Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe 3751

Steam locomotive 3751 was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia in 1927. The engine was a coal burner with many innovative features at that time, and was the first locomotive of its type (4-8-4 wheel configuration) built by Baldwin and the first of its type purchased by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (Santa Fe) Railway, which bought the engine for $99,712. 3751 began service on the difficult New Mexico subdivision, with some mountain grades over 3%, and soon serviced towns like La Junta, Albuquerque, and Clovis pulling trains like the Chief, The California Limited and Grand Canyon Limited from California. In 1936, the engine was shopped in San Bernardino for conversion to fuel oil, then assigned to the Winslow, AZ runs. It also served as stand-by for the new diesel-powered Super Chief streamliner. While assigned to Southern California, 3751 became the first Santa Fe locomotive to bring a passenger train into the brand new Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal in May of 1939. From 1938 to 1941, Santa Fe upgraded many of their 4-8-4's, including 3751. 3751 received many improvements, including new 80 inch drivers and Timken roller bearings on all axles, an increase in boiler pressure from 210 to 230 pounds, and other improvements resulting in a 3900 cylinder horsepower rating and maximum speed of 90 MPH. 3751 was placed back into passenger service pulling trains from Los Angeles to cities like Wellington, Kansas City, and Amarillo, including numerous troop trains during the war. The engine received a class 3 overhaul in 1950, then was assigned to the Los Angeles Division, working out of the Redondo Junction roundhouse with runs to Barstow, San Bernardino, and San Diego until class 5 repairs were made at Albuquerque in 1951. Upon returning to service, 3751 handled special trains, including the Boy Scout Jamboree and Shriner specials, helper service on Cajon Pass, and passenger service to San Diego. In 1953, after 26 years of service, she made her final revenue trip leading the final steam passenger train to depart San Diego. The 3751 was then stored serviceable at Redondo Junction.

Locomotive 3751 was donated to the city of San Bernardino by the Santa Fe Railway in 1957. It was placed as a monument to the steam era in Viaduct Park near the Santa Fe Depot. The engine rested there for 28 years. In 1981, a group formed to restore the engine, and in 1986 the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society (SBRHS), with the help of Santa Fe and Southern Pacific, moved 3751 from the park to a shop area provided by California Steel Industries in Fontana. After five years of grueling work by dedicated SBRHS volunteers led by Scott Brittin, M.E., the locomotive was fully restored and returned to steam operation in 1991. The inaugural excursion was a public passenger train of 16 vintage passenger cars which operated four days in late December between Los Angeles and Bakersfield recreating the famous California Limited train. Then in 1992, Santa Fe leased 3751 for an "Employee Recognition Special" with 12 coaches between LA and Chicago. Nearly 10,000 employees and family members rode segments of the round trip. 3751 has also appeared for public inspection at the Orange Blossom Festival in Riverside in 1995 and 1996. The engine appeared in a photo shoot with Nicholas Cage in "Vanity Fair". Over 10 professional videos and a book have featured 3751. The engine steamed to Los Angeles in January 1999 for temporary shelter at the former Santa Fe and now Amtrak Redondo engine service facility.

Since its return to Redondo Junction in Los Angeles, the SBRHS has continued to bring 3751 out to the public as often as possible. The locomotive was displayed under steam at the Amtrak Employee Picnic in May of 1999, traveled to Sacramento for Railfair at the California State Railroad Museum in June of 1999, was used in the filming of the 2001 Jerry Bruckheimer production of Pearl Harbor, participated at the 2001 Fullerton Railroad Days and operated in a roundtrip excursion to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in August of 2002 as part of the National Railroad Historical Society’s annual convention.

Santa Fe steam locomotive 3751 has come to represent the great railroad heritage of the Southwest as a fully operational ambassador of the steam era. The society's supporters believe that the steam locomotive is a valuable symbol of our industrial heritage, and played a major role in the early settling of America. They believe that the engine provides both young and old with a glimpse into a fascinating past. A restored locomotive such as 3751 is truly a bit of living history, a status confirmed by having been officially designated as a National Historic Site by the National Park Service in 2001.

(Information from San Bernadino Railroad Historical Society Webpage)