WILLIAMS, Ariz. — Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel’s 2-8-2 No. 4960 returned to service after a month-and-a-half absence to lead the “First Saturday” steam excursion from Williams to the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park on Aug. 5. The scheduled July 1 trip was canceled due to high fire danger in the area, according to Eric Hadder, chief mechanical officer of the Grand Canyon Railway.
“We had planned on doing a boiler wash in July because we were planning on reaching our 31-service day limit before the end of the year,” he said. “However, with the July cancellation, we should not exceed 31 days, and we can save the boiler wash for the annual inspection this winter.”
Hadder reports No. 4960 performed great on Saturday as it pulled 14 cars in addition to F40 diesel No. 4128 as a helper. This was the first of three consecutive Saturdays of operation — Aug. 5, 12, and 19 — to celebrate the locomotive’s 100th birthday this month. “The maintenance will be the same, just accelerated because of the limited time between runs.”
The 2-8-2 was built in 1923 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. In the late 1950s, No. 4960 was selected to pull fan-trip trains on the railroad until the end of the steam excursion program in 1966. Purchased by Grand Canyon Railway in 1989, the locomotive has been in active service since 1996 after undergoing an extensive rebuild and being converted to burn oil. It currently burns waste vegetable oil since 2009.
According to the railway website, the official birthday celebration will take place Aug. 12 with the regular round trip to the south rim. The itinerary will include an official proclamation by Williams mayor Don Dent prior to departure, No. 4960 displayed right next to the Grand Canyon Depot during the layover with cab tours, complimentary homemade fudge for passengers, and a performance of pipes and drums to welcome the train back into Williams. Hadder adds that the railway’s former Southern Pacific, Pullman-built Harriman coaches will increase to more than normally one car on the trip as the historic fleet will turn 100 as well: “Passengers can get more of a steam experience by riding in an open-window car from 100 years ago.”
For more information, visit the Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel website.
One hundred years old and still running strong on the tracks! An exemplary engine is this very dear 2-8-2 No. 4960!
Dr. Güntürk Üstün