ESSEX, Conn. — The Essex Steam Train & Riverboat, a heritage railroad operated by the Valley Railroad Co. on a former New Haven rail line, has purchased Frisco 2-8-2 No. 1352 from the American Steam Railroad Preservation Association, the group restoring Reading Co. T-1 4-8-4 No. 2100.
The locomotive was built by Alco in 1912 as a 2-8-0 and later converted to a 2-8-2. Upon retirement, it was displayed in a park in Kansas City, Mo., until park officials wanted the engine removed because of its deterioration and vandalism. Donated to the Smoky Hill Railway & Historical Society, subsequent ownership changes have seen it end up in storage, partially disassembled, in Taylorville, Ill. American Steam Railroad Preservation had owned the locomotive since 2008.
Essex Steam Train says in a Facebook post that the locomotive “will be coming to Essex soon.” In that same post, ASR President Rob Gardner says the transaction means No. 1352 “will be restored to operational condition much sooner than we could have hoped to accomplish,” and that the funds from the sale will go toward ASR’s restoration of No. 2100, which the group plans to present in an American Freedom Train paint scheme [see “Reading T-1 No. 2100 will debut …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 1, 2023]. Gardner also thanked Genesee & Wyoming and the Illinois Midland Railroad “for allowing the 1352 to be stored on their property for all of these years.”
More information on the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat is available at its website.
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