The BJWRR No. 5 is a 18 inch Gauge tender 4-6-2 steam locomotive.
History[]
BJWRR No.5 works on the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad as their newest locomotive. The locomotive was ordered by the railroad in 2007; prior to this, the plan was to restore Eastlake Park Scenic Railway No. 3, a 2-6-0, but it was determined that the locomotive was too small to handle the railroad's trains, which usually run with a minimum of three cars and a maximum of five (later six in 2016), so #3 was given to volunteer Ken Middlebrook, who plans to restore the locomotive and regauge it to 15 inches due to 18 inch gauge railroads being rare.
The existence of No. 5 wasn't made public until it arrived in May 2013; before then, the BJWRR had held a series of fundraisers for No. 5, but covered up their intentions by saying proceeds would go to the restoration of No. 3. When No. 5 arrived, local news outlets such as the San Jose Mercury News initially reported that No. 5 would be replacing the railroad's older steam locomotive, No. 2, but after an inquiry was made on the railroad's Facebook page by a concerned enthusiast, said outlets published corrections. No. 5 debuted to the public on Billy Jones Day in July 2013, after two months of testing on Tuesdays by volunteers.
No. 5 is a near 1:1 replica of the Whiskey River Railroad's No. 1919, as the Merrick Light Railway Works built both locomotives (Merrick also built BJWRR No. 3502, a diesel locomotive left unfinished by Custom Locomotive Works when it went out of business); both No. 5 and No. 1919 have the same appearance, same bell, and until 2022, same whistle; the main difference is that No. 1919 runs on 16 inch gauge track.