The ATSF No. 3463 is a 4-6-4 "Hudson" Type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works on October 30, 1937 for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. When it was built for the railroad, it went through a similar set of testing and trials as locomotive 3461, which had been received earlier that month.
It was assigned to the Chicago-Kansas City passenger service in November 1937.
By the end of January 1938, the locomotive and its fellow locomotives were assigned to the aforementioned Chicago-LaJunta pool, and was often responsible for hauling Trains 7-8, the Fast Mail Express.
The locomotive's assignment lasted through WWII until dieselization of Trains 7-8 in late 1946. Locomotive 3463 was still assigned to service on the Illinois Division, though it was transferred to the Chicago – Newton, Kansas, passenger pool in 1947. By April of that year, locomotive 3463 was transferred to the Eastern Division, which stretched from Oklahoma City to Kansas City via Newton.
The last regular passenger service locomotive 3463 was assigned to was ATSF Trains 27-28, the Antelope, which operated between Kansas City and Oklahoma City. This route was dieselized on March 18, 1953, causing 3463 to be bumped from regular passenger service.
In the mid-1950s, it was donated to the City of Topeka, Kansas, who placed it on static display on the grounds to the Southeast of the Kansas Expocentre. There it remained, cold, silent and careworn, having seen decades of neglect and vandalism, as well as exposure to the elements. A group known as the "Coalition for Sustainable Rail", however, has plans to take the locomotive out of its plinth, restore it to full working order and to run it on the main line.
Trivia[]
- 3463 is one of two surviving Santa Fe "Hudson" types. The only other survivor is 3450.
Gallery[]
