| Cotton Belt No. 819 | |||||||||||||
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| St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt) No. 819 At Arkansas Railroad Museum | |||||||||||||
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Cotton Belt -819 to St. Louis (1990)
Cotton Belt No. 819 is a custom-built L1 class 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive built by the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (Cotton Belt) themselves in 1943 at their Pine Bluff Shops in Pine Bluff, AR, but the boiler was supplied by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, PA. It was the last of a class of 20 locomotives to be built and the only locomotive of its kind to survive in preservation. It was retired from regular revenue service in 1953 and immediately donated to the city of Pine Bluff, AR. It was later restored to operating condition in 1986 where it operated in mainline excursion service until being retired again in October 1993. As of today, it is currently at the Arkansas Railroad Museum in Pine Bluff, AR undergoing a very slow second restoration back to operating condition. The restoration was soon changed to a cosmetic only restoration until the museum can get some more volunteers to aid in the operational restoration.
History[]
The St. Louis Southwestern Railroad had previously purchased ten 4-8-4 type Northerns from Baldwin in 1930. By the time WWII came around, the railroad was in need of more engines and submitted orders for new FT units. Due to war regulations, the railroad was granted instead for the building of ten more 4-8-4s.
The new batch of engines were built at the railroad's own shops in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. These new engines were similar to their pre-war counterparts except they boasted several modern improvements. Number 819 was the last engine built of the last ten and was also the last steam engine built in the state of Arkansas.
The engine enjoyed a ten and a half year career before bowing out to the newer diesels. The president of the Cotton Belt donated the retired engine to the city of Pine Bluff in 1955 as a monument to the city's effort in building the engines.
Until 1983 the engine was left in the elements slowly rusting. Vandals took whatever they could and the engine looked like a shell of its former self. A group of volunteers took it upon themselves to save the dying engine. The group hauled the train from its display back to the shop in which it was built and began restoration work.
In 1986, the engine moved for the first time under its own power since 1953. She attracted large crowds during the first days of operation. For the next seven years the engine did numerous excursions in the mid-west. In 1990, she joined three notable steam engines in St. Louis for that year's NRHS convention, despite her late arrival in the process of the photo session. Her last excursion occurred when she traveled to Tyler, Texas in October 1993.
As of today, the engine sits partially disassembled in the Pine Bluff shops. Several factors have slowed the progress for the return of the engine to service including rise in price of materials and insurance. The restoration was eventually changed to a cosmetic only restoration until the museum can get some more volunteers to aid in the operational restoration.
Trivia[]
- 819 made a photo cameo in the 1986 film, "End of the Line".