No. 154 at the Henry Ford Museum.
Bessemer & Lake Erie RR No. 154 is a class C3b 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive built by Baldwin in 1909 for the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad.
History[]
Four "Consolidation" type locomotives were built for the Bessemer & Lake Erie by the Pittsburgh Locomotive Works in 1900, and #154 was one of six more acquired in 1909 from Baldwin.
No. 154 spent its forty-four year operating life on the Bessemer & Lake Erie before retiring in 1953 and being held for potential donation to a museum.
It waited a long time, however, as it was not until 1984 that it was donated to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL, where it was displayed for five years. By then, it was offered another new home: this time it was the Henry Ford Museum. As part of the offer, it was traded for Detroit, Toledo & Ironton #16 in exchange for No. 154, and now it can enjoy a further lease of life as a proper museum piece - cold and silent, but kept indoors and in good cosmetic condition.
Today, No. 154 is now a static display at the Henry Ford Museum.