VALLEY VIEW, Texas — A GE 25-ton locomotive, the only example of the class owned by the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad, has found a new home at the Oklahoma Railway Museum.
The locomotive was acquired new by the railroad in 1950, where at various points in time it was designated No. 400 and No. 94. Later, the it was sold to Martindale Feed Mill in Valley View, Texas, and used to switch cars until approximately three years ago. ORM arranged to buy the engine from the company for $15,000.
"This locomotive is kind of rare, which is the main reason why we got it," said Oklahoma Railway Museum President Eric Dilbeck. "It will look great on our turntable someday.”
The locomotive made the 150-mile journey from Valley View to the museum's campus in Oklahoma City by a flatbed truck on Wednesday morning.
Over the next few months, ORM will evaluate the locomotive's mechanical condition and begin to perform repairs as required. Dilbeck says that while the locomotive doesn't have the horsepower to pull the museum's passenger trains, in the long-term future it will likely see frequent service moving rolling stock and other pieces of equipment in and out of the shop and around the yard.
The museum intends to repaint the locomotive in a Katy-inspired paint scheme and is currently attempting to locate a pictures of the 25-tonner in Katy service to use as a reference.