1913 locomotive being put to use in Grapevine
Star-Telegram staff writer
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GRAPEVINE -- A steam locomotive that's been sitting behind the Grapevine Vintage Railroad's maintenance shop for five years will soon help showcase a model railroad exhibit on Dallas Road.
Old role: The 95-year-old Locomotive No. 771 and its tender were placed behind the maintenance shop after they were purchased for $10 from the city of Victoria in South Texas. The tender carries fuel oil and water for the locomotive. Grapevine officials thought the locomotive could be displayed or be refurbished into a running engine. But the estimated cost even then was about $500,000 and the money isn't available, said P.W. McCallum, executive director of the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau, which owns the locomotive and the Vintage Railroad.
New role: A contractor moved the locomotive and its tender Friday to a parking lot median by the shop on Dallas Road. City workers and volunteers prepared the site, McCallum said. The Convention & Visitors Bureau has bought a 70-year-old baggage car from a Fort Worth business, Sprint Press, for about $12,000 to place behind the locomotive. The car will be moved next week.
The caretaker: The Lone Star Hi-Railers, a model railroad group that supplied volunteers for the site preparation, will operate a model train exhibit in the baggage car after renovations are completed, said Mike McLintock, president of the train club. The exhibit may be open by Christmas, McCallum said. It will be open to the public for a small fee to help support the operation, he said.
Train facts
The 12-wheel locomotive, called a Mikado MK-5, was built in Pennsylvania by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1913. The locomotive:
Ran on fuel oil.
Weighed 436,400 pounds fully loaded with water and fuel.
Measures 80 feet from the front to the end of the tender.
Was operated by the Texas & New Orleans Railroad, a Southern Pacific Railroad subsidiary.
Was retired in the 1950s.
Was on display in Victoria for 45 years before it was moved to Grapevine.
BILL TEETER, 817-685-3801
