Pere Marquette No. 1225 returns to service after wheel and running gear rebuild

OWOSSO, Mich. — Pere Marquette steam locomotive No. 1225 completed a series of test runs and break-in trips in late October and early November, marking the locomotive’s first return to service since December 2021. The Berkshire-type 2-8-4 underwent a multiyear rebuild of the drivers and running gear in a partnership with Owosso’s Steam Railroading Institute (SRI) and FMW Solutions – the locomotive’s owner and railroading contract firm, respectively [See “Pere Marquette No. 1225 to undergo…” News Wire, Feb. 10, 2022].

Contractors along with SRI staff and volunteers reprofiled the locomotive’s 69-inch drivers at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, Tenn. It was the most extensive running gear work on the locomotive since the late 1940s. They also closely refurbished and adjusted critical appliances for testing.

“No. 1225 received new crown brasses on four of its [axle driver] boxes, and the other four were machined out and babbitted which is a Southern Pacific practice of a force-feed system,” said Justin Hamilton, SRI’s Master Mechanic of Motive Power. “New shoes and wedges were machined to dimensions that FMW’s engineering team derived from a 3D scan of the frame that’ll keep all the axles parallel to each other, evenly spaced out, and perpendicular to the frame and direction of the piston thrust.”

No. 1225 operated light engine service Oct. 25-31 around the Great Lakes Central Railroad’s yard limits in downtown Owosso. On Nov. 3, the locomotive pointed its new dual-beam headlight 25.6 miles north to Ashley, Mich. (Destination for SRI’s North Pole Express excursions), with a caboose, two coaches, and GP40-2WH diesel No. 57 in tow. New features added during the rebuild were also tested, including a digital thermocouple, temperature sensor and alarm systems for the crew to monitor the brass and bearing boxes; and a second Nathan Mechanical Lubricator for the force-feed crown brass lubrication system, acquired from Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 757 of the Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum in Bellevue, Ohio.

Hamilton and SRI plan to have a couple of “dress rehearsal” runs of the full consist prior to the first day of the North Pole Express excursion service. However, the culmination of nearly two years of work has begun to yield exceptional results. “The whole point of testing is if something’s going to fail, we need to find it,” Hamilton says. “Nothing ran warm, and we were seeing the normal characteristics of bearing wear without excessive temperatures.

“We didn’t waste any time when we got out of the yard to go to Ashley, got up to track speed, and started putting a load on it [with dynamic braking from No. 57] almost immediately. FMW noted that under its own power, No. 1225 moves with significantly less thrust, as it used to take 150 lbs. in the steam chest to move from a dead stop with grease cake lubrications under it. Now, with the new force-feed system, it takes less than ten. The locomotive glides smooth, smoother than the couple of diesel excursions that I’ve run.”

With the running gear rebuild complete, SRI has shifted its focus to final preparations for the organization’s popular North Pole Express that starts Nov. 18. While bookings in the former Pennsylvania Railroad Frank Thomson observation car recently became available, tickets have been sold out since late July. Routine maintenance and cosmetic touchups are currently being performed on No. 1225. The holiday trips will enable Hamilton and team to continue making adjustments on the running gear before fully settling into the 2024 excursion season.

The new year will also mark five more years of service for No. 1225 before it undergoes the federally mandated 1,472-day boiler inspection. It’s territory Hamilton is well familiar with, having started out as a contractor for SRI prior to the locomotive’s 2010-2013 recertification. Since returning to the institute early this year, he’s looking at the next five years of preparation while keeping in mind the juggling act of restoring the other steam resident, Chicago & North Western 4-6-0 No. 175 [See “Steam Railroading Institute launches campaign…” News Wire Aug 2, 2022]. “We’re going to start tackling the appliances one by one while No. 1225 is still in service,” Hamilton explained. “The boiler and firebox [which was replaced in 2013] is in great condition.

“My goal by the time we get to the 1,472-day inspection in 2028 is to have a locomotive essentially brand new that’ll mostly need to be retubed and the superheaters receiving attention.”