Southern Pacific 2467

No. 2467 is one of 15 4-6-2 heavy "Pacific" type steam locomotives built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in January 1921 for the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), designated the P-8 class, and numbered 2461-2475.[2] These locomotives were initially used to serve the SP’s long-distance passenger trains, such as the Overland Route from Ogden, Utah, to Oakland, California and the Sunset Limited between Los Angeles and El Paso, Texas, until the SP’s larger 4-8-2 “Mountain” types replaced them.[3] No. 2467 pulled its last long-distance passenger train from Fresno to Oakland on February 10, 1945.[4]

The locomotive was subsequently reassigned to pull local passenger trains and commuter trains between Sacramento and Oakland and the San Francisco-San Jose, California, commuter route. No. 2467 pulled its last revenue train on December 26, 1956, before it was removed from the SP’s active list. On July 25, 1960, No. 2467 was donated to the city of Oakland, where the locomotive was put on static display at a park that would later become Harrison Railroad Park.[5] The latter idea came from District 3 City Councilman Howard Rilea, who was a retired railroad engineer who had ridden on No. 2467 during its final long-distance run in 1945.[4]

In the early 1980s, a group called the “Friends of the 2467” (later merged into the Pacific Locomotive Association (PLA)) was formed with the goal of restoring No. 2467 to operational status.[6] In July 1990, the locomotive was removed from Harrison Railroad Park and moved to a nearby yard, where a restoration effort called Project 2467 commenced.[7] The restoration process included replacing the flues and tubes, fabricating the boiler jacketing, repairing the firebox, and refurbishing the cab. In May 1999, No. 2467 was successfully test fired, and the following month, the locomotive was approved to legally operate by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).[7]

After final applications were made to the locomotive, the restoration crew moved No. 2467 to Sacramento, where it attended Railfair ‘99 at the California State Railroad Museum (CSRM).[8][9] Once the fair was over, No. 2467 was towed to the Golden Gate Railroad Museum (GGRM)(Which owns fellow SP P-8 No. 2472) at the Hunters Point shipyard in San Francisco, where No. 2467 was stored and put into occasional excursion service.[10] In January 2003, the GGRM hosted a photo session that featured Numbers 2467 and 2472 operating together.[11]

In August 2005, the US Navy ordered the GGRM to vacate all of their equipment from Hunters Point, since ownership of the site was being turned over to the city of San Francisco. No. 2467, which was still owned by the PLA, was subsequently towed back to the CSRM in Sacramento, where a long-term loan was signed to keep the locomotive in storage at the CSRM’s property.[12] As of 2023, No. 2467 is still stored serviceable while being displayed inside the CSRM’s main hall.[6]