Western Pacific No. 26

Western Pacific Railroad

Steam-Powered Locomotive

Built by:

American Locomotive Company – 1909

Wheel Arrangement:

2-8-0 “Consolidation”

Weight:

119 Tons

Donated by:

Western Pacific Railroad – 1954

A.54.03.03

Herman Miller took this photo of No. 26 at Doyle, California in July 1939.

Western Pacific No. 26 is the largest and heaviest steam locomotive on display at Travel Town.  She is a fine example of the type of locomotive that pulled mainline freight trains all across the county in the early 20th Century.  She was built in Schenectady, New York, by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) – and was already hard at work pulling construction trains when the ‘last spike’ was driven to complete the new Western Pacific Railroad on November 1, 1909.  No. 26 spent the next 44 years pulling trains on the line between Salt Lake City, Utah and Oakland, California – many of them through the spectacular Feather River Canyon.

Please be a friend to the Trains!

Consider making a donation to help our museum volunteers restore the trains and improve your  Travel Town experience!

More Interesting Information:

Locomotive No. 26 logged in 999,806 miles during her 44 years of service on the Western Pacific.  She was featured in several early Hollywood movies of the 1920s, with film stars Monte Blue, Mae McAvoy, and Jimmie Gleason. 

Warner Bros. used No. 26 in the filming of "The Limited Mail" in 1925.

When the Western Pacific switched over to Diesel power and got rid of its old steam locomotives, the railroad decided to save No. 26 and donate her to the new Travel Town Museum!

Here's a clip from Western Pacific Railroad "Mileposts" employee magazine - May 1954