By Lloyd E. Stagner and TRAINS Magazine

The 1954 potato and wheat crops were light, however four 2-10-4's were fired up for Belen-Mountainair helpers, and seven 2900's and six 3776's worked through freights on he Slaton Division June 10, July 27. Several 900-1600 class 2-10-2's and two 2507-class 2-8-0's also switched at Clovis, Wellington, and Emporia for awhile.

A farewell-to-steam excursion ran from Los Angeles to Barstow and return on February 5, 1955, behind the 3759, which was termed by General Manager Raymond Shelton as "positively the last steam operation on the Coast Lines." Recordings and movies of this excursion are still available.

On the Western Lines, roundhouse forces began testing and painting 2-10-4's and 4-8-4's in late April as it appeared a heavy perishable movement would make the use of steam necessary. Eighty-six engines worked between April 30 and August 4. Commencing in mid-June, 22 2900's, 3 3765's, and 7 3776's were returned to service. They operated between Argentine and Clovis on the Slaton Division and as Belen-Mountainair helpers. The main district with steam was between Clovis and Waynoka, where 2-10-4's did most of the work, 4-8-4's filling in as required. Total mileage of steam power was 50,607 in May, 274,489 in June, 286,847 in July, and 16,839 in August as the 4-8-4's had their final fling at the head of westbound redballs and eastbound perishables.

The 2920 handled the last steam freight over the Middle Division on August 1, a westbound drag of empty reefers. The 2912 handled the last AT&SF steam freight into Clovis from Slaton on the morning of August 4. Thereafter, steam power was confined to the Belen helpers and during November 1955 to Waynoka-Curtis helper service. Nos. 2907, 3770, and 3780 worked in the Belen pool until December 24.

Eighty new diesel units were on order for 1956, and the outlook for steam operation was not favorable. The only steam to operate was No. 2925 and four 2-10-4's in the Belen helper pool, from May 10 until July 13. Nos. 2907 and 3780, along with three 5011's, sounded the finale for Santa Fe steam in revenue service at Belen between June 10 and August 27, 1957.

Engines in good condition were available for 1958's peak movements, but slow traffic saw even some diesels in storage that summer. Purchase of 69 new 2400 h.p. SD24's and DL60OB's in 1959 precluded the use of steam.

The remaining 3 3751's, 10 3765's, 9 3776's, and 29 2900's on the property were written from the accounts in April 1959. AT&SF donated Nos. 3751, 3759, 3768, 2903, 2912, 2913, 2921, and 2926 for display to various communities from Fort Madison, Ia., to Merced, Calif. Nos. 2925 and 5021 were saved for the company's historical collection, and finally in 1986 were among the steam and diesel power donated to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento and moved there. With all the activity of the 1980's returning retired steam locomotives to service, perhaps an AT&SF 4-8-4 will steam again. No. 3751 at San Bernardino is the likely candidate [page 17, September 1986 TRAINS].

The late J. T. "Tuck" Smith, who spent 52 years in the Santa Fe mechanical department rising from machinist apprentice to superintendent of shops, always had the right words to say about Santa Fe steam engines. In a letter to the author several years ago he stated: "The 2900's, 3765's, and 3776's were some of the finest steam power owned by anybody's railroad. They were versatile, making up time with a late Chief, and the fruit never mildewed when you coupled one of them up to 90 cars of California grapes on a GFX train and they made over 60 with it. They were stately in their march across prairie and mountains, and I doubt that even the heavenly host makes any sweeter music than the 2926 on a grade with 16 passenger cars."

LLOYD E. STAGNER, 63, completes his coverage of modern Santa Fe steam power for TRAINS in this issue with articles on its 4-8-4s and 2-8-4s; he reported the system's 4-64s and 2-10-4s in our June 1985 and August 1975 issues, respectively. He spent 1942-1979 in the operating and information systems departments of the AT&SF (excepting three years in the U.S. Army during World War II), retiring as supervisory freight agent. Stagner has written two books for Pruett Publishing, Steam Locomotives of the Frisco Line (1975) and Rock Island Motive Power 1933-1955 (1980).