Condit Family Brings Steam Back to Frisco!
11/02/2017
Museum Receives Gift of 15-inch Gauge Live Steam Locomotive
What has been missing from Frisco during all the unprecedented growth? It is the sights, sounds, and smell of a steam locomotive – the very thing that started it all back in 1902 when the community was formed!
Frisco residents, Phil and Geda Condit, want to make sure new generations of Frisco families and visitors alike can experience the thrill of a real, live steam locomotive. That’s why the family commissioned a brand new miniature-sized working engine and donated it to the Museum of the American Railroad.
Just as Frisco’s original founders did 115 years ago, today’s residents will soon experience the hissing, chuffing, and wail of the whistle that is unique to these truly magnificent machines. The locomotive is a one-fourth scaled replica of the real thing, and features all of the same operational appliances of a full-sized version – boiler, cylinders, pistons, whistle, etc. Despite its reduced size, the locomotive weighs 5,000 pounds and stretches 16 feet in length.
The Condit Family generously donated the newly constructed “Mogul” Type locomotive to the Museum of the American Railroad, which will operate and maintain the engine. Based on an 1880s design, it was essentially hand-built by the Mammoth Locomotive Works of Palisade, Colorado. It is designed to pull open-air passenger cars as a ride at amusement parks and other attractions.
“We can’t think of a more fitting place to display and operate the train. We are thrilled to share this gift with residents and visitors to Frisco, North Texas and the entire Country,” said Phil Condit, retired Boeing CEO and Chairman. He explained that he and wife, Geda, worked closely with Geda’s brother, former Frisco mayor, Maher Maso, in envisioning the project. The exquisitely crafted and detailed locomotive represents thousands of hours of work by a small cadre of skilled people. Almost a lost art, the engine is made up of hundreds of miniature machined parts, castings, and fabricated pieces that produce and function on steam. It can pull up to four matching one-fourth scaled cars that carry riders on a 15-inch gauge miniature railroad.
Plans call for a loop track to be built at the Museum’s 15-acre site in Frisco. The locomotive will be demonstrated to visitors, and ultimately pull cars with riders between the Museum and the Frisco Heritage Center. “We are excited to add this new component to the mix at the Museum of the American Railroad,” said CEO, Bob LaPrelle. “We look forward to someday connecting the two destinations with what will surely be a huge attraction for people of all ages,” he added.
The miniature locomotive is currently on static display in the south rotunda of the Frisco Heritage Museum. Visitors can marvel at its craftsmanship and truly get an understanding of how form follows function.
We wish to thank the Condit Family for their truly generous gift of the locomotive. Special thanks also to John Braun of Mammoth Locomotive Works.
The Museum of the American Railroad is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable corporation chartered in the state of Texas in 1962. The mission of the Museum is to enrich the lives of others through meaningful, relevant programs and exhibits that relate the history & technology of the Railroad and its profound impact on American life and culture. The Museum is a year-round cultural tourism destination located in Frisco, Texas, providing general exhibits and educational programming for North Texas schools. For more information and opportunities to provide support, contact the Museum at 214-428-0101 or kmurphy@historictrains.org.