Revenue service No. 3415 was built by the
Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) in
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, in June 1919 as the sixteenth member of the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's (ALCO) fifty 3400 class locomotives. The 3400 class was designed by John Purcell, and this was also the last class of 4-6-2s bought by the Santa Fe. The class was similar to the
United States Railroad Administration's
Heavy Pacifics in its tube and flue counts, but it was also fitted with a grate area similar in size to the USRA's
Light Pacifics, and it was delivered with
driving wheels close in size to the latter. The first forty locomotives initially burned coal, but were later converted to burn oil while being rebuilt between 1936 and 1947. The 3400 class locomotives were initially assigned to pull top-tier heavy
passenger trains at high speeds throughout divisions with moderate grades, and No. 3415, in particular, pulled such trains through the
Kansas City-
La Junta and
Newton-
Galveston divisions. On December 31, 1934, No. 3415 suffered a broken bell ringer valve while in
Carrollton, Missouri, and one crew member was injured. After the Santa Fe invested in adding diesel locomotives to their roster, No. 3415 was reassigned to pull
freight and
mail trains throughout
Kansas,
Missouri, and
Oklahoma, until it was retired on July 29, 1953. The locomotive was moved inside the ASV's locomotive facility, and restoration work was started by
Wasatch Railroad Contractors from
Cheyenne,
Wyoming. However, in February 2023, the FRA unexpectedly informed the ASV that they had one year left to operate No. 3415 before the inspection and rebuild had to take place. The railroad subsequently used the locomotive to pull additional trains for their 2023 operating season, including some trains that were dedicated to the railroad's 30th anniversary in June. No. 3415 made its last run on October 7, 2023, before being taken out of service for its federally mandated 15-year overhaul. The railroad originally planned to have No. 3415 back in steam again for America's
United States Semiquincentennial in 2026. In January 2026, it was announced that No. 3415 will return to service by Labor Day weekend of 2027. == Historical significance ==