Locomotive #3
CF&I #3 from 1957.
The picture above was taken on November 26, 1957 at Birdsboro while #3 was still in service. Note that the engine is chained as well as coupled to the car. The locomotive is lettered...
THE E&G BROOKE PLANT
WICKWIRE SPENCER STEEL DIVISION
THE COLORADO FUEL & IRON CORPORATION
Number 3 was an 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotive built by Alco-Cooke in 1910 for American Brake Shoe & Foundry Co. as their #1. In 1925 the locomotive was sold to E&G Brooke Iron Co. and became their #3. I haven't been able to follow all the corporate name changes and mergers this company went through. But at least according to the locomotive's lettering, the E&G Brooke Plant was controlled by the Wickwire Spencer Steel Division which was controlled by the Colorado Fuel & Iron Corporation. That's a mouth full! The WK&S acquired #3 from the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company in 1963. This was when the WK&S was a new company and had yet to run a train. Cooke #3 was jointly purchased with CF&I Porter #2. Both locomotives arrived at the WK&S in the spring of 1963. Number 2 was quickly put to work pulling the railroad's inaugural passenger trains on Memorial Day. But #3 was unserviceable and destined for static display. I don't have a good color photo of the locomotive when it arrived at the WK&S, but it was lettered in yellow with white and orange diagonal stripes on the pilot. Some references cite #3 as built in 1911, but the builder's plate read December 1910. Cooke #3 faced south when it arrived at the WK&S. But in the mid to late '60s (maybe '67) the locomotive was turned to face north. Apparently this "turn" was accomplished with a piece of panel track and a bulldozer. Locomotive #3 became part of a static museum display on the back track behind Kempton Station. From north to south the display included Cooke #3, LNE caboose #512, museum car #72, B&O coach #X4111 and CNJ business car #98. The two pictures below show #3 at the WK&S before it was painted. Note that the lettering is the same as the picture above. The next three were taken after the locomotive was painted (1965, I think).
Before painting around 1965.
Before painting around 1965.
Before painting around 1965.
After painting around 1965.
After painting around 1965.
After painting around 1965.
The picture below shows Porter #2 moving Cooke #3 at Wanamaker around 1964. Number 3 is in the foreground. Note that #3 faces south and #2 faces north. Both would eventually be turned. I don't know why #3 would have been moved to Wanamaker. The yard at Kempton was still being developed and space was probably at a premium. Perhaps #3 was just being moved out of the way to the other end of the line.
Photo by Dave Thomas.
Number 3 on the back track as part of the museum line up. The locomotive has been turned to face north and is at the far north end of the back track coupled with LNE caboose #512.
A rare view looking down the west side of the back track in 1970. Note the original back track bump-post that is now long gone.
In 1978 Cooke #3 was sold to the Great Falls Development Corp. The Great Falls area of Paterson, NJ was being developed as a historical district. One of the buildings in this area was the Rogers Locomotive Works which became the Paterson Museum. It was decided that the museum needed a Paterson-built steam locomotive for exhibit. A search lead to the WK&S and Cooke #3. The WK&S was paid $7,400 for the locomotive. Just before the locomotive was to find new life, the three builder plates were stolen sometime between November 1977 and March 1978. The builder plates read...
AMERICAN
LOCOMOTIVE COMPANY
47604
COOKE WORKS
DECEMBER, 1910
Sans builder plates the locomotive was trucked out on November 16, 1978. Number 3 was switched off the back track and moved to downtown Kempton where a crane lifted it onto a flatbed truck. Digging out #3 meant that all the other equipment on the back track had to be pulled out first including the coupler-less model railroad car #72. Pictures show the stack was broke when the locomotive was being loaded onto the truck. I don't know if the stack was already broke when the locomotive arrived at the WK&S 15 years before. Some early pictures show what could be a patch. But the locomotive always had a stack cover so it's hard to tell. The arrival of #3 was a really big deal in Paterson. The locomotive was paraded down Market Street to City Hall along with a police honor guard and a procession of antique cars. The locomotive was pulled by a team of horses. I assume this means that the flatbed truck was pulled by a team of horses. Newspaper clippings also indicate that $3,000 had been earmarked for the locomotive's restoration. That's a lot of 1978 dollars to restore what was and would remain a static display. But they got millions in federal and state money for their development project, so why not? I don't know how the locomotive appeared when first restored. But later pictures show that they didn't bother replacing the front coupler and cab steps that were cut off for transport. By 2005 it was pretty shabby looking. But by 2010 the Cooke had been repainted and lettered for the American Brake Shoe & Foundry Co. as their #1.
Pin-back button.
Number 3 on its way to Paterson, November 16, 1978.
Shabby looking #3 in 2005. Photo by Mike Castellow.
Shabby looking #3 in 2005. Note the broke stack and missing coupler. Photo by Mike Castellow.
Shabby looking #3 in 2005. Note the missing cab steps. Photo by Mike Castellow.
By 2010 the locomotive had been repainted and lettered ABS&F Co. #1. Photo by Mario Burger, www.burgerinternationalinc.com.