Equipment Information

Milwaukee Road 265 is a heavy mixed-traffic locomotive designed for high-speed passenger and express freight use. It was used for only a decade or so before it was retired and replaced with diesels. It was on display in a park in Milwaukee, where it was nicknamed “Old Smokey,” for some two decades before coming to IRM.

FUN FACT: Steam engine wheel arrangements typically have names, but some are more universal than others. Most railroads called 4-8-4’s like this one Northerns, but there were variations: the New York Central called their 4-8-4’s Niagaras, while southern railroads – loathe to call something on their roster a Northern – used names like Dixies, Potomacs, Confederations, and Big Apples.

Builder: American Locomotive Company
Year Built: 1944
Builder Number: 71978
Wheel Arrangement: 4-8-4
Length: 110ft
Width: 11ft
Height: 15ft 6in
Weight: 465000 lbs
Brakes: 8ET
Tractive Effort: 62190 lbs
Cylinders: 26×32
Boiler Pressure: 250 psi
Drivers: 74in
Description: Class S3
Arrived: 1975
Condition: Complete / cosmetically restored / not operational

Ownership History
1944-1957 – Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific
1957-1975 – City of Milwaukee, WI
1975-present – Illinois Railway Museum, Union, IL

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