By Railfan & Railroad Staff

The California State Railroad Museum has kicked off an effort to restore Santa Fe 2-6-2 1010, which was built in 1901 by Baldwin Locomotive Works and was briefly famous for leading a record-breaking run between Los Angeles and Chicago in 1905. 

The restoration would give the Sacramento-based museum two operating steam locomotives for the Sacramento Southern Railroad. It is the largest restoration project undertaken by the museum since it opened in 1981. The fundraising effort has been kicked off by a trio of major donations from Jeff and Marsha Gibeling; Art and Linda Grix; and Craig Hoefer of the Hoefer Foundation. The three families have contributed a $300,000 matching grant, which is about half of the total needed to get 1010 back under steam. 

“The Foundation is grateful to our lead donors for their generosity,” said Foundation President Tim Schroepfer. “We are excited for the day when we will have two operating steam locomotives on the interpretive railroad.” 

In 1905, the Santa Fe was challenged by Walter E. Scott, also known as “Death Valley Scotty,” to run a train as fast as it could between Los Angeles and Chicago. To make the 2,265-mile trip, the Santa Fe had 19 locomotives prepared and ready to go along the route, including 1010, which led the three-car train from Needles, Calif., to Seligman, Ariz. The train arrived in Chicago 44 hours and 54 minutes after it departed Los Angeles, breaking the previous record. After that, locomotive 1010 labored in obscurity until being retired in the 1950s. It was donated to the California museum in 1984.