Ft Worth & Western 4-6-0 2248 |
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Built in 1896, Ft. Worth & Western's Cooke 4-6-0 steam locomotive is the only operating
steam locomotive in the state of Texas that was built before the end of the 19th century.
According to the Tarantula train website
(
http://www.tarantulatrain.com/index.html),
the locomotive spent several decades operating on the Southern Pacific, and in 1959 was
purchased by Chas T. Brown, a private collector who planned to operate it in coordination
with Walt Disney at a proposed railroad theme park in California. The plans eventually fell
through when Walt Disney went on to open Disneyland, and the steam locomotive was acquired by
the Texas State Railroad in 1974.
Please click on any of the following pictures to see a larger image:
Ft. Worth & Western acquired the 2248 in 1990, and spent approximately two years restoring
the engine at its 8th Avenue facility southwest of downtown Ft. Worth, at a cost of
approximately $1 million. The locomotive made its public debut in December 1991, when it
began a series of break-in runs on FWWR local freights in Ft. Worth. Early in 1992, the
2248 began operating on FWWR's Tarantula tourist trains, which ran between FWWR's yard at
8th Avenue and the Ft. Worth Stockyards.
2248's workload increased when FWWR acquired a former Cotton Belt branch between Ft.
Worth and Carrollton and extended the route of the Tarantula train to the former Cotton
Belt depot at Grapevine. In 1999, when Coe Rail, Inc. took over the operation of the Tarantula
from FWWR, many observers predicted that the end of operating steam on FWWR was near.
The end apparently materialized in January 2000, when Coe sidelined the 2248 in favor of its
own Texas Star Clipper F7 diesels as power for Tarantula train power. Now in need
of serious mechanical work, the 2248 has not operated since, and is currently stored across
the street from the old Cotton Belt depot in Grapevine.
Coe Rail has since left FWWR property, and FWWR has resumed operating the Tarantula,
powering the train with one of its diesels.
A new lease on life for the 2248 may be coming; a September 6, 2000 Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
article mentioned that the City of Grapevine is considering assuming the operation of the
Tarantula train, in response to an offer extended by FWWR owner Bill Davis. City officials,
wary of the public fascination of steam locomotives and the likelihood that an operating
steam engine will draw more tourists to town than would a diesel-powered train, may
eventually fund some of the 2248's repair expenses.
For more information on the 2248 and the Tarantula passenger train, visit the Tarantula's
official website at
http://www.tarantulatrain.com/index.html
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All images on Wes Carr's Southwest Shorts © 2000 by Wes Carr. All rights reserved.
Wes Carr claims no affiliation with the Ft. Worth & Western or any other shortline railroad.