Grand Trunk Western 5629 was a 4-6-2 K-4a steam locomotive built by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1924, for the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. It was a copy of the USRA Light Pacific locomotives. It became famous after being purchased by Richard Jensen for use in pulling several excursion trains in the Chicago area throughout the 1960s. After Jensen ran into some financial trouble, No. 5629 was put into storage at the Rock Island Railroad's Blue Island, Illinois freight yard. No. 5629 was subsequently the subject to a legal battle between Jensen and Metra Commuter Rail in the mid-1980s, and it ultimately led to the locomotive's scrapping in July 1987.

Grand Trunk Western 5629
Grand Trunk Western 5629 pulling a fan trip excursion in Valparaiso, Indiana, in September 1967
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder American Locomotive Company (ALCO) Serial number 65290 Build date February 1924
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2  • UIC 2′C2′ h1 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Driver dia. 73 in (1,854 mm) Wheelbase 70.62 ft (21.52 m)  • Engine 35.82 ft (10.92 m)  • Drivers 13 ft (4.0 m) Adhesive weight 170,000 lb (77,000 kilograms; 77 metric tons) Loco weight 285,500 lb (129,500 kilograms; 129.5 metric tons) Tender weight New: 198,800 lb (90,200 kilograms; 90.2 metric tons) Modified: 328,000 lb (149,000 kilograms; 149 metric tons) Total weight New: 484,300 lb (219,700 kilograms; 219.7 metric tons) Modified: 613,500 lb (278,300 kilograms; 278.3 metric tons) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity New: 16 t (16 long tons; 18 short tons) Modified: 22 t (22 long tons; 24 short tons) Water cap. New: 10,000 US gal (38,000 l; 8,300 imp gal) Modified: 18,000 US gal (68,000 l; 15,000 imp gal) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 66.70 sq ft (6.197 m2) Boiler pressure 200 psi (1.38 MPa) Heating surface:  • Firebox 242 sq ft (22.5 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 794 sq ft (73.8 m2) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 25 in × 28 in (635 mm × 711 mm) Valve gear Baker
Performance figures Maximum speed 80 mph (130 km/h) Tractive effort 40,753 lb (18.5 tonnes) Factor of adh. 4.17
Career Operators Grand Trunk Western Railroad Midwest Steam Railfans Association Class GTW K-4a Number in class 3rd of 5 Numbers GTW 5629 B&O 5629 Delivered February 1924 Retired September 1959 (revenue service) 1973 (excursion service) Restored October 1961 Scrapped July 14, 1987 Disposition Scrapped

History

Revenue service

5629 was built by the American Locomotive Company's (ALCO) Schenectady, New York plant in February 1924, and it was delivered via the New York Central to the Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW) that same month.[1] It was the third member of the GTW's K-4a class locomotives, numbered 5627-5631, which were copies of the United States Railroad Administration's (USRA) "Light Pacific" design.[1][2] They were followed by 3 K-4b's, numbered 5632-5634. The only difference was that they had an all-weather cab, and they were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. No. 5629 had a mostly uneventful career with the GTW, pulling commuter trains throughout the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and Northern Indiana, as well as freight trains in later years, until the GTW completely dieselized their locomotive fleet.[1]

Excursion service

Shortly before it was scheduled to be retired and sold for scrap, No. 5629 became one of a few steam locomotives on the GTW to be used to pull fan trips that were sponsored by the Michigan Railroad Club.[3][1] The fantrip No. 5629 pulled took place on September 27, 1959 between Detroit and Bay City, Michigan.[1] Around the same time, Richard "Dick" Jensen, a railfan from the Chicago area, was looking for a steam locomotive to purchase with the desire operate his own steam-powered excursion trains, and as a passenger on board the September 27th trip, he thought the No. 5629 locomotive was a perfect candidate for its pulling power and high speed.[1] Jensen purchased No. 5629 in March 1960 for its scrap value of $9,540.40.[1]

The locomotive was subsequently moved on its own wheels to a rented sideline at a Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) yard in Hammond, Indiana to be rebuilt.[1] Jensen, with the help of Illinois Central roundhouse foreman Irv Kaufran, worked up to fifty hours a week on getting the locomotive running again, having to drive a two-hour round trip between his home near Chicago and Hammond.[1] One night, he fell a sleep while repairing No. 5629 from underneath, and he woke up at 3:30 AM before returning to his home to receive three hours of sleep in his bed.[1] In early October 1961, No. 5629 was fired up under private ownership for the first time.[1]

It made a few test runs around the Hammond area before preperations were made for it to pull its first excursion run; a complete tour of the Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT) scheduled on October 22, and it was delayed until it took place on November 5.[1][3] Following the success of the tour, No. 5629 would pull additional excursion trains on the B&OCT trackage for the Railroad Club of Chicago's "Iron Horse Excursions" program.[3] Jensen also acquired multiple spare parts from scrap dealers in order to use them on No. 5629, and some of them cosmetically altered the locomotive's appearance to a more typical USRA locomotive, including two visor marker lights from a Chicago and Illinois Midland locomotive and a visor headlight from Illinois Central 2-8-4 8049.[4] No. 5629 would be stored at the B&O roundhouse in Hammond, while Jensen searched for a more suitable location to store his equipment.[1]

In 1964, Jensen became close friends with president of the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad (C&WI) Robert McMillan, who generously agreed to allow Jensen to store his equipment in a portion of the C&WI's roundhouse on 49th Street in Chicago.[1] The roundhouse was often referred to by railfans as the 47th Street Roundhouse, and prior to dieselization, it was formerly used to house and service steam locomotives that had arrived at the nearby Dearborn Station.[5] The agreement was finallized on July 16, 1964, and McMillan, being a long-time steam fan, was occasionally allowed to run No. 5629 on break-in runs during the beginning of each excursion over the C&WI trackage.[1] Jensen subsequently founded a group called the Midwest Steam Railfans Association (MSRA), which was dedicated to operate and maintain No. 5629 and other locomotives he owned, as well as locomotives other people owned but he was associated with repairing, like GTW USRA 2-8-2 No. 4070.[1]

After being moved to the 47th Street Roundhouse, No. 5629 was being repaired and prepped to haul several long-distance excursion trains on mainline trackage owned by the GTW and former Nickel Plate Road (NKP) and Wabash trackage recently acquired by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W).[1] During this time, it was refitted with a six-axle tender formerly paired with Soo Line 4-8-2 No. 4013 in order to increase the locomotive's fuel and water capacity.[4][1] The locomotive's original four-axle tender was subsequently used for coal storage.[6][1] The first of the scheduled long-distance trips took place in May 1966, when No. 5629 travelled to Indianapolis, and to celebrate the Sesquicentennial of the state of Indiana, the locomotive pulled a series of excursion trains between Indianapolis and Noblesville.[1][3]

During one of the excursions, No. 5629's water injector suffered a malfunction, and the N&W ordered the crews to drop the locomotive's fire after stopping on the mainline as a safety precaution.[1] While two diesel locomotives pulled the excursion to Noblesville, No. 5629 was towed back to Indianapolis, and Jensen drove back to Chicago to grab some tools and spare parts to repair the locomotive's injector by the following day.[1] Once the Sesquicentennial celebrations were over, No. 5629 moved via the N&W to Decatur, Illinois.[1] A tourist railroad operation on the Illinois Central between Decatur and Springfield was proposed, with No. 5629 planned to be loaned as their main motive power.[1] The locomotive spent several weeks in storage in Decatur and in Springfield before the tourist operation was cancelled due to a lack of funds, and No. 5629 was moved back to Chicago.[1] The locomotive spent the rest of the 1966 operating season pulling Railroad Club of Chicago-sponsored excursion trains on the GTW's mainline between Chicago, South Bend, Indiana, and Detroit.[1][3][6]

The following year, 1967, No. 5629 returned to the GTW to pull several more trips out of Chicago.[1] It also pulled the Schlitz Circus World Museum train from Baraboo to Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the Chicago and North Western Railroad's (C&NW) trackage, and it pulled the train again in 1968.[6][1] The success of No. 5629's excursion career didn't go unnoticed by Southern Railway president W. Graham Claytor Jr. or Southern steam program leader Bill Purde; in 1968, they arranged a business meeting with Jensen in Chicago with the hopes of purchasing the No. 5629 locomotive for use to pull their own excursion trains within the Southeastern United States while cosmetically altered as a Southern Railway Ps-4 class.[1] However, Jensen arrived at the meeting extremely late while covered in soot and grease from working on No. 5629, and when Claytor and Purde made a big offer to purchase his locomotive, Jensen declined, believing it was worth an unreasonably higher amount.[1]

Jensen planned to use No. 5629 to pull an excursion train on April 25, 1971 over Penn Central trackage between Chicago and Logansport, but it was cancelled due to insurance issues with the Rock Island Railroad over getting passenger cars for the trip.[7] Ticket buyers wanted refunds, and because Jensen had paid for some passenger cars to be moved to Chicago which never came, as well as going through a legal battle with the new owners of the C&WI, he was left with a heavy financial deficit.[7] Around the same time, several other steam excursion trips that were being held around the Chicago area and hauled by other locomotives, including Southern 2-8-2 No. 4501 and Canadian National 4-8-4 "Confederation" 6218, were causing a decline of ridership on Jensen’s excursion runs, and it led to Jensen losing interest in hosting fan trips altogether.[7] No. 5629 last pulled an excursion train in the Spring of 1973, and it was subsequently stored in Penn Central’s yard outside of Chicago’s Union Station.[7]

Final years

In 1977, Jensen broke his back from slipping and falling while helping a friend move a refrigerator to a third-floor apartment, landing him in the hospital for several weeks.[3] This crippled the rest of Jensen's finances, and he could no longer afford to pay rent to store his equipment.[7] He subsequently approached several railroads in Chicago for permission to store No. 5629 on their property, and after several disapprobations were made, Jensen reached an agreement with the Rock Island Railroad(which was also running into serious financial trouble) to store the locomotive in their deteriorating roundhouse in Blue Island, Illinois.[7] In 1979, the Blue Island roundhouse was scheduled to be demolished, and No. 5629 was moved towards the middle of the Rock Island’s Blue Island freight yard.[7]

After the Rock Island declared bankruptcy in 1980, Metra, Chicago's commuter railroad, acquired the Blue Island yard, and they began planning to construct a new shop complex in the yard.[7] Although Metra was allowed to use the yard, they weren’t allowed to move No. 5629, because it was owned by Jensen.[7] The operator ordered Jensen to move No. 5629 150 yards to the nearby Iowa Interstate Railroad, but they wouldn't provide him any assistance in getting the locomotive there.[7] They also initially informed him that they refused to allow an inspection of the locomotive that would allow Jensen to ask someone else to move it to take place.[3] When Jensen inspected and prepped the locomotive to be moved, he discovered that his locomotive was vandalized during its time stored in Blue Island; it was stripped of some of its critical moving parts, including the bearings of the wheels, and it was landlocked with bits of trackage in front of it removed.[7] It led to Jensen thinking that if he hadn’t done anything to move No. 5629, and if it were scrapped, he could file a lawsuit against Metra and win enough money to solve his financial problems.[7]

Consequently, instead of exploring ways to move his locomotive to another location, Jensen removed additional critical components from the No. 5629 throughout 1985 and 1986, and he sold most of them to local rail fans.[7] Metra negotiated with Jensen and sent him bills for the locomotive's storage, but he never paid them back, and he was unwilling to work with the railroad or repair the locomotive.[7] By the end of 1986, Metra have had enough and went to court, and the ruling ordered that if the locomotive wasn’t removed from Metra’s property, it would be destroyed.[7] Several groups made attempts to move No. 5629 without Jensen's approval, but to no avail; the Illinois Railway Museum offered to purchase No. 5629 for its scrap value of $15,000 from Jensen, but it was declined, as was a subsequent offer from the Mid-Continent Railway Museum.[7] Metra also requested to court that they assume ownership of the locomotive and donate it to a museum that would be able to move it, but court said they couldn’t legally claim ownership of Jensen’s property.[7] On July 1, 1987, a relieved Metra, albeit sad to see No. 5629 go, received a court order to scrap the locomotive on sight, but for reasons unknown, Jensen appealed the order.[7] Court declined Jensen’s appeal nine days later, and Metra contacted the Erman-Howell division of the Luria Brothers Scrap Company to dispose of No. 5629 right where it stood. Scrapping began on July 14, and it was finished by July 20.[7]

Following the scrapping, Jensen filed a lawsuit against Metra and requested compensation money as planned, but court did not rule in his favor.[3] Metra subsequently discovered that much of the vandalism done to the locomotive prior to the legal battle had been done by Metra employees, several of which were laid off between 1988 and 1989.[7] Jensen passed away from poor health on March 16, 1991.[3] As of 2022, the history of No. 5629 remains a tragedy of North American railroad preservation, but the locomotive's class is currently well represented by GTW No. 5632, a K-4b class 4-6-2, which is on static display in Durand, Michigan, and GTW No. 5030, a J-3b class 4-6-2, which is on static display in Jackson, Michigan while waiting to be moved to the Colebrookdale Railroad in Pennsylvania for restoration.[6][8][9]

See also

• Atlantic Coast Line 1504, another USRA Light Pacific
• Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 5632, another locomotive that was owned by Richard Jensen
• Grand Trunk Western 6039
• Grand Trunk Western 6323
• Grand Trunk Western 6325
• Nickel Plate Road 587
• Soo Line 2719

References

External links

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