The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy No. 4978 is an Class O-1 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotive that was built in 1923 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (Burlington Route or CB&Q). It lasted for a long time in service and is now preserved on static display at the Union Depot Railroad Museum in Mendota, Illinois.
Surviving sister engines[]
While No. 4978 is still on static display at the Union Depot Railroad Museum, 4960 is still operational and is currently owned by the Grand Canyon Railway
Nos 4963 and 5632 were sold to steam locomotive caretaker, Richard Jensen, who moved them to the Chicago and Western Indiana roundhouse for storage. In 1969, both locomotives were moved to a Chicago scrapyard, where No. 5632 was scrapped, after derailing on a switch. After Richard Jensen died in 1991, No. 4963, which was still in dead storage at a Chicago scrapyard, was acquired by the Illinois Railway Museum, who moved it to their property in Union, Illinois for static display. No. 4963 still resides there today.
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy No. 4994 is the youngest survivor of the CB&Q 2-8-2s. It was retired in 1960 and sat idle, until 1964. That year, it was acquired by the Texas Tech University, who put it on display on their property in Lubbock, Texas. Since then, it has been renumbered to 401, in order to represent the CB&Q's E-4 locomotives that operated on the Fort Worth and Denver Railway.
Fort Worth and Denver No. 410 is the oldest survivor of the CB&Q 2-8-2, and it is the sole survivor of any E-4. It was within ten such locomotives built for the subsidiary in 1915, and it was used for freight service, until 1958. The locomotive was purchased by the Texas and Pacific Railway, while being renumbered to 400. It remained as a backup in flood protection service. When it was retired in 1963, it was donated to City Park in Marshall, Texas, where it remained on static display for decades. In 2007, the locomotive was moved inside a steel shed, as the park grew concerns over asbestos. In 2008, the locomotive was sold off and moved to a nearby station, where it received a cosmetic restoration and is now on static display just behind Union Pacific caboose No. 25687.