LAST -- Steam Locomotive Used in the Santa Fe System - Kingman, AZ - Last of its Kind on Waymarking.com

Engine 3759

Engine No. 3759, is a mighty steam engine from an era nearly 100 years ago. An era of iron horses that sped across thousands of miles; an era that has always been entwined with Kingman. But just what is No. 3759, besides one of the most photographed landmarks in Kingman? Engine 3759 was built in 1928 by Baldwin Locomotive Works of Eddystone, Pennsylvania at the cost of $100,064. It went into service in 1929 for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company.

The engine's regular run was from Kansas City to Los Angeles, an approximately 1,800-mile trip, and did that 10 times a month. This run was largely a passenger service with Kingman as the water-stop on the engine's eastward journey. The 108-feet long, 468.80 pound engine could travel up to 100 miles per hour, but tended to average about 54.3 while heading east, and slightly higher at 60.2 mph while heading west.

Engine No. 3759 was one of the last steam locomotives in regular use, making the last run from Barstow to Los Angeles in 1957. After 28 years of service, the old engine had traveled 2,585,600 miles. "When this engine was built in 1929, it was the latest and largest type, known as series 3700. It is also the largest to be given to any city by Santa Fe. And it was the last steam engine used in the Santa Fe system."

It was through the efforts of former Mayor E.J. McCarthy and George Getz that the engine made its way to its permanent home at Locomotive Park. It was a multi-year process, going through a few presidents of the Chamber of Commerce, before the old engine made its last trek to Kingman. Santa Fe section crews laid a temporary rail line across Route 66 to the park. Hundreds of people created a traffic jam as the giant rolled across the track to its home on a concrete slab. As soon as the engine was across the street, the track was torn up. It was the shortest-lived railroad line that the Santa Fe had ever built, lasting for about 45 minutes. The official dedication of "old 3759" took place

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Caboose No. 999520

In September 1986, the City of Kingman received information from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company regarding the request for a surplus caboose. The city wanted to capitalize on that opportunity, especially for a park that received thousands of visitors a year, and to this day still stands as a focal point for city-wide events. That year, the "Caboose Fund" began in full swing. From raffles, to donations, to merchandise, everyone was going caboose crazy.

Donations poured in, both literally and figuratively, from all areas of the community. One resident poured his entire spare-change collection of six years into the caboose fund, students from Manzanita raised $75 for the fund, and a city council member donated his entire city council paycheck to the fund, all $46.15 worth.
About $17,000 was raised for the caboose, and in May 1987, Kingman got exactly what it wished for.

Caboose No. 999520 was built at Santa Fe's Topeka, Kansas shop in June 1944. It was originally categorized as CE-2 caboose and was number 2122. At the time it was built, the caboose was painted mineral brown and had no Santa Fe logo.

In December 1969 the caboose was rebuilt in San Bernardino and renumbered to 299520. During its operational life, it was used in mainline transcontinental pool caboose services and accumulated over 2.5 million miles by the time it was retired in 1986. The 39-foot caboose weighs 56,765 pounds.

Saturday, May 9, 1987 some 4,000 people showed up at Locomotive Park and another 1,200 of them took rope in hand to move the nearly half-million pound iron creature 30 feet forward to its new resting spot.

"The Great Locomotive Pull" was a spectacular event. "It would be easy just to bring in some heavy equipment and move the locomotive," explained Dave Small, then president of the Merchants Association. "But we got to thinking, 'Why not get the whole town involved?' After all, this is a community project that's going to benefit everybody." It took "10 seconds" according to an Arizona Republic photo caption.

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