Steam Locomotives of the Alaska Railroad
The story of the four number 1 locomotives
by
Mike Gerenday
The 1920s were a quiet time for the Alaska Railroad, with the driving of the golden spike at a place north of Nenana signaling the end of the all major railroad projects in the territory. It was during these times that improvements to the right of way from bridges to tunnels, to curves and ties, the haste of the construction was over and upgrading the line was necessary.
During the mid 1920s, tourism was starting to pick up in the north, not anywhere to the capacity of the 21st century, but for the era it was journey that was equal to an African Safari. Freight such as coal, timber, and other resources were tapped and were loaded on Alaska Railroad cars. Supplies for all the towns and villages were also carried on the line into the interior.
By the mid 1920s the Panama Moguls that were built in 1906 were starting to show their age and wear as they answered the call of duty in both the construction of the Panama Canal and the new Alaska Railroad. New power was needed on the ARR. In November 1926 two Baldwin 2-8-2 Mikados were placed in service and at the time were the largest locomotives on the Alaska Railroad. Numbered 701 and 702 In December of 1928 a third Baldwin Mikado, 703 joined the roster. The locomotives were Baldwin class 12-38 1/4-E locomotives. Their serial numbers were 177 for 701, 178 for 702 and 179 for 703. Their builder's numbers were 59605 for 701, 59606 for 702, and 60689 for 703. It must be remembered that 703 came at a later time therefore had a completely different builder's number. The Mikados remained the largest locomotives on the roster until 1932 when the 801, a 4-8-2 Mountain was purchased.
The original Mikados had standard cabs and were hand fired until the tail end of WWII when they were shopped with all weather cabs and stokers. Stokers fed the firebox coal and took most of the back breaking work away from the fireman, though the fireman still shoveled coal in the corners of the firebox. The all weather cab kept the Alaskan winters out of the cab making the need for large canvas covers over the cab and tender obsolete.
In 1942 and 1943 two older Alco Schenectady Mikados joined the Alaska Railroad. They were originally built for the Northern Pacific Railroad. It's unclear if they were sold to the ARR or were transferred to the ARR by the US Army Railway Battalion who during the war ran the railroad. These were numbered 751 and 752 and were both scrapped in 1947. It's been said they were totally worn out before coming to Alaska. In 1947 many of the steam locomotives from the last of the Panama Moguls, to oddball locomotives such as ex-Copper River and North Western 23, to the 751 and 752 and the original ARR 1. The 701, 702, and 703 were on the roster until 1954 when most all the steam locomotives were retired in favor of the diesel though a few remained as emergency locomotives. Along with other retired steam locomotives, the original 700s were moved around before spending time in Whittier before being sold to a Spanish railroad company in 1958. There isn't much to tell after they left Alaska, though sources from Spain say only four of the ARR steamers were actually placed in service.
Now here is a short story on the original 700 class as told to me by an old timer who when was young knew an original ARR engineer. The old steam locomotives from Panama had problems and were rode hard and put away wet. When the railroad got the first new locomotives the senior crews didn't want anything to do with them. Finally a young crew based in Anchorage volunteered to make the first run north. At the time, Curry was the half way point and had an engine service facility and crew change point. The crew took the 701 (the number was in question, but was thought that was to be the locomotive) and a long freight train half with coal for Curry out of Anchorage.
It wasn't long before there was trouble. Since there wasn't anyone who had experience with these locomotives, the crew found themselves learning the hard way. The fireman accidently blew out the fire which resulted in the train coming to a stop while the fireman got a fire going again. The engineer had a time figuring out how to handle a large locomotive on the then tight curves. After a while they got the hang of it and got their train to Curry.
By the sounds of it they took the Mikes out a few times and so did a couple younger guys, but once the old heads heard how well they ran the younger guys could never find themselves on a Mike since seniority takes precedence. This story was told to me about ten years ago and I have been waiting for a time to tell it, I wonder who else alive has heard this story?
This concludes a look at the Mikados of the Alaska Railroad. In the next edition of Steam Locomotives of the Alaska Railroad, we're going to take a look at the original 500 class Consolidations that became the 400 class. It'll be confusing yes, but trust me I will explain it for you all.
Page created 3/18/21 and last updated 3/18/21