The railroad museum in McComb, Mississippi has an interesting display of Illinois Central equipment in its downtown park near the station. Right now the station building is being repaired after a fire and isn't open.
But the train is easily accessible. It's located under this impressive roof structure, and is generally in very good condition cosmetically.
The locomotive is an IC 2500-class 4-8-2, similar (or identical?) to the one at Centralia.
It appears to be in good mechanical condition, although it still has its jacket and it's impossible to tell what condition the boiler might be in. From what little I could see of the backhead, everything is still there.
By the way, while doing some research for this post, I noticed that there's only one place in the country that has more than one IC steam locomotive -- can you guess where it is?
Back to McComb -- from a museum standpoint, one of the most interesting things is the signage. All of the display information is inscribed on these granite blocks, much like tombstones, located beside each item. You can see them beside the cars in several of the photos. Some are more legible than others, but they all have a lot of good information. They have the advantage that they will last forever and presumably won't get stolen. Of course, they must be very heavy and hard to move, but the display equipment isn't going anywhere so that's not a problem for this particular situation. They must also be expensive, but most of them were evidently paid for by memorial gifts from local citizens.
This business car was built in 1883 by Jackson & Sharp and rebuilt heavily since then. I would really have liked to see the interior.
And they have a big hook on display. South of here, the display track is no longer connected to the main, so the collection has nowhere to go.
That is correct, this engine is the same class of 4-8-2 as the one in Centralia. A pity no other large IC steamers survived beyond the two 4-8-2s. The IC had several beautiful Berkshires and 2-10-2s.
ReplyDeleteIn the late 1950s, the Kentucky Railway Museum was trying to save 4-8-2 2613, but sadly things didn't pan out in their favor as the asking price for the engine was more than what they could afford at the time. It would've been one of the largest 4-8-2s in preservation had it survived.
-Matt Maloy
A museum with two IC steam locomotives? That would have to be IRM, with the 201 and 3719. What do I win???
ReplyDeleteCliff McKay
A cab ride on whichever one is operational first!
ReplyDeleteI think I have a long wait ahead of me! Lol
ReplyDeleteCliff
You can hardly find a better school of patience than right here at IRM. At least the things you've waited for have a good chance of eventually getting done. By the way, I think the 201 is destined for life as a showpiece, and not an operating locomotive. It just wouldn't be practical.
ReplyDelete