builder..
railroad class.. builder number.. built.. wheel arrangement..
boiler pressure.. cylinders.. drivers.. operational weight.. starting tractive effort.. length.. width.. wheelbase of drivers..
BALDWIN
C-23 6085 1882 2-8-0 150 19-1/2x24 50 inch 108 000 lbs 23 300 lbs 56 ft 11 in ft in 13 ft 6 in
WP 124 was the smallest and oldest 2-8-0 on the
railroad. It also came to the WP third hand by way of the fabled Boca and Loyalton. And, contrary to the many photos showing it lettered for the Tidewater, the railroad was NOT its fourth owner. The 124 was built for
the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific, a member of the Southern Railway System. Despite its lofty name, the CNO&TP, originally built as the Cincinnati Southern, only stretched roughly 370 miles between Cincinnati, OH and
The CNO&TP was built as a 5 foot broad gauge line. It was converted to standard gauge in 1886, four years after WP 124, delivered as
CNO&TP 55, was built. This raises the interesting probability that the engine was built as a 5' gauge locomotive and was narrowed later. If so, this would be another aspect of it that was unique on the WP system.
After wearing numbers 555 and 589 on the CNO&TP, the engine was sold in 1905 to the Boca and Loyalton as their number 5. It worked the B&L mainline until November 1916,
when the railroad and all its assets were purchased by the Western Pacific. The engine was shopped and renumbered as WP 124 before being assigned to local trains out of Stockton, particularly the WP's Terminous Branch and the Tidewater
Southern. From September 1923 to October 1924, it returned to former B&L rails as the WP rented the engine to the Clover Valley Lumber Company. While on the CVL, it reportedly worked the log trains from the camps north
of Portola to the mill at Loyalton. After its time on the CVL, it returned to its usual WP assignments in the Central Valley. By 1945, the 124 was only seeing occaisional use during the fall rush. According to WP
milage charts, the engine worked in August 1945 after receiving a Class 3-F shopping (new flues, repairs to firebox, boiler and wheels), then did not run again until November of that year. The 124 ran August through October 1946, then
again during those months in 1947, which would be its last. Some time after TS second 1 was set aside in April, 1947, its tender was removed and applied to the 124, roadname intact. This has led to many claims that the 124
was owned by the TS, but WP records of the time contradict this. Ownership never transferred, the railroad just never relettered the tender. Why this swap was done and exactly when is unknown. The earliest photos I have
located showing the 1's tender on the 124 were taken in May, 1947. Some WP rosters as well as shop records show the 124 last operating in October 1947, at which time it was the oldest locomotive on the railroad. However,
several photos exist taken in early 1948 showing the engine under steam or possibly in Modesto, calling this date in to question. It has been suggested that she was steamed up for inspection or use as a stationary boiler, but was not in
active service. Either way, she was scrapped around November 1949, having hauled freight for nearly 66 years.
Baldwin 2-8-0 Western Pacific 124
Tidewater Southern Railway
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