The Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. No. 59 was a 23" gauge 0-4-0T steam locomotive built by the HK Porter Co. in Pittsburgh, PA in April 1941 under works number 7299 for use at the J&L South Side Works.
Interplant rail operations at the J&L South Side Works up until the late 1950's included standard and 23" gauge. The narrow gauge primarily served the No. 1 and No. 2 open hearth plants and the Polishing mill facilities. Due to the immense weight of ingot mold trains handled by the narrow gauge, locomotives of increasing size, weight and power were procured from HK Porter.
J&L 59 was one of seven such locomotives (numbered 57-63) built between 1937 and 1945 and are the heaviest (by axle loading) two foot gauge locomotives built for American railroads. With over 16,000 lbs. of tractive effort and a weight in working order of 93,000 lbs., the J&L Porters had the ability to move thousand ton and heavier ingot mold trains on a daily basis.
Of the seven of this type of locomotive originally built for Jones & Laughlin Steel for their 23" gauge railroad at the Pittsburgh Works, only four of them still exist. Six were purchased by Crown Metal Products in the 1970s and moved to Wyano, PA and offered for sale. One was scrapped on site. Two were sold to Canada, one went to Colorado and two more went to Benkart Rigging in Cranberry, PA.
In the 1990s J&L 58 and 59 were sitting at Benkart Rigging in Cranberry, PA. 58 was eventuality purchased in 2014 by the Youngstown Steel Heritage and moved to Youngstown on Dec. 30, 2014. The locomotive returned to operation in 2019 and is the primary attraction of the J&L Narrow Gauge Railway.
J&L 57 and 60, were in Ontario, Canada until being acquired by the Youngstown Steel Heritage Corp in 2021 and are currently undergoing restoration to operating condition.
J&L 62 was privately owned in Colorado for several years but was moved back to Youngstown in August 2023.
Unfortunately it was discovered in the 1990s that 59 had a sizable crack in the right cylinder casting due to ice freezing, prompting the current owner at the time to cut it up to make room in the yard. 59 was disassembled and partially scrapped but thankfully the boiler and a handful of its parts including the side rods and valve gear parts were saved from being completely scrapped. Only the frame, cab and saddle tank were destroyed.
After this the boiler went to Masury, OH before being sold to the Niles Canyon Railway, CA. In 2015, after 58 was purchased by Youngstown, 59's boiler and remaining extant parts were brought back to Youngstown.
Currently what is left of J&L 59 is home at the J&L Narrow Gauge Railway being kept in reserve as a spare boiler capable of being used on any of the three locomotives (57, 58, and 60) in case one is in need of repairs or is out of commission. The possibility of eventually rebuilding 59 has been floated around but there has been no updates on that project moving forward yet.
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