Valley Railroad 3025

Valley Railroad 3025 is a China Railways SY class steam locomotive that was built in 1989 by the Tangshan Locomotive and Rolling Stock Works for the Knox and Kane Railroad, where it spent its life until that railroad's demise. It was purchased by the Valley Railroad Company in 2008 and has since been rebuilt as a masquerade of a New Haven J-1 "Mikado" locomotive and re-numbered 3025.[2]

Valley Railroad 3025
No. 3025 at Deep River in 2021.
Type and origin
References: [1]
Power typeSteam
BuilderTangshan Locomotive and Rolling Stock Works
Serial numberSY1658M
ModelSY
Build date1989
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-8-2
 • UIC1’D1’
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.53.94 in (1,370 mm)
Wheelbase:
 • Drivers		14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Length70 ft 10 in (21.59 m)
Adhesive weight154,323 lb (70,000 kg; 70.00 t)
Loco weight194,007 lb (88,000 kg; 88.00 t)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity20,000 lb (9,072 kg; 9.072 t)
Water cap.6,600 US gal (25,000 L; 5,500 imp gal)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		49.514 sq ft (4.6000 m2)
Boiler pressure198.7 lbf/in2 (1.37 MPa)
Heating surface2,312 sq ft (214.8 m2)
 • Tubes and flues1,851 sq ft (172.0 m2)
 • Firebox187.2 sq ft (17.39 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • Heating area461 sq ft (42.8 m2)
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size20.87 in × 27.95 in (530 mm × 710 mm)
Valve gearWalschaerts
Performance figures
Maximum speed50 mph (80.47 km/h)
Tractive effort38,147 lbf (169.7 kN)
Factor of adh.4.05
Career
OperatorsKnox and Kane Railroad, Connecticut Valley Railroad
ClassSY
Numbers
  • KKRR 1658
  • KKRR 58
  • NH 3025
  • CVRR 3025
Retired2006
RestoredNovember 25, 2011
Current ownerConnecticut Valley Railroad
DispositionOperational

History

Knox and Kane Railroad 1658, as it was then known, was one of three China Railways SY class steam locomotives that were built by the Tangshan Locomotive and Rolling Stock Works in 1989 exclusively for tourist operations in the United States. Sloan Cornell, the founder of the Knox and Kane Railroad, purchased the locomotive at an undisclosed cost, and it arrived in Pennsylvania in the beginning of 1990.[2]

The locomotive ran for the Knox and Kane between 1990 and spring of 2006, when the railroad ceased all operations.[2] In storage in an engine house in Kane, locomotive 58 and other rolling stock was subjected to an early morning arson attack on March 16, 2008. The locomotive was severely damaged, more so than its housemate, the 2-8-0 No. 38, which had thicker boiler skin. Its cab was lined with wood, which was completely destroyed.

On October 10, the locomotive was purchased at a liquidation auction by the Valley Railroad.[3] The new owners planned to restore the locomotive to operating condition, and simultaneously transform its appearance to that of a New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad locomotive, to be numbered 3025.[4] Restoration was completed in 2011, and the locomotive entered revenue service on November 25, 2011, pulling the North Pole Express. It has since become one of the railroad's regular road locomotives, and took locomotive No. 40's title as the railroad's largest locomotive.[2]

  • Valley Railroad 3025 operating as Knox and Kane No. 58 in July 1990
    Valley Railroad 3025 operating as Knox and Kane No. 58 in July 1990
  • No. 3025 being parked near the Kinzua Bridge as Knox and Kane No. 58 in October 2001
    No. 3025 being parked near the Kinzua Bridge as Knox and Kane No. 58 in October 2001
  • 3025 operating on the Connecticut Valley Railroad in 2011, after being restored.
    3025 operating on the Connecticut Valley Railroad in 2011, after being restored.
  • Firebox doors of 3025
    Firebox doors of 3025
  • 3025 at Goodspeed Station during the Lee Carlson Memorial Photo Charter on April 24, 2021.
    3025 at Goodspeed Station during the Lee Carlson Memorial Photo Charter on April 24, 2021.
  • 3025 at Tate’s Cut in Deep River on September 24, 2021
    3025 at Tate’s Cut in Deep River on September 24, 2021
  • VALE 3025 about to depart from Essex on December 17th, 2021
    VALE 3025 about to depart from Essex on December 17th, 2021

References
  1. "China State Railways / Chinese State Railways 2-8-2 Locomotives in China". Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  2. Associated Press (December 25, 1989). "Steam Rides Again! China Engines, U.S. Rails". The New York Times.
  3. "New Haven 3025". www.friendsvrr.org. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  4. "Essex Steam Train - www.rgusrail.com". www.rgusrail.com. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
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