DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about El Paso and Southwestern Railroad Locomotive Number One. Now, if you want to talk about a survivor, friend, let me tell you about a steam locomotive that outlasted just about everything the railroading world could throw at it — rival companies, changing fuels, two world wars, a Hollywood film crew, and the slow creep of time itself. This locomotive was built 29 years after the steam engine was first developed for transportation.
The company that made her was Breese, Kneeland and Company of Jersey City, New Jersey — which also operated under the name New York Locomotive Works, represented by the number 73 on the builder's plate. They built her on a standard style based on a design patented by one Henry Roe Campbell back in 1836. That wheel configuration — four leading wheels, four driving wheels, none trailing — earned her the designation a 4-4-0, and railroaders called that type the Classic American.
Which, when you think about it, is a fine name for something with a story this big. She rolled out of the factory in 1857, built for the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad Company. She's believed to have carried the name Spring Green in those early days, and she worked the upper midwestern United States for more than thirty years.
Thirty years. That's not a career, that's a calling. But 1889 rolls around, and the Arizona and Southeastern Railroad Company had acquired her — and they weren't going to leave well enough alone.
They converted her from a wood-burner to a coal-burner. The smokestack, too, was likely reconfigured right around that time, swapped from a funnel type to a straight type. That Arizona and Southeastern Railroad would later become the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad — the EP&SW — and it was under their banner that this old engine got a new name: Locomotive Number One.
And Number One earned that title. The EP&SW put her to work in the development of Bisbee, Arizona, and in other mining and industrial operations across the Southwest. She wasn't just a relic being humored — she was working.
Now here's where the numbers get almost hard to believe. After more than fifty years of service, the EP&SW finally retired Old Number One in 1909 and moved her to a park right next to company headquarters at 416 North Stanton Street. You might think that's where the story ends.
It is not. She sat in that park for decades. In 1924, the rail company became part of the Southern Pacific Railroad system — and still she stayed put.
Then, in 1938, she got one brief brush with Hollywood, playing a role in the film Let Freedom Ring. Then it was back to the park. And there she remained until 1960.
In 1960, the railroad donated her to Texas Western College — now known as the University of Texas at El Paso — and the college placed her at the Centennial Museum. A new home, at last. But the story still wasn't done.
In the year 2000, the City of El Paso received state and national funds to restore the engine to her 1909 appearance, and she was moved to her present site at El Paso's Union Plaza Transit Terminal. Built in 1857. Still standing in El Paso.
Some things, when they're made right, just refuse to be finished.
What the marker says
One of the oldest survivors of America's steam railroading era, this locomotive was built 29 years after the steam engine was first developed for transportation. Breese, Kneeland & Company of Jersey City, New Jersey also operated as the New York Locomotive Works and is represented by the No. 73 on the locomotive builders plate. The company used its standard style, based on a design patented by Henry Roe Campbell in 1836. Known as a 4-4-0 "Classic American" for its wheel configuration, this particular locomotive was manufactured in 1857 for the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad Company. Believed to have been named Spring Green, the locomotive served the upper midwestern United States for more than 30 years. By 1889, the Arizona & Southeastern Railroad Company, which later became the El Paso & Southwestern Railroad (EP&SW), had acquired it and converted it from a wood-burner to a coal-burner. The smokestack was also likely reconfigured from a funnel type to a straight type at that time. Calling it Locomotive No. One, EP&SW utilized it in the development of Bisbee, Arizona and in other mining and industrial operations of the Southwest. EP&SW retired Old Number One after more than 50 years of service, moving it to a park adjacent to company headquarters at 416 N. Stanton Street in 1909. Except for its brief role in the 1938 film Let Freedom Ring, it remained there until 1960, even after the rail company became part of the Southern Pacific Railroad system in 1924. In 1960, the railroad donated it it Texas Western College (now The University of Texas at El Paso), which placed it at the Centennial Museum. In 2000, the City of El Paso received state and national funds to restore the engine to its 1909 appearance, moving it to the present site at El Paso's Union Plaza Transit Terminal. (1968, 2005)