WILLIAMS, Ariz. — While the busy steam season for most locomotives is beginning to build up around this time, 2-8-2 No. 4960 is already in full form on the Grand Canyon Railway. The Mikado-type recently completed three April round trips from Williams to Grand Canyon National Park.
While the locomotive performed well during the public excursion on April 6 [See, “Grand Canyon No. 4960 operates first…” News Wire, April 11, 2024], the private charter on April 15 met a new challenge, according to railway chief mechanical officer Eric Hadder. Heading the four-car train unassisted, the tender’s coil heater wasn’t working, leading to the use of the direct bubbler to heat the waste vegetable oil, he said. “This resulted in adding a significant amount of water to the fuel tank, which caused problems later in the day with keeping the fire lit.”
Prior to the Earth Day public excursion later that week, the coil heater was repaired, Hadder said, in addition to the fuel tank being drained and refilled. The trip on April 20 showed a better performance with no mechanical issues from No. 4960 as it pulled a 15-car train and F40 No. 4128 as a diesel assist.
Over the years, the 2-8-2 received multiple modifications to make it both economically efficient and environmentally friendly. A prior post on GCRY’s Facebook page indicates enough snow melt during the winter was harvested to cover the entire steam season. The post also states that 12,000 gallons of water and 1,200 gallons of waste vegetable oil are used per trip, hence the railway’s tradition of a steam-powered excursion scheduled during the Earth Day celebration. New this year was parking No. 4960 in front of the Grand Canyon Depot with stairs leading up to the cab for visitors to look inside during the layover.
Another short turnaround will lead up to the next steam excursion on May 4. While no reports of any changes in maintenance and preparations, Hadder confirmed a new wrinkle to the upcoming trip. No. 4960 is planned to carry the whistle of Texas & New Orleans No. 982. This Houston-based 2-10-2 is under the care of the Texas Railway Preservation Association, which is currently fundraising for the locomotive’s future relocation and return to operation. The non-profit organization and GCRY have partnered in a ticket raffle for a chance to ride the May 4 excursion. A March 12 post on the TRPA Facebook page says “all proceeds of ticket raffle admission go towards the upcoming — quiet and fast — relocation of 982 to its restoration site, tooling, and new insurances!”
For more information, visit the Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel website. The “Steam Saturdays” schedule is available here.
—Updated April 30 at 1:30 p.m. CST with correct water and fuel consumption numbers from GCRY Facebook post.
Grand Canyon is one fine show and more need to ride it.
Environmentalist probably up in arms about all the pollution that the 4960 produced. especially on Earth Day. Wouldn’t be surprised that in a few years they will be forced to go all green with Solar locomotives.
I had the pleasure of riding the Earth Day excursion. 4960 performed well, and the crew freely answered my questions about the waste vegetable oil conversion. There was quite a line to look up in the cab at the Grand Canyon depot, too. I would highly recommend taking a ride behind this engine!