Steam Locomotive Fans

3751 doing a demonstration run at LAUPT. Michael Tovey.

#3751 is a 4-8-4 Northern steam locomotive. It was built in 1926 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. #3751 is significant because it was not only the first Northern for the Santa Fe, but it was the first Northern that Baldwin ever built. When she was new, 3751 had 73" drivers, burned coal, and had an operating boiler pressure of 210 psi. In 1935-1937, ATSF rebuilt the all the 1926 Northerns. They were given taller 80" drivers, converted to burn oil, and the boiler pressure was raised to 230 psi.

3751 was retired in the early 1950s, and was put on display at a park in California. In the 1980s, a group pulled the 3751 from it's display stand and moved it to the shops at the California Steel Foundry, where it underwent restoration. In 1988, the locomotive was steamed up and run under it's own power for the first time in over 30 years, and a few months later, with the help of 2 ATSF FP45s painted in the all new Santa Fe Superfleet scheme, pulled her first excursion, the California Limited. After that she made a series of excursions, including one over the infamous Cajon Pass. 3751 hasn't made quite as many excursions as she did in previous years, but as the above picture suggests, she's alive and well and has brought out on numerous ocassions for events.

Modeling Tips:

BLI recently produced a wonderful HO version of the 3751. It is very detailed and sounds just like the real 3751. Aside from a few minor detail inacuracies, it is probably the best HO example of the 3751.