Here's a holiday challenge. In light of the extensive discussion surrounding GG1 4876, how about a listing of locomotives in preservation, parks included, which were involved in disastrous wrecks, crashes, fires, etc., but were rebuilt and returned to service, and eventually found their way to preservation?

I nominate Union Pacific's Big Boy #4005, at the Forney Museum. Overturned and thrown about under a freight during the 1950's. Rebuilt and ran for years afterward. Still bears a long dent down her tender.

Any others out there?

Hey, what about N&W 611? She rolled into the Tug River once due to excessive speed on a curve; supposedly there is a scar on the boiler and a dent in the sandbox under the jacketing. There has been a photo published of the wreck, and high-level photos in the years afterward show that she did not get the sheet metal "roof" of her skyline casing replaced while she was still in service.

Mikado number 19 on the Sumpter Valley went through a roundhouse fire shortly after delivery and while in service in Alaska she rolled on her back into a lake. Broke the engineers side of the valve gear up pretty well and cracked the frame. We've never had any problems stemming from these damages or repairs though.

Taylor

I remember reading that ONE of the Duluth & North Eastern's own 2-8-0's was involved in a roundhouse fire, and also was in a wreck. The two engines were numbers 14 and 16 and the 14 has been restored to service out in California. The 16 is preserved in a Cloquet, Minnesota park.

Les

I think Greenfield Village's operational 0-6-4T Mason bogie (Torch Lake) was involved in a roundhouse fire in the early 1900's.

The mikado at the RR Museum of PA had a boiler explosion.

Joshua

Speaking of boiler explosions, I believe that one of the Preston Railroad 2-8-0's, either number 18 (built 1904) or number 19 (built 1906) had a boiler explosion when working for their original owner, the West Virginia Northern. Baldwin supplied a new boiler for that engine, although I am not sure of the year. The West Virginia Railroad Museum has started a restoration of WVN #9 (Preston 19) while WVN # 8 (Preston 18) will apparantly be evaluated at some later date.

Les

Hopefully, Jerry Jacobsen's boys will rebuild CPR 1278.
But that was damaged in preservation. Doesn't count!

The original Burlington Zephyr, preserved in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, which was nearly destroyed on October 2, 1939 at Napier, MO when it was diverted onto a wrong track resulting in a collision with a standing steam locomotive. It was rebuilt using a replacement duplicate of the front half of the #1 car that was constructed by Budd and shipped to the railroad.

PC

VRR #40 was rolled over on the Aberdeen & Rockfish during WW2 (1943?) and was rebuilt by Seaboard's shops; when 40 came to Essex, the compressor had SAL repair tags from that rebuild.

Howard P.

Our #90 was rolled over onto her fireman’s side twice while on the Great Western, resulting in the death of the fireman both times.

In her early years at Strasburg she had a pretty good lope, and when the valve gear was set for the first time at Strasburg, it was found that the left side was in better time than the right, probably due to its having been set reset after the rollover while the right was not.

Today, evidence of her traumatic past can be seen in the rather homemade appearance of her cab,probably built in the Burlington shops in Denver, pretty rough and ready compared to a Baldwin factory cab.

CNR 4-6-0 #1112, at RMEO in Smiths Falls, Ontario, apparently derailed in a tunnel while serving on the Quebec North Shore & Labrador.

She still shows a couple of scars: a replacement cylinder head cover fabricated by QNS&L and a minor scar on side of the firebox, where the rear driver flange rubbed against it, on the fireman's side. I believe there's still a minor crease in the tender as well.

The locomotive steamed after the incident, and recent ultrasound and hydro testing have revealed no serious problems resulting from the rub mark on the firebox.

http://public.fotki.com/elliottd/sfrmeo ... album--12/

Steve Hunter

Our GP30 N&W 522 was involved in a sideswipe at some time, it still bears some scars below the running board and on the fuel tank. N&W E2a 578 was in a head on collision with a K1 class 4-8-2 during WWI.

Steamtown's CPR #2317 has found her self wheels-up, and apparently still has scars.

Not a locomotive, but an entire train. Illinois Railway Museum's Nebraska Zephyr was involved in a nasty wreck in Downers Grove Illinois when it struck a Caterpillar tractor that had fallen off a freight train. The train derailed and took out the depot.

http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/498R/zephyr/accident.html