You will find this miniature workhorse in the Thomas Corrigan Park located in Soda Springs, Idaho, USA. This miniature locomotive played an integral part in the history of Caribou County. When the dam for Alexander Reservoir near Soda Springs, Idaho, was built in 1924, it hauled supplies to the dam. Trapped by rising water, the locomotive was abandoned. In 1976 the reservoir was drained for repairs, uncovering the locomotive. It was restored by Union Pacific Railroad, and presented to the City of Soda Springs.
This particular locomotive was built by H.K Porter Company of Pittsburgh, PA.
H.K. Porter Company (information gained from Wikipedia with an abridged history)
H. K. Porter, Inc. (Porter) manufactured light-duty railroad locomotives in the USA, starting in 1866. The company became the largest producer of industrial locomotives, and built almost eight thousand of them. The last locomotive was built in 1950, but the company continues to produce industrial equipment to this day.
Porter was known for building locomotives that were much smaller than those normally used by the larger Class I railroads. The company's locomotives were small enough that they were often operated by only one person. Porter built mostly steam locomotives, but they also built some powered by gasoline and diesel engines, and some that ran on compressed air.
1866: Henry Kirke Porter forms a partnership with John Y. Smith and they call the company Smith & Porter. The two open a small machine shop on 28th Street in Pittsburgh, and begin repairing and building industrial equipment. They receive an order for their first locomotive on the March 4, 1867, and build the "Joshua Rhodes" for the New Castle Railroad and Mining Company. They were to build 43 locomotives together, including the "Minnetonka" which is currently preserved in running condition at the Lake Superior Museum of Transportation, in Duluth, Minnesota. They specialized in four wheeled, saddle tank locomotives for small industrial railroads.
1950: The company built its last locomotive for an industry in Brazil. The parts business and all the required patterns were sold to the Davenport Locomotive Works in Iowa.
Information about the train:
Utah Power & Light Co. No. 1 0-4-0T
Soda Springs, ID
Location: City Park Status: Display
Wheels: 0-4-0T
Builder: H.K. Porter
Build Date: 1890
Construction No.: Unknown
Empty Weight: 12,000
Weight on Drivers: 12,000
Driver Diameter: Unk
Tractive Effort: Unk
Boiler Pressure: 140
Cylinders: Unknown
Fuel: Coal
Gauge: 42"
(info gained from www.steamlocomotive.info - specific address: (
visit link) )
If you don't have a camera or forgot yours and want credit for the visit, answer the following two questions in an email to me (Please DON'T post your answers in your visit log):
1) Name the Chairman of the "Save The Train" Committee.
2) Name the person who handled Advertising for the "Save The Train" Committee.