Power type Steam Configuration 2-8-2 | Build date 1912 Driver dia. 63 in (1,600 mm) | |
Builder American Locomotive Company Gauge 4 ft 8 ⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | ||
Frisco 1352 is an Alco built 2-8-2 Steam locomotive. Built in 1912 as a 2-8-0 by the American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, New York, for the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (commonly known as Frisco), the engine was later rebuilt into a 2-8-2 Mikado type to keep up with the traffic demands around World War II. Once retired the engine was stored in many locations under several owners until it ended up in a small engine house in rural Illinois. The locomotive was disassembled by a group with the intent to restore it however the group went defunct. American Steam Railroad (ASR) was started and in 2005 purchased the 1352 to restore the engine to operating condition. Currently in 2014 the locomotive sits partially disassembled in Taylorville, Illinois as ASR raises the funds to move the 1352 to Cleveland Ohio to be restored.
History
The locomotive was built in April 1912 as Frisco 1321, a 2-8-0 consolidation type, by the American Locomotive Company at the Schenectady Locomotive Works. Due the demands of World War II the Frisco railroad needed more heavy power to keep with the demands in traffic. The War Board at that time would not allow new locomotives to be built so the Frisco took on rebuilding 6 consolidations into Mikados. In June 1944 #1321 consolidation was converted into Mikado #1352 the locomotive went through a major overhaul/modernization including adding of Nicholas Thermic Syphones, JR Coffin Superheaters and a JR Coffin Feed Water System.
The engine continued in regular service until 1956 when 1352 was retired and donated to Swope Park in Kansas City, Missouri, for display. Stored outside in the park, Frisco 1352 deteriorated greatly during the years on display and vandalism took its toll on the locomotive.
Subjected to flooding and vandalism, the KC Park Board wanted the 1352 liability removed in the late 1970s to early 1980s and it was donated to Smoky Hill Railway and Historical Society provided that group remove it from the park. The Missouri Pacific Railroad (MoPac) refused to allow its rail to be cut for a temporary turnout, so the movers constructed, for lack of a better description, a "vertical frog and vertical points" to lift the locomotive over the rails and then onto the MoPac mainline.
After its removal from Swope Park, Smoky Hill Railway and Historical Society kept the 1352 in an industrial park in Riverside, Missouri, where it suffered flooding on at least one occasion. Cash-strapped Smoky Hill Railway and Historical Society sold the locomotive to Ted Leman, and he moved it to Illinois for restoration and operation.