Out of this World

St. Louis - San Francisco Railway Steam Locomotive #4501, the “Meteor”

St. Louis - San Francisco Railway Company ("Frisco") 4501

Build Date: 1942

Builder: Baldwin Locomotive Works

Current Status: Static

Road: St. Louis - San Francisco Railway Company ("Frisco")

Configuration: 4-8-4

The 4501 was among the last group of steam locomotives built for the Frisco. Because of World War II, the War Production Board limited production of most new diesel locomotives other than switching locomotives used in rail yards, and severely limited steam locomotive development by requiring the use of existing designs. Frisco's 4500 class was constructed based upon the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy's O-5b class. Numbers 4500-4502 were built for passenger service on the "Meteor," an overnight train between St. Louis, Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The new locomotives were delivered in a paint scheme of zephyr blue, white and gray, with "Meteor" spelled out on the side of the tender in bold, red letters. While the passenger locomotives were built to be fired with cleaner burning oil, locomotives 4503-4524 were built as coal burners for freight service but were also used in passenger service. New diesel locomotives arrived in 1947 to power the streamlined "Meteor" and "Texas Special," demoting the 4500s to trains such as the "Will Rogers" and "General Wood." Still wearing it's colorful Meteor scheme, 4501 powered a portion of President Harry S. Truman's July, 1948 whistle stop campaign through Missouri. Several of the 4500-class engines were rebuilt and stored near the end of steam in 1952, but remained behind St. Louis' Lindenwood roundhouse until scrapping or donation. The 4501 was donated by the Frisco in September 1964.

Museum volunteers carefully remove paint masking from steam locomotive #4501’s “Meteor” paint scheme. Photo courtesy of Ken Fitzgerald