechanical upgrades No. 4960 did not previously have, including the addition of eight transverse arch tubes inside the firebox, and a slightly smaller custom-made smokebox. The shopforces also opted to replace the locomotive's original CB&Q tender, since it was in poor condition, and its small capacity was deemed unsuitable for a full round trip on the GCR. After looking into a half-dozen options, including one formerly from
Cotton Belt 4-8-4 No. 814, The new tender boosted No. 4960's water capacity from to , and with the locomotive being converted to burn
heavy oil, and later
diesel fuel, its fuel capacity was changed to of oil. At a cost of $1.6 million, the major rebuild on No. 4960 took thirty-months over a three-year period to complete. The project was temporarily slowed in 1995, when GCR focused on expanding their operations to an all-year schedule, with
MLW FPA-4 diesels being placed into service and a hotel being constructed next to the Williams Depot, but work on No. 4960 resumed by the end of the year. In May 1996, No. 4960 was test-fired outside the shop, and two months later, on July 9, the locomotive emerged from the shop and performed its first test run. On July 27, No. 4960 pulled its first regular train for GCR between Williams and the Grand Canyon Village, and it led every subsequent GCR train by the end of September. In August 2002, No. 4960 took part in that year's NRHS Convention on GCR, with the O-1A performing a photo doubleheader with visiting locomotive
Santa Fe 3751 and a tripleheader with No. 18. In 2005, No. 4960's smokebox, along with No. 29's, were modified with a
Lempor Exhaust System to improve the locomotives' draft. In 2007, No. 4960 received a Worthington SA type
feedwater heater built and designed for a
China Railways QJ Class 2-10-2. In early September 2008, Xanterra announced that GCR would discontinue all steam operations, since they had an ongoing commitment to minimize
environmental pollution. Following some backlash by railfans over the decision, GCR workforces decided to improve No. 4960's economic and environmental efficiency by converting it from burning diesel oil to burning recycled waste vegetable oil (WVO) outsourced from restaurants. The locomotive would be given the nickname
the French Fry Express for the conversion, but according to GCR staff, as well as
Trains Magazine editor Jim Wrinn, no food scents would be generated from the locomotive. GCR also began to outsource No. 4960's water supply from a
rainwater collection system installed near the railway's shops. From that point onward, GCR resumed steam operations for limited occasions to save operating costs. In September 2011, No. 4960 was removed from service to undergo a 15-year boiler inspection, as mandated by the FRA. The disassembly and inspection process lasted four months, with the O-1A's boiler passing the inspection with minimal required maintenance. On February 14, 2012, during the centennial of Arizona's statehood, No. 4960 lead the Arizona Centennial train on GCR, with 1,100 passengers on board the train that day. On May 16, No. 4960 performed another doubleheader run with Santa Fe 3751, when the latter visited GCR as part of a six-day mainline excursion. By 2013, GCR set up a schedule for No. 4960 to operate on the first Saturday of the month from March to September. The locomotive would also be set to operate twice in April for Earth Day. On September 26, 2015, No. 4960 took part in a
Man vs. Machine race, where it raced for against 260 bike riders from
Tusayan to Williams. On April 23, 2022, following the passing of
Trains editor Jim Wrinn, No. 4960's tender was painted with the message "Steam on, Jim Wrinn", with the locomotive pulling an Earth Day excursion in Wrinn's honor. On May 4, 2024, No. 4960 was temporarily outfitted with
Southern Pacific 982's 5-chime whistle while pulling an excursion that would benefit No. 982's restoration. == See also ==