Southern Pacific 975 is a heavy freight engine and one of only five American 2-10-2 engines preserved intact. This wheel arrangement was popular around World War I but was later supplanted by 2-8-4 and 2-10-4 engines that were faster and more powerful. While 2-10-2s were called “Santa Fe” types, the

St. Louis – San Francisco Railroad (“Frisco”) 1630 is the museum’s most famous steam engine. A “Russian Decapod,” it was built in 1918 for export to Russia but was embargoed when the Bolshevik Revolution took place. Instead the newly-completed engine was sold to the Frisco, which used it in both

Norfolk & Western 2050 is the only articulated steam engine preserved at IRM and one of only two 2-8-8-2 Mallet locomotives in existence. It is a United States Railroad Administration (USRA) standard design and saw use in low-speed drag freight service in the mountains of Virginia. It is a compound

Chesapeake & Ohio 2707 is an example of a typical “Super Power” locomotive built towards the end of the steam locomotive era. It features a large firebox and combustion chamber to provide more heat and, thus, more steam and more horsepower. Engines of this type were generally known as Berkshires

Santa Fe 2903 is the largest steam locomotive, by both weight and length, in the IRM collection. It is also one of the fastest, designed for top speeds exceeding 100mph. This type of locomotive was built for mixed passenger and express freight use and ran for some 15 years before

Chicago Burlington & Quincy 3007 is one of the fastest and most modern steam engines at IRM. It is one of only ten standard-gauge 4-6-4 Hudsons preserved in the country and was built for use hauling express passenger trains at high speed. For many years it was displayed in Quincy,

Illinois Central 3719 is a freight engine designed for pulling heavy freight trains at low speed. It is among the largest 2-6-0 Moguls in preservation and has virtually the same tractive effort as Frisco 1630, a larger 2-10-0 engine built 18 years later. COMPARE ME WITH: Graysonia Nashville & Ashdown

Chicago Burlington & Quincy 4963 is a heavy freight engine designed for use pulling heavy freight trains at low speed. Engines like this were nearly ubiquitous in mainline freight service in America in the years following World War I. This engine sat in a scrap yard for decades after retirement

Grand Trunk Western 6323 is the smallest of three 4-8-4 “Northerns” preserved at IRM. It was designed for passenger and express freight service between Chicago and Detroit and, during the 1950s, saw use on several famous railfan excursions that operated out of Detroit. It has a Vanderbilt style tender with

Grand Trunk Western 8380 is a large switching engine designed for use moving the larger and heavier freight cars that were coming into use in the 1920s. It was also used on freight and even passenger trains on occasion. In the 1950s it was retired and sold for scrapping but