WICHITA, Kan. — The Great Plains Transportation Museum will be offering rides behind a visiting steam locomotive over the next two weekends to raise funds for the restoration of its Santa Fe FP45, part of the railroad’s last order for passenger locomotives.
The rides behind Lehigh Valley Coal Co. No. 126, a 0-6-0T built by Vulcan in 1931 known as “Sadie,” will be offered Oct. 2-3 and Oct. 9-10 as part of the Wichita museum’s Railfest.
“Sadie has been popular when we brought the locomotive to Wichita in the past,” museum President John Deck said in a press release. “It’s a rare opportunity for people to take a step back in time and experience the sensory delights of a coal-fired steam locomotive from a bygone era. These machines helped America grow and prosper, but today there are few opportunities for people to see such a machine in action. It’s a piece of Americana everyone should experience and we’re thrilled to have Sadie here for two consecutive weekends.”
The museum is looking to generate funds for its cosmetic restoration of FP45 No. 93, part of a nine-unit order in 1967 that was the last set of passenger locomotives delivered in the famed red-and-silver Warbonnet paint scheme. “The locomotive was last painted by Santa Fe in 1989, so it’s overdue for fresh paint and some minor body and fender work,” Deck said. “… We have an excellent third-party quote for the required work, so now we need to gather the necessary funds to get the job done. We want to proudly display Santa Fe No. 93 on the railroad overpass above Douglas Avenue as a visually pleasing reminder of the region’s rich railroad heritage.”
BNSF is scheduled to have a current locomotive on display the first weekend, while the Wichita-based Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad is scheduled to display its locomotive painted for Wichita State University on the second weekend. Railfest will also feature live music, food trucks, an Operation Lifesaver safety display, and a scavenger hunt with prizes.
The museum is located at 700 East Douglas Avenue in Wichita. More information is available at the museum website.
The Great Plains Transportation Museum (GPTM) in Wichita/Kansas exhibits a wide range of railroad equipment. With its popularity increasing day by day, the museum’s two largest displays are Santa Fe steam locomotive #3768 and Santa Fe FP45 diesel-electric locomotive #93. These two rolling stock gems are certainly sole in the museum’s collection in that they represent the last class of passenger engines that were built for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) in their particular ages.