FULLERTON, Calif. — Santa Fe steam locomotive No. 3751 will return to operation for the first time since 2017 when it travels from its home base in Los Angeles to appear at Amtrak’s Track Safety Community Event, scheduled for Sept. 24 and 25 at the Fullerton Transportation Center.
The 4-8-4 is owned by the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society (SBRHS), which completed its restoration of the locomotive in 1991 and has since operated it on numerous occasions over the past 30 years.
Co-hosted by Amtrak and Operation Lifesaver (OLI), the safety event will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24 and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25. It coincides with “Rail Safety Week,” being held in recognition of OLI’s 50th anniversary.
Among the activities at Fullerton will be an opportunity to see several pieces of equipment on display. Scheduled to appear in addition to No. 3751 are a Pacific Surfliner cab car, an Amtrak Superliner coach, and an Operative Lifesaver locomotive. Visitors also will have a chance to see demonstrations of technology related to Positive Train Control and zero-emission locomotives.
This will be an important milestone for No. 3751 and the SBRHS crew, as it will be the Northern’s first trip under steam since its FRA-mandated 1,472-day service inspection, which began early in 2018. Recent improvements to the engine included installation of a Positive Train Control-compliant system.
No. 3751 was Santa Fe’s first 4-8-4 when built by Baldwin in 1927. Subsequent modernizations included a 1936 conversion to oil fuel and a major upgrade in 1941 that included 80-inch driving wheels and roller bearings. The railroad retired the engine in 1953 and it was subsequently displayed in San Bernardino until acquired by SBRSH.
Details involving equipment movements to and from the event have yet to be finalized, subject to the dense schedule of passenger and freight trains operating through Fullerton. For the latest information, visit the SBRHS website at www.sbrhs.org or follow the organization on Facebook or Instagram at @SantaFe3751.
So Amtrak is cooperating again with people who want to run special trains?
Wasn’t it Anderson who decided not to run any specials anymore? Or where there any trains running after he started his job
I don’t see anything in the article about Amtrak running any trains in the article. Just supplying a couple pieces of equipment. SBRHS can move the engine with its crews and the various railroads permission. Amtrak might be covering the insurance.
I would be interested in how a steam locomotive- the very pinnacle of manual, analog, computerless technology- can be equipped with PTC. Did they mount servos to the throttle arm? Really, I have no idea.
PTC equipment is in the cab car and the diesel locomotive which are part of this train. Positive Train Control actions are relayed to the steam crew but if they do not respond, brakes will be applied automatically.
In the early 1950’s PRR installed Speed Control as part of its Cab Signal system, after several fatal accidents associated with overspeed in Cab Signal territory. All of the passenger diesels and electrics got the equipment but never all of the K4s (e.g. 1361 yes; 3750 no) It’s my understanding on a steam engine, the SC could apply the train brakes but had no input to the throttle or reverse quadrant.
Saw the 3751 run through the central valley in CA back in 1999, watched it at track speed near Stockton CA and it had a beautifully sharp exhaust.
Excellent news, nice to see it running again. I have fond memories of boarding El Capitan in San Bernardino and seeing this locomotive in the small park by the bridge west of the station. Glad it is not rusting in place.