Last steam locomotive in normal service in the USA?

Question

NOT railfan or tourist service. I.E. regular commercial revenue earning service. What I want to know is what year it was and if possible what railroad and where. Of couse it is quite likely that the last one of all was in industrial use at a factory or similar - it would be nice to know where and when this was too.

I appreciate this is rather a grey area. In Britain, technically, the Vale of Rheidol Railway, Snowdon Mountain Railway and Isle of Man Railway have just carried on running and never dieselised - (fully at least) but these lines are run for tourists and steam is part of the 'attraction'. So I think that rules out the Pikes Peak railroad as one example.

Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

I was going to suggest Union Pacific's engine No. 844 but while it was never retired it no longer earns any money for them.  It's sort of a rolling museum piece.

Answer 2

Actually I answered another question with the UP 844 and 3985, but forgot to mention Nevada Northern's #93 a 2-8-0 steam locomotive, this locomotive is used for freight moves on the NN's rails from Ely, Nevada and areas arounf there. Also the Durango and Silverton has 4 steam locomotives they still use for hauling freight and tourist excursions from Durango to Silverton and back, 90% of the time they double power these trains, so it is really a site to see.

Answer 3

I remember a steam locomotive  in use on the Fort Worth and Denver RR as late as 1957, at the Henrietta depot.

Answer 4

I'd have to agree on the D&RG in Silverton, CO, if it's still hauling freight and passengers why wouldn't it count??

Answer 5

These types of questions are often difficult, primarily because "the last day of the last steam engine" as a strict matter of fact is probably lost to history, but there are accurate accounts of the last services of different road names and classes of steam engines.  It is true the last "regular" service was in rock quarries and the like, and I know that at at least one US Naval Depot ran steam until as late as 1964.  But I'm thinking you're more interested in the Class 1 railroads.  In that category there were four "die hards" of steam.

The die hards were found east of the Mississippi with but one exception.  Those eastern railroads were the Nickle Plate Road, Norfolk Western and the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range.  By the end of 1958, the last of these were classified as "stored ready for use".

The Nickle Plate Railroad used the 2-8-4 Berkshires until the end, between Ft. Wayne, Indiana and Chicago.  On Sunday evening, June 15th, 1958, the last Berkshire delivered the last load of goods to Chicago, sent to the roundhouse, where the fire was dropped, unceremoniously.

Most railroads only used the newest, biggest, most advanced steam engines until the end, where they were not only worked, but worked hard.  The steam rebels of the Norfolk and Western, the Y-6b 2-8-8-2s and class A 2-6-6-4s worked the coal trains of Kentucky and West Virginia north and east to ocean and lake ports, regularly handling 175 car, 13,000 ton trains.  These too were silenced before the end of 1958, with the notable exception of the J class 4-8-4s, which made it as far as the mibble of 1959.

The behemoths of the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range made it a little further, but the last of their laborious barking was heard in early 1960, in regular service.  There were two kept on "standby" status, but they never saw the main line again.

The last of steam, in regular service for a class 1 railroad, was found at home on the property of the Denver and Rio Grande Western's 3 foot gage, which operated in regular revenue freight service until 1961.  Of course it seemlessly moved into the realm of tourist railroad with the spectacular scenery and more than a couple of the old "mud hens" survive to this day, operating both in Colorado and southern California.

This is all I can find on the subject, so I would say the last of regular steam operations occurred in 1961.

Answer 6

You didn't mention what country you're talking about.  If you're talking about the whole world, then I don't think that day has ever come.  

Back in the 60's, Ron Zeil wrote a book called "The Twilight of Steam Locomotives" where he covered the short lines, industrial steam, and logging railroads that still used revenue steam in the U.S.  Lots of pictures.  In this book it's easy to see that by the late 1960's, revenue steam in the USA was just barely hanging on at a 3 or 4 very down-and-out common carriers.