Here’s our 2022 steam locomotive list. As 2021 may be the best so far in the 21st century to be a steam locomotive enthusiast, 2022 is looking good too!
A Big Boy is running on Union Pacific’s main lines, the last Baldwin steam locomotive built is flexing its articulated muscles on a mountain railroad, and at least six 4-8-4s are in steam from coast to coast with three more under restoration. Newly renovated engines continue to emerge.
According to a Trains magazine survey, about 153 steam locomotives operate in the U.S. in a public venue at least one day each year. These locomotives are at least 2-foot gauge, have a history, or are a replica of historical significance. The figure is a decrease from the first such survey made in 2008, when Trains placed the census at 190 steam locomotives. Here’s the list.
Trains’ 2022 steam locomotive list
Total: 153
Methodology:
•Locomotives of 2-foot gauge and up.
•Must run in a public venue at least 1 day per year or be capable of doing so.
•Must have had some sort of prior life in regular freight or passenger service before preservation or be a replica of national significance.
Alabama – 0
Alaska – 2
•Alaska Railroad 0-4-0T No. 1 coal narrow 1899
•White Pass & Yukon 2-8-2 No. 73 oil narrow 1947
Arkansas – 0
Arizona – 1
•Grand Canyon Railway 2-8-2 No. 4960 oil standard 1923
California steam locomotive list – 19
•Disneyland Railroad No. 3 2-4-4T (Baldwin 1894)
•Disneyland Railroad No. 4 2-4-0 (Baldwin 1925)
•Disneyland Railroad No. 5 2-4-4T (Baldwin 1902)
•Eastern California Museum’s Southern Pacific 4-6-0 No. 18 oil narrow 1911
•Knott’s Berry Farm 2-8-0 No. 340 oil narrow 1899
•Niles Canyon Railway’s Clover Valley 2-6-6-2T No. 4 oil standard 1924
•Niles Canyon Railway 2-4-4-2 “Skookum” No. 7 oil standard 1909
•Niles Canyon Railway’s Robert Dollar 2-6-2T No. 3 oil standard 1927
•Placerville & Sacramento Valley Railroad/Stathi Pappas 0-4-0T No. 2 oil standard 1909
•Poway Midland 0-4-0 No. 3 oil standard 1907
•San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society’s ATSF 4-8-4 No. 3751 oil standard 1927
•Sierra Railway 2-8-0 No. 28 oil standard 1922 oil standard
•Roaring Camp & Big Trees 0-4-2T No. 1 oil narrow
•Roaring Camp & Big Trees 2-truck Heisler Tuolomie oil narrow
•Roaring Camp & Big Trees 2-Truck Shay Dixiana oil narrrow
•Roots of Motive Power 2 Truck Heisler No. 1 oil standard
•Roots of Motive Power 2-6-2T No. 1 oil standard
•Yosemite Sugar Pine three truck Shay No. 10 oil narrow
•Yosemite Sugar Pine three truck Shay No. 15 oil narrow
Colorado steam locomotive list – 16
•Cripple Creek & Victor 0-4-4-0 No. 1 coal narrow
•Cripple Creek & Victor 0-4-0T No. 2 coal narrow
•Cripple Creek & Victor 0-4-0 No. 3 coal narrow
•Colorado Railroad Museum’s Rio Grande 2-8-2 No. 491 coal narrow
•Colorado Railroad Museum’s Rio Grande 2-8-0 No. 346 coal narrow
•Colorado Railroad Museum’s Rio Grande Southern 4-6-0 No. 20 coal narrow
•Durango & Silverton 2-8-2s Nos. 473, 476, 480, 481, 486, 493 //// 2 coal 4 oil narrow
•Durango Railroad Historical Society’s Denver & Rio Grande Western 2-8-0 No. 315/425 coal narrow
•Georgetown Loop 2-8-0 No. 40 oil narrow
•Georgetown Loop 2-8-0 No. 111 oil narrow
•South Park Rail Society 2-6-2 No. 4 oil narrow
Connecticut — 3
•Connecticut Antique Machinery Association Hawaii Railway 2-4-2 No. 5
•Valley Railroad 2-8-2s Nos. 40 and 3025 coal standard
Delaware – 1
•Wilmington & Western 0-6-0 No. 58 coal standard
Florida – 1
•U.S. Sugar 4-6-2 No. 148 oil standard 1920s
Georgia – 1
•Georgia Museum of Agriculture 0-4-0T No. 2
Hawaii – 2
•Grove Farm Museum 2-4-0T “Paulo” (Hohenzollern, 1887) and 0-6-2T “Wainiha” (Baldwin, 1915)
Illinois -2
•Illinois Railway Museum’s Frisco 2-10-0 No. 1630 coal standard
•Illinois Railway Museum’s J. Neils Lumber 3-truck Shay No. 5 coal standard
Indiana – 5
•Hesston Steam Museum 2-6-0 No. 2 coal standard
•Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society’s Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 coal standard 1944
•Gramling Locomotive Works’ Jeddo Coal 0-4-0T No. 85 coal standard
•Gramling Locomotive Works’ Lehigh Coal 0-6-0T No. 126 coal standard
•Privately-owned Bock Lumber Co. 0-4-4T No. 1 at Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum standard
Iowa -3
•Iowa Interstate 2-10-2 No. 6988
•Midwest Central 2-6-0 No. 6
•Midwest Central’s Westside Lumber Co. 3-truck Shay No. 9 oil narrow
Kansas – 1
•Abilene & Smokey Valley Railroad’s Santa Fe 4-6-2 No. 3415 oil standard
Kentucky – 0
Louisiana – 0
Maine – 4
•Boothbay Railway Museum 0-4-0T No. 6 (Henschel 1934)
•Wiscassett Waterville & Farmington 0-4-4T No. 9
•Maine Narrow Gauge Museum B&SR No. 7
•Maine Narrow Gauge’s Monson 0-4-4T No. 3
Maryland – 1
•Western Maryland Scenic 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 coal standard 1949
Massachusetts – 1
•Edaville 0-4-0 No. 11
Michigan – 7
•Buckley Old Engine Show’s Army 0-4-0T
•Henry Ford’s 0-6-4T No. 3 Torch Lake (oldest operating locomotive in U.S. 1873)
•Henry Ford’s Detroit & Lima Northern 4-4-0 No. 7
•Huckleberry Railroad 4-6-0 No. 2
•Pere Marquette 2-8-4 No. 1225 coal standard 1940s
•Little River 0-4-0T No. 1
•Little River 4-6-2 No. 110 coal/wood standard 1911
Minnesota – 4
•Lake Region Steam Threshers 0-4-0T No. 2
•Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261 coal standard 1944
•Western Minnesota Steam Thresher’s Soo Line 0-6-0 No. 353
•Western Minnesota Steam Thresher’s 0-4-0 No. 3
Missouri – 4
•Silver Dollar City 0-4-0T No. 14
•Silver Dollar City 0-4-0T No. 43
•Silver Dollar City 0-4-0T No. 76
•Silver Dollar City 0-4-0 No. 504
Mississippi – 0
Montana -0
Nebraska – 1
•Henry Doorly Zoo’s 30-inch Austrian 0-6-2T
Nevada – 7
•Dan Markoff’s Eureka & Palisade 4-4-0 No. 4 wood narrow
•Nevada Northern 2-8-0 No. 81 coal standard 1917
•Nevada Northern 2-8-0 No. 93 coal standard 1909
•Nevada State Railroad Museum 4-6-0 Glenbrook
•Nevada State Railroad Museum’s Virginia & Truckee 4-4-0 No. 22 Inyo
•Nevada State Railroad Museum’s Virginia & Truckee 4-6-0 No. 25
•Virginia & Truckee 2-8-0 No. 29 oil standard
New Hampshire – 4
•Conway Scenic 0-6-0 No. 7420 coal standard
•Mount Washington Cog 0-4-4-0 Nos. 2, 6 & 9
New Jersey – 2
•Black River & Western 2-8-0 No. 60 coal standard
•SMS 0-6-0 No. 9 coal standard
New Mexico — 7
•New Mexico Steam Locomotive & Railroad Historical Society’s ATSF 4-8-4 No. 2926 oil standard 1940s
•Cumbres & Toltec Scenic 2-8-2s Nos. 463, 484, 487, 488, 489 //4 coal 1 oil narrow 1920s
•Cumbres & Toltec’s Denver & Rio Grande 4-6-0 No. 168 coal narrow
New York – 1
•Scott Symans American Viscose 0-4-0T No. 6
North Carolina – 3
•Great Smoky Mountains Railway 2-8-0 No. 1702 oil standard 1940s
•Tweetsie 4-6-0 No. 12 coal narrow
•Tweetsie 2-8-2 No. 190 coal narrow
North Dakota – 0
Oklahoma – 0
Ohio – 7
•Cedar Point & Lake Erie No. 1 2-4-0
•Cedar Point & Lake Erie No. 4 2-4-0
•Cedar Point & Lake Erie No. 5 2-4-0
•Cedar Point & Lake Erie No. 22 2-4-0
•Hocking Valley 0-6-0 No. 3 coal standard
•Age of Steam’s Morehead & North Fork 0-6-0 No. 12 coal standard
•Youngstown Steel Heritage 0-4-0T No. 58 coal narrow
Oregon – 8
•City of Prineville’s Mount Emily 3-truck Shay No. 1 oil standard
•Oregon Coast Scenic’s Craig Mountain Lumber 2-truck Heisler No. 3 oil standard
•Oregon Coast Scenic’s McCloud River Railway 2-6-2 No. 25 oil standard
•Oregon Coast Scenic’s Polson 2-8-2 No. 2 oil standard
•Albany & Eastern’s Santa Maria Valley 2-6-2 No. 205 oil standard 1920s
•Sumpter Valley 2-8-2 No. 19 oil narrow
•Sumpter Valley’s W.H. Eccles 2-truck Heisler No. 3 wood narrow
vOregon Railroad Heritage’s Southern Pacific 4-8-4 No. 4449 oil standard 1941
Pennsylvania steam locomotive list – 13
•Bucksgahuda & Western 0-4-0T No. 1
•Strasburg 4-8-0 No. 475, 2-6-0 No. 89, 2-10-0 No. 90 coal standard
•New Hope & Ivyland 2-8-0 No. 40 coal standard
•Everett 2-6-0 No. 11 coal standard
•Pioneer Tunnel 0-4-0T No. 1
•Railway Restoration’s Central of New Jersey 0-6-0 No. 113 coal standard
•Reading & Northern 4-6-2 No. 425 coal standard
•Star Barn’s 4-4-0 No. 63 oil standard
•Steamtown’s Baldwin plant switcher 0-6-0 No. 26 coal standard
•Steam into History’s Northern Central 4-4-0 No. 17 York oil standard
•Williams Grove Historical Steam Engine Association’s Pennsylvania Railroad 0-6-0 No. 643 coal standard
South Carolina – 0
South Dakota – 3
•Black Hills Central 2-6-6-2Ts Nos. 108 and 110 oil standard
•Prairie Village 0-6-0 No. 29
Tennessee – 4
•Southern 2-8-0 No. 630 coal standard 1904
•Southern 2-8-2 No. 4501 coal standard 1911
•Dollywood 2-8-2s No. 70 and 192
Texas – 3
•Six Flags Texas 2-4-2 No. 2
•Six Flags Texas 2-4-2 No. 2
•Texas State Railroad 2-8-0 No. 30 oil standard
Utah – 2
•U.S. National Park Service replica of Union Pacific 4-4-0 No. 119 coal standard 1970s
•U.S. National Park Service replica of Central Pacific 4-4-0 Jupiter wood standard 1970s
Vermont – 0
Virginia – 1
•Virginia Museum of Transportation’s Norfolk & Western 4-8-4 No. 611 coal standard 1950
Washington State – 1
•Northwestern Railway Museum’s Northern Pacific 0-6-0 No. 924
Wisconsin – 2
•Soo Line 2-8-2 No. 1003 coal standard
•Rock River Threshers 0-4-0 No. 7
West Virginia – 6
•Cass Scenic Railroad Shays Nos. 2, 4, 5, and 11 coal standard 1905,
•Cass Scenic Railroad Climax 9 coal standard 1919
•Cass Scenic Railroad Heisler 6 coal standard
Wyoming – 2
•Union Pacific 4-8-4 No. 844 oil standard 1944
•Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 oil standard 1941
Since this list was compiled, two locomotives have come online in Illinois and are running this year:
Monticello Railway Museum’s Southern Ry 401 (2-8-0, Standard, Oil)
Silver Creek and Stephenson’s Heisler (2-truck, Standard, Wood)
Hesston Steam Museum at Hesston, Indiana has a 3 truck Shay in Operation
Hi there you forgot one SP 2472 schellville owner Golden Gate Railroad Museum Granite she didn’t become operational till 6 October
Correction: “Louisiana – 1”
Southern Pacific 745 has been restored and run.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Pacific_745
Pioneer Tunnel 0-4-0T No. 1 in Ashland PA is coal (anthracite) and narrow gauge (3′ 6″)
Slight correction: A digit got dropped when listing Texas State RR #30 – it’s actually #300.
Looking forward to the days when the East Broad Top steam join this list.
Curious why Disneyland Railroad No. 1 & 2 are not listed, Is this because they were built by the Disney Company itself? As well, Walt Disney World Railroad Nos. 1-4 not listed. The locomotives are fictional and just waiting for tracks repairs to be completed.
Also Valley Railroad No. 97 in Connecticut has also returned to steam this year.
I ask this because the article states that the numbers are lower than 2008 totals, which may be true, but it seems like locomotives that could be counted were left out.
What does the red text locomotives mean – not running?
It’s an internet link. Click on it and it takes you to that engine or RR
any news about UP 3985? Or has it been replaced by 4014?
UP has indicated that it has no plans to restore 3985, so 4014 for now is the showpiece of the railroad.
It should probably be noted that the Cumbers and Toltec locos spend about as much time at the shop on the other end of their tracks in Antonito, CO as they do in Chama, NM. Their normal run between both ends also includes more miles in Colorado than New Mexico.
In Connecticut, Valley Railroad 2-8-0 #97 is back in service as of 11/12/21.
Thanks for including the J&L Narrow Gauge 58 this year! We all hope that it never comes off of this list.
One correction: Hesston’s 2-6-0 is 36″ gauge, and their three truck shay should also be included.