11th Sept 2002

St. Louis - San Francisco Railway - "Frisco" - #1522 is a two-cylinder class 1500 4-8-2 "Mountain"-type locomotive, built by Baldwin in 1926. It was retired by the Frisco as early as 1951 and donated to the museum in 1959. Restored to working condition in 1988 it then ran a number of excursions on the main lines, until its retirement again soon after this shot was taken! If I recall correctly, the fire had been dropped but there was still steam leaking from the joints, and the smell of hot oil still in the air! So it must have been out recently. It ran its final excursion just over two weeks later after my visit, and it hasn't worked since, and is now cold and silent as just another exhibit.