Santa Fe 769

Santa Fe 769
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Richmond Locomotive Works Serial number 2957 Build date 1900
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-8-0  • UIC 1'D Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. 57 in (1,400 mm) Wheelbase: ​  • Engine 23 in (580 mm)  • Drivers 15 in (380 mm) Adhesive weight 161,650 lbf (719,100 N) Loco weight 179,300 lbf (798,000 N) Tender weight 105,000 lb (48,000 kg) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 12 t (12 long tons; 13 short tons) Water cap. 9,000 US gal (34,000 L; 7,500 imp gal) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 30 sq ft (2.8 m2) Boiler pressure 195 psi (1,340 kPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 183 sq ft (17.0 m2)  • Total surface 2,190 sq ft (203 m2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 21 in × 30 in (530 mm × 760 mm) Valve gear Stephenson
Performance figures Tractive effort 39,458 lbf (175,520 N)
Career Operators Santa Fe Pacific Railroad Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Albuquerque and Cerrillos Coal Company Class 769 Numbers SFP 266 ATSF 3045 ATSF 769 Retired 1954 Current owner Old Coal Mine Museum Disposition Awaiting restoration to operating condition, based in Madrid, New Mexico

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe No. 769 is a preserved 769 class 2-8-0 "consolidation" type steam locomotive originally built by the Richmond Locomotive Works in 1900 as one of the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad's final locomotives. It was originally numbered 266 before the SFP had completely merged into its parent company, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, and the locomotive was renumbered 3045, and it was eventually renumbered again to 769. The locomotive was put into use for short-distance freight trains and for yard switching before being sold again in 1950 to the Albuquerque and Cerrillos Coal Company in Madrid, New Mexico for more yard switching and short distance coal trains. As the 1950s progressed, however, the company shut down due to bankruptcy, and No. 769 was abandoned along with the rest of the locomotive yard and the rest of Madrid. In the late 1970s the town was recovered and converted into a heritage town, and No. 769 was then put on static display just behind the shed it was stored in, which was converted to the Engine House Theatre. In early 2020, No. 769 was selected for a future project to restore it to operating condition to run on the Santa Fe Southern Railway in Santa Fe.

History

Original service life

After becoming a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1897, the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad decided to upgrade their steam locomotive fleet with a series of 2-8-0 "consolidation" types. The first order came with eighteen locomotives from the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Dickson Locomotive Works in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1899, initially numbered 1–18 right before being renumbered 246–265. A second batch of twenty locomotives from the Richmond Locomotive Works of Richmond, Virginia came along the following year, numbered 266–285. No. 769 was numbered 266 at the time and was the very first of the Richmond batch that came in 1900, one year before the Richmond works would merge into the American Locomotive Company. These little locomotives were commonly used for freight service on the mainline, as 2-8-0s were the most common wheel arrangement to show up at the time. In 1902, the SFP became completely absorbed into the Santa Fe, and a renumbering system was in order for the 2-8-0s; Nos 246–265 were renumbered 3030–3044 and 3100–3102. Nos 266–285 were also renumbered 3045–3064. Only a few years later, the 2-8-0s were renumbered again; the 1899 group of locomotives renumbered Nos 699–706 and 719–728, and the 1900 group of locomotives renumbered 769–788.

These little locomotives were primarily used for mainline freight trains throughout the Santa Fe system in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Kansas until the mid-late 1910s, when larger locomotives, including the 2-10-2 "Santa Fe" type and the 2-8-2 "Mikado", were becoming more frequently built in favor of the growing freight traffic, and the 2-8-0s, including No. 769, were relegated to yard switching and pulling shorter freight trains on branch lines. As the 1930s and 1940s progressed, the Santa Fe retired their aging 2-8-0s and sold them for scrap, but No. 769 was one of the exceptions. At one point, the locomotive swapped tenders with 4-6-2 No. 1227. In April 1950, No. 769 was sold off to the Albuquerque and Cerrillos Coal Company in the mountain-based town of Madrid, New Mexico, which was located at the end of a branch extending south from the Santa Fe main at Waldo. There, No. 769 was only accompanied by 2-8-0s No. 772, 870, and 874. It was regularly used by the A&CCCO to haul coal and water between Madrid and Santa Fe to provide warmth for the citizens who lived in Madrid. However, No. 769's time at the A&CCCO was cut short in 1954, when the company decided to cease all train operations after a catastrophic fire burned down the building that stored most of their coal, and coal marketing was declining in favor of oil marketing. No. 772 and 874 would be sold for scrap as an attempt for the company to recoup some of their financial losses, but to no avail. By the end of the decade, the entire town itself was abandoned, and Nos 769 and 870 would sit idle there for the next twenty years. While No. 870 was left outside, exposed to the elements, No. 769 was stored underneath one of very few engine sheds that were left there.

Preservation

In the late 1970s, the ghost town of Madrid was rediscovered by a group of explorers, and people started becoming aware of the town's existence. It was soon re-populated while being converted to an artist community and tourist attraction. While No. 870 would eventually be sold off to Santa Fe Springs, California, No. 769 would remain in Madrid, as it was sold off in 1982 to Joe Huber, who cosmetically restored the locomotive, and pulled it backwards just outside the shed it had been stored, which was converted to the Engine House Theatre as part of the Old Coal Mine Museum. No. 769 was facing forward toward the stage as a dramatic backdrop, and it has remained that way ever since. However, No. 769 has been remaining in a flood zone, meaning that every time the town of Madrid got flooded, multiple places and objects would get buried deeper into the ground, including No. 769's wheels. The locomotive had to continuously be dug up until 2010, when road repairs have solved the flooding problems for the whole town. Despite this, No. 769's wheels have still been buried about one foot into the dirt, and even though they're still in tact with the tracks underneath, the locomotive hasn't been repainted or cleaned in nearly four decades. It has been highly unlikely that the locomotive will ever move again, and since 2019, the Museum has proposed to put the locomotive up for sale.

In March 2020, a volunteer who helped the New Mexico Steam Locomotive and Railroad Historical Society restore 4-8-4 No. 2926 visited Old Coal Mine Museum in Madrid, just to take a closeup look at No. 769. After inspecting on how good condition the little consolidation was, he climbed onto the locomotive and used WD-40 to give it a cosmetic clean up. One of the museum owners then walked up to the volunteer and ordered him to climb off, but the volunteer hesitated. "This needs to be cared for, okay?", the volunteer said "If you guys aren't gonna care for it, then I will.". He was then allowed to wipe dirt and grime off of No. 769 for another hour, until he had to leave Madrid. The following day, he contacted the museum and convinced them to keep the locomotive as their own attraction while he and a group of volunteers performed some extensive inspections and clean ups of the locomotive, as he had an idea to refurbish the locomotive to operational condition, and the museum was open his idea. As of 2021, No. 769 has been cleaned up and inspected from inside and out by volunteers from the NMS&RHS and the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, and most of the components have been deemed in good condition due to the dry climate of the Southwestern United States. A few exceptions include the smokebox, which was filled with corrosion and sawdust due to the smokestack not being covered, the wheels that are still buried in the dirt, and the tender, which has been developing cracks on the sides. This is a slow preparation to move the locomotive to either a temporary shop behind it, or a roundhouse in Albuquerque to perform a rebuild on the locomotive, which has been estimated to cost over $1.2 million. Once the rebuild is completed by the year 2040, No. 769 will be allowed to operate on the Santa Fe Southern Railway in Santa Fe.

Historical significance

Although there are seven other surviving Santa Fe 2-8-0s, No. 769 is the sole survivor of its particular class, and it was the first locomotive of said class.

No. 769 is the last locomotive built by the Richmond Locomotive Works before 1901 that's preserved in the United States. The only other pre-1901 Richmond survivor is 4-6-0 No. 293 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

See also

• Richmond Locomotive Works
• Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
• Madrid, New Mexico
• Santa Fe 5
• Santa Fe 1010
• Santa Fe 2926
• Santa Fe Southern Railway