ABILENE, Kan. — The Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad has reactivated one of its vintage diesel locomotives for the first time in over 20 years.
No. 34, a GE 44-ton center-cab switcher, was unveiled on Sunday (June 8, 2025) at the tourist railroad’s former Rock Island depot in Abilene. This comes after an extensive restoration effort which included the purchase of new wheels, according to a news release.
In addition to a fresh coat of maroon and gold paint in homage to the Rock Island, the locomotive was numbered “34” with “I Like IKE” decals below the cab in tribute to the 34th president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and his campaign slogan. The Presidential Library and Museum complex, including Eisenhower’s boyhood home, is just across the tracks from the Abilene depot. Mary Eisenhower, the former president’s granddaughter, was in attendance and even broke a bottle of champagne on the locomotive’s pilot during the ceremony.
No. 34 was built in 1940 for the Arkansas Valley Interurban Railway as No. 93. The railroad’s closure a couple of years later prompted the locomotive’s new role in the war effort: irst with the U.S. Army out of San Bernardino, Calif., before becoming part of the rail fleet for the U.S. Air Force and transferring to multiple bases in Texas and Utah. It then had stints with Houston Track & Equipment and Ideal Portland Cement in Superior, Neb., before being purchased by collector Dan Rohrback in 1995.
Rohrback and the Abilene & Smoky Valley collaborated to have the locomotive stationed at the railroad and sparingly used on the excursion trains. No. 34 last operated in 2002 and was placed in storage prior to the recent restoration effort. Rohrback was also on hand for the ceremony.
A&SV President and General Manager Ross Boelling confirms No. 34 will return to excursion duties in a few weeks. It’ll be a stablemate to the railroad’s Alco S2 switcher locomotive, the primary diesel motive power.
Visit the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad website for more information.
