The Waterloo Central Railway just announced that they have reached an agreement to purchase ex Canadian Pacific Railway steam engine #1238. This “Pacific” type steam locomotive operated on tourist railways in the USA for years, and has been resting in Winnipeg since 2015 at the Prairie Dog Central.
Two steam locomotives – 1238 and 1286 – came to Winnipeg in September 2015 on flatcars. Jeff Keddy shared his photos on my blog here. Visiting railfan Michael Berry and I went to see them at the Prairie Dog Central a year later.
Since then, I admit I haven’t paid much attention to them, not being a steam fan, and also because they were marked as private property. Occasionally I snapped a photo of the pair when I was at the PDC.
I’m not sure who owned them when they were brought to the Prairie Dog for storage. Eventually they passed into the ownership of the Prairie Dog Central. Sister 1286 is remaining at the PDC.
If you want to see 1286 in action, here’s a video when it was operating on the Allegany Central: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP4YehAuD6U
#1238 is a G5c class steam locomotive with a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement (4 small leading wheels, 6 larger driving wheels, and 2 trailing wheels under the boiler). It was built in 1946 at the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW).
The Waterloo Central is attempting to raise $150,000 by Christmas 2023 to acquire and transport this locomotive, and start the long process of restoration.
Please consider making a donation to support this cause. I did.
I am constantly amazed at the ambition of the WCR. I will be visiting Waterloo in weeks and will be sweeping by their yard, to see if there are any antiques worth shooting. They have had some significant hurdles to clear in Waterloo in the railway’s most recent incarnation, including losing trackage to the Ion light rail system, the reemergence of CN as their official landlord on their rails and other strange twists in earlier years. I have so much respect for that operation.