Southern Pacific No. 1 named, "C. P. Huntington" is a 4-2-4 steam locomotive originally built by the Danforth, Cooke & Co. in 1863 for the Central Pacific as No. 3.
Like CP #1, #3 was used to help build the transcontinental railroad as well as haul passenger trains on the Central Pacific Railroad.
Also on display is the Southern Pacific's first locomotive, named for the company's then vice-president. Originally bought by the Central Pacific in 1863 as #3 from Danforth, Cooke & Co., in Patterson, NJ, it was also shipped around Cape Horn arriving in San Francisco on 19 March aboard the Mary Robinson.
In 1871, it was later transferred to the newly organized Southern Pacific Railroad and renumbered #1.
After transferring to the Southern Pacific, #1 operated as a light construction engine between San Jose and Hollister, CA, then in Oakland, before ending its career as a weed burner, clearing track.
Today it's on static display at the California State Railroad Museum.
Trivia[]
- The "C. P. Huntington" is the only surviving example of a 4-2-4 locomotive in the US, the oldest locomotive owned by the museum and features on the museum's logo.
- There are ridable replicas of the locomotive that are seen at amusement parks, zoos, and sometimes farms and museums. With over 400 examples built since the 1960s and continuing to this day, the C.P. Huntington replica locomotives are produced in different variations and drive systems for parks by several different amusement manufacturing companies, with the vast majority of these being built by Chance Rides in Wichita, Kansas.
- From 1894 onwards, #3 increasingly became a symbol of the Southern Pacific, appearing at station openings and exhibitions, including the 1915 San Francisco Panama-Pacific Exposition, the 1934 Chicago World's Fair and the 1969 Sacramento Gold Spike Centennial Celebration.
- Donated to the State of California in 1964, #3 went on display at the old state fairgrounds on Stockton Blvd, Sacramento.
- Then, in 1979, it moved to the museum's Central Pacific Railroad Passenger Station in Old Sacramento.
- It has been restored to how it appeared for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
- This is the Southern Pacific's first locomotive, named for the company's then vice-president.
- The moment was captured on film by Disney animator and lifelong train enthusiast, Ward Kimball, and may be some of the only known footage of the engine under steam.
- The unique design of the C. P. Huntington inspired the appearance of "The Little Engine That Could" in most storybook renderings.