The Cotton Belt Class L-1 was a class of 20 4-8-4 "Northern" type

steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

that were built by the

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railway locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, Eddystone in the early 20th century. The com ...

and the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (a.k.a. "Cotton Belt Route") at their own Pine Bluff Shops.

History

In all, a total of 20 locomotives were ever built with the first 10 locomotives being built by the

in 1930 and being delivered to the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (a.k.a. "Cotton Belt Route") that same year in 1930, and the other 10 locomotives being built by the Cotton Belt themselves at their own Pine Bluff Shops in 1937, 1942 and 1943. Then, in 1953, the

Cotton Belt Route The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", was a Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Tennessee ...

began to retire each of their L-1 locomotives when they began to dieselize their lines that they had owned. All, but one locomotive were scrapped between 1955 and 1957.

Leasing with the Southern Pacific

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

had made an agreement with

Southern Pacific Transportation Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

to lease eleven of their L-1 locomotives to operate on the lines by the

as they needed more motive power to tackle the issues throughout the

. The leased L-1 locomotives were divided into two classes of locomotives on the

, those being the Southern Pacific Class GS-7 and Southern Pacific Class GS-8. However, neither one of the two classes of leased L-1 locomotives were preserved, and they were all sold for scrap in 1957.

Preservation

Only one locomotive of the class L-1 has survived into preservation, which was No. 819. The locomotive was retired from revenue service in 1953 and was presented to the City of

Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pine Bluff, officially the City of Pine Bluff, is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, tenth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, Jefferson County. The population of the city wa ...

in 1955 as a token of gratitude for the city's support of the Cotton Belt's steam locomotive operations. The ownership of the locomotive was retained by the city, and the restoration of the 819 was the responsibility of "Project 819", an all-volunteer effort by two rail historical preservation groups: the

Arkansas Railroad Club Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma to the ...

and the

Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", was a Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Tennessee ...

. The locomotive was restored to operating condition in 1986 and operated in excursion service until October 1993. As of 2022, the locomotive is being restored again at the Arkansas Railway Museum in

, by the

History

Leasing with the Southern Pacific

Preservation

References

Further reading