Texas & Pacific No. 610 is an I-1a class 2-10-4 "Texas" type steam locomotive built by the Lima Locomotive Works of Lima, OH in June 1927 for the Texas and Pacific Railway. It was used to operate the American Freedom Train throughout Texas in 1976 and then leased to the Southern Railway for their steam excursion program from 1977 to 1981. Today, it is on static display at the Texas State Railroad in Palestine, TX, but likely never to run again due to reported issues in the past.
History[]
610 was designed to haul passenger and freight trains on the T&P. The engine was retired in 1951 and was donated to the Will Rogers Memorial Center, where it sat on static display. In 1976, the locomotive was restored so it used to haul the American Freedom Train for the portion of its tour in Texas. After pulling the American Freedom Train, the locomotive was leased by the Southern Railway in 1977 for use in its steam excursion program. Despite its excursion career, 610 encountered various kinds of troubles from overheated journals to a flown-off crosshead key. Between the 24th and 25 January in 1981, the 610 was tasked of hauling a one-way trip excursion between Birmingham, Alabama and and Memphis, Tennessee. This would be its final excursion run before traveling home to Texas. As of today, the locomotive is now on static display at the Texas State Railroad in Palestine, Texas, but it will likely never operate again anytime soon due to its instability, size, and weight which could potentially be as problematic as before.
Trivia[]
- The 610 only operated by the Southern Railway for four years, before returning it to Texas in 1981.
- The 610 also had the distinction of being the only 2-10-4 'Texas' type locomotive restored for only five years of operation.
- According to Jim Bistline's record collection of the Southern Railway, the 610 pulled off a record of traveling for 17,587 miles and carrying 53,570 passengers in ridership.