The railroad took delivery of Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway steam rack locomotive No. 4, and placed it on display on an isolated section of display track behind the railroad’s Fred Harvey Restaurant at its Williams terminal. The locomotive will remain on the property for two years, until the complete rebuilding of the M&PP. The Grand Canyon Railway plans on creating an interpretive sign to go with it to explain its origin and significance.
The Manitou & Pikes Peak Railway is owned by the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, which is owned by the Oklahoma Publishing Co, which is owned by Anshutz Group, which also owns Xanterra, the western National Parks concessionaire that is also owner of the Grand Canyon Railway.
The M&PP has been shut down since 2017 for a complete overhaul, which involves changing the track and equipment to a new design rack system. All 9 miles of track are being replaced, much of the equipment is being modified, and several brand new locomotives and cars are being acquired. This project is expected to be completed in 2021; until then, extra rail equipment has had to be relocated and stored off the property to make room for construction.
Grand Canyon Railway has previously displayed other rolling stock from the developing Arizona State Railroad Museum on the hotel property, including track speeders and a Shay geared steam locomotive.
No. 4 was built by Baldwin in 1897 to replace a previous #4 (wrecked), and used until the 1950s when the steam locomotives were replaced with diesel locomotives and railcars. Officially retired in 1968, it went to the Colorado Railroad Museum until 1979 when it was traded back for another rack loco, M&PP No. 1. It has since been retained in operable condition, and was last operated a few years ago with a preserved coach for short distances for demonstration purposes. The 4 can no longer make it to the summit due to the demolition of most water towers on the line. It is unique in that it is the only known operable Vauclain Compound, which means it has 4 sets of cylinders (2 high pressure and 2 low pressure) which attach to one set of drive wheels.
I got to see her run on one of those demo runs, and even ride in the coach. It was an amazing experience I will never forget and I hope they run it for a little after the rebuild.