Why 2015 may be a frustratingly good year for mainline steam

Nickel Plate Rod 2-8-4 No. 765 works through the station at Harrisburg, Pa., on an employee special in August 2012. We're looking forward to seeing the big Berk and other mainline steam on the high iron in 2015. Jim Wrinn photo.

The 1,472-day inspections of two famous 4-8-4s — Norfolk & Western No. 611 and Southern Pacific No. 4449 -- have been completed and those engines are well on their way to being operational. Union Pacific said last week that it has restructured its Cheyenne shop management to speed work on 4-8-4 No. 844 (and a long-term project, Big Boy No. 4014). The clock is ticking on Spokane, Portland & Seattle 4-8-4 No. 700, whose boiler time expires in July. As far as I know, Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 3751 is operational in the LA area, and Milwaukee Road 261 is set to go in the Twin Cities. In the East, Norfolk Southern has Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 and Southern Railway 2-8-2 No. 4501, whose restoration was finished last September, ready to polish the rails. (Southern 630, a small, hand-fired 2-8-0 that carried the burden of NS’s southern-most trips for the last four years, I suspect, will get a well-deserved rest handling Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum’s on-site operations unless there are compelling reasons for her to stray off site.)

That is the good news. The bad news is that mainline railroads are busy, possibly too busy for a lot of steam. My friend and columnist Fred Frailey says in a blog post last weekend that he thinks this year will be the one when U.S.  railroads push beyond the 28.6 million units that railroads hauled in 2006 to set an all-time traffic record. If so, that’s great news for the railroad business. Those of us who grew up in the bad old days of the 1960s and 1970s are happy to see railroading as a healthy thriving business. But it does make me worry that when any Class I railroad management contemplates running steam this year, the answer could either be either “no” or “just a little.”

The most likely opportunity for mainline steam this spring is on Norfolk Southern, which took last fall off to handle a big traffic surge. I asked Norfolk Southern about a 2015 steam schedule last week, but none was available.

I hope that steam will find a way to appear on the main line this year. It is still great public relations for an industry that is growing and always needs friends. It is a point of pride for many, both employees and admirers, and a drawing card for an industry seeking to hire thousands.

My prediction: There will be steam this year on the mainline, but it may just not be as much of it as you are I like. Just remember this: Some mainline steam is better than none. See you trackside!