OWOSSO, Mich. — The norm for most operating steam locomotives around this time is to call it a season and begin receiving routine maintenance in preparation for the new year. For Pere Marquette 2-8-4 No. 1225, the Berkshire-type is still in the midst of its 2024 season, having completed fall excursions in late October and with North Pole Express runs in November and December just around the corner. All trips are organized by the locomotive’s owner, the Steam Railroading Institute (SRI) of Owosso, and operate along the Great Lakes Central Railroad.
After time off since June, No. 1225 operated two all-day round trips from Mount Pleasant to Cadillac, Mich., Oct. 26 and 27. The Cadillac Limited – Fall Color Tour marked the locomotive’s first visit to both cities since 2019. Due to the unavailability of the previously used wye in Cadillac, the 2-8-4 faced north for the entire weekend while GP40-2WH diesel No. 57 led the southbound movements.
For Justin Hamilton, SRI master mechanic of motive power, the stage was set for the long-awaited long-distance running. Since returning to service in October 2023, after extended work on the wheels and running gear, No. 1225’s operations prior to the Cadillac Limited were between the institute and Ashley, Mich. — roughly 25 miles, one-way. This year’s autumn jaunts between Owosso, Mount Pleasant, and Cadillac (approximately 122 miles, one-way) gave Hamilton and crew a chance to observe how the rebuilt components would handle the extended running time.
“We’ve seen how the new running gear performed during last year’s North Pole Express season, but those trips are rather short in terms of mileage,” he explained. “Running to Cadillac showed us what would happen if similar bearing RPMs were held for a longer duration. The result? The bearing temperatures rose to the same amounts we saw during NPE and stayed there. At higher speeds, we saw a slight decrease in temperatures.
“No. 1225 performed well, though it was slippery out there, making it difficult to keep to our schedule.”
Additional miles will continue to stack up for the locomotive with the upcoming North Pole Express, beginning Nov. 23 with five consecutive weekends concluding on Dec. 22. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of The Polar Express film starring an animated version of No. 1225, as well as the launch of SRI’s popular holiday excursions. The round trips from Owosso to Ashley recently saw days and seating added since the original inventory sold out in less than an hour back in July.
As part of the month-long turnaround after the Cadillac Limited, preparing No. 1225 for the North Pole Express will include addressing small leaks from worn valve stems in the cab, rerouting electrical system circuits to reduce some of the load off of the dynamos, and renewing several arch-bricks from a generous donation by Indiana Refractories Inc. An off-season task for 2025 is also being planned. “The throttle is getting some preliminary work and measurements to aid in next year’s proposed rebuild,” said Hamilton.
Visit the Steam Railroading Institute website for more information.
