Great Western 90
| Great Western no.90 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Strasburg Railroad no.90 at Leaman Place, Pennsylvania | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Strasburg Rail Road no.90 (ex: Great Western) is a 2-10-0 steam locomotive operated by the Strasburg Rail Road, outside Strasburg, Pennsylvania. She was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1924, in Philadelphia PA. She originally pulled sugar beet trains of about 40 to 50 cars length for the Great Western Railway of Colorado to the company's towering mill in Loveland, Colorado. Before being sold to the Strasburg Railroad, #90 ran excursions on the GWR, and even met with Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy #5632, a 4-8-4, and CB&Q #902, a 2-10-2.Sadly, both CB&Q locomotives were scrapped when the CB&Q steam program ended. Some say that she also got t-boned by an 18-wheeler in the 1940s. In 1968, #90 was invited to double head former Canadian Pacific,G-5-d class pacific, #1278 to help her out with Ross Rowland's excursions along the steep grades. This was the last mainline excursion #90 would run. She was returned to the Strasburg Railroad to haul tourist and freight trains, and she has been to this day.
90 was the Great Western's biggest engine; it is also the most powerful of the four steam locomotives in operation at the Strasburg Rail Road in Lancaster County PA, rated for 1,211 tons on the line. The Strasburg Rail Road purchased her in 1967, and it is now one of the two operating decapods in the United States. The other one being former Frisco #1630, who still operates today in the Illinois Railway Museum. Another light decapod, Woodward Iron #41 (formerly Alabama, Tennessee and Northern Railroad #401), just arrived at the Age of Steam Roundhouse in December 2015 for restoration.
Modifications
90 has undergone a number of modifications by the Strasburg in order to better suit their needs.
- In 1991 the sand dome between the steam dome and cab was removed along with all of its associated piping.
- In 1993 the smokebox extension added in the 1940s by the Great Western to allow the locomotive to burn poorer grades of coal was removed in order to improve drafting. The coal board extensions were also removed at this time presumably to improve rearward visibility.
- In 2006 90's tender tank was replaced with a brand new identical tank made from stainless steel welded with cosmetic rivet heads spot welded to make it appear authentic. 90 also had its visored Pyle National headlight replaced with a PRR style headlight that had previously been mounted on 475. 90 was also painted into its 1940s era Great Western livery.
- In 2011 90 was fitted with a continuous blowdown mounted between its whistle and dynamo. 90 also had its original Pyle National headlight returned.
- In 2013 90 was given a new paint scheme similar to the one it wore in the 1990s minus the pin stripes with the lettering in white instead of yellow, its smokebox was also painted silver and its number plate was painted black.
Other changes made include the addition of radio and the removal of a sheet metal cover on the pilot.
See also
References
- King, E. W., Jr. in Drury, George H. (1993), Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Company, p. 351, ISBN 0-89024-206-2, LCCN 93041472
- Strasburg Railroad info
- [1]
External links
- Strasburg Rail Road's official website
- The Railroad museum of Pennsylvania
- Strasburg Rail Road Pictures
http://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/february-1968-the-strasburg-90-on-the-main-line?reply=13256332688394149#13256332688394149 http://ageofsteamroundhouse.com/index.php/steam-locomotives/2-10-0-no-41
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