By Railfan & Railroad Staff

WICHITA, Kan. — The Great Plains Transportation Museum is hosting one of the country’s most well-traveled 0-6-0 steam locomotives over the next two weekends. Lehigh Valley Coal Co. 126, aka: “Sadie,” will be giving rides on October 2 and 3 and 9 and 10. 

Lehigh Valley Coal 126 is owned by the Grammling Family of Indiana and was built by Vulcan in 1931. It most recently ran at Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp.’s annual Ravenna Railroad Festival on September 11. The proceeds from the visit to Kansas will go toward the restoration of the museum’s Santa Fe FP45. 

“Sadie has been popular when we brought the locomotive to Wichita in the past,” explained GPTM President John Deck. “It’s a rare opportunity for people to take a step back in time and experience the sensory delights of a coal-fired steam locomotive from a bygone era. These machines helped America grow and prosper, but today there are few opportunities for people to see such a machine in action. It’s a piece of Americana everyone should experience and we’re thrilled to have Sadie here for two consecutive weekends.”

In addition to steam locomotive rides, a modern freight locomotive is scheduled for display October 2-3 courtesy of BNSF Railway. The weekend of October 9-10, the Wichita-based Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad is scheduled to display its specially painted Wichita State University WuShock locomotive at GPTM.

The event will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Museum admission is $7 per person for 13 and older and under 13 are free. Train rides are $5 per person. For more information, visit www.gptm.us.