Museum Adds Historic Locomotive to Collection

1/30/2014

The Museum of the American Railroad received the first of two historic diesel-electric locomotives from TXI this morning. A longtime supporter of the Museum, the concrete producer recognized the historical significance of this locomotive and chose to preserve the unit rather than send it to scrap. It had been recently retired from plant service at TXI's Hunter facility in New Braunfels, TX.

Numbered #2428, the engine enjoyed a long career in Texas. It began life as a streamlined Santa Fe locomotive built by General Motors in 1953, and could be found pulling the line's freight trains throughout the Southwest. In 1977, it was completely remanufactured along with over 200 others of its class at Santa Fe's Cleburne, Texas Shops. Opened in 1898, the massive shop complex once employed 1,200 workers of all crafts, and was known throughout the Santa Fe system as one of the finest maintenance facilities in the U.S.

The "Cleburne Rebuilds" or CF-7s, were known for their ruggedness and reliability. Many enjoyed another decade of service on the Santa Fe. In 1984, #2428 was finally retired and sold to Texas Industries, where it embarked on a 30-year career in plant service. The locomotive will serve as an additional switch engine at the Museum's new Frisco facility, and be the subject of over 60 years of railroad and industrial plant history in Texas.

Preservation of CF-7 #2428 was made possible by the cooperation and support of the Nation's two largest railroads. In a partnership that provided for its movement to the Museum, Union Pacific Railroad donated transportation between New Braunfels and Fort Worth, while BNSF Railway contributed movement of the engine between Fort Worth and Frisco. We are also indebted to the Mechanical forces on both railroads for ensuring the safety and reliability of #2428 throughout the move.

The Museum is very grateful to TXI for their continued support through gifts and grants. Their generosity has enabled the Museum to further construction of its new facilities in Frisco, and add historically significant pieces to its rolling stock collection. The second TXI locomotive to be donated this year is being readied for movement in February. The two engines join a third unit donated by TXI back in 2000 that had a long and varied career, including a stint on the Trans-Iranian Railway hauling allied war materials into Stalingrad during WWII.