1225

Yes I believe it is. 

Yeah it sure does look like it.

Is this the engine that came in the Polar Express set?

It's the one that the Polar Express was modeled on.  When they made the movie they sent a crew to Owosso to record the sounds of it operating - so that is what you hear in the film. 

Also, a story I heard is when the 1225 was selected for preservation it was picked because of its number - as in 12th month, 25th day....Christmas!

John

Yes the firebox is basically all new. New door sheet, side sheets, crown sheet, throat sheet, and thermo syphons and of course 3,000 stay bolts more or less. This are progressing nicely. Send Money!! 

Ron

The now defunct magazine R&LP (Railway and Locomotive Preservation) had a very long article about the efforts concerning the decision by the college students to restore 1225 and the effort involved.  That article also provided background with respect to how 1225 came to be on the Michigan campus - no one mentioned anything about numerology as a factor and I've never heard anything along that line in references to the preservation effort - I suspect it is an after the fact embellishment of the preservation story.

I saw that in an article, it even named the person who picked the engine.  I believe it was in either Trains or Railfan/Railroad, but it has been awhile since I saw it.

John

I'm not trying to start a fight but it would be nice if you could find your citation. I realize Wikipedia isn't the last word on anything but what is posted there matches everything I've read about the locomotive:

 “Although all the Berkshires received new numbers, only class N engines were repainted into standard C&O livery and renumbered. The majority of the class N locomotives were scrapped between 1954 and 1957, but class N-1s 1223 and 1225 were both preserved.

Retirement and Restoration

Retired from service in 1951, 1225 was sent to scrap in New Buffalo, Michigan. In 1955, Michigan State University Trustee, Forest Akers was asked by C&O Chairman Cyrus Eaton if the University would be interested in having a steam locomotive (Eaton did not want to scrap the engines but was having a hard time finding places that would accept them) so that engineering students would have a piece of real equipment to study. Forest Akers thought it a good idea and proposed the idea to University President John Hannah. John Hannah accepted the gift of the locomotive.”

  If the 1225 numerology story is true then this would suggest that someone somewhere interviewed C&O Cyrus Eaton and got the word directly from him – that would be an interesting fact and one worth remembering.  The question that one would then want to ask would be: what is the numeric significance of 1223 – the other preserved Berk?

  In reference to 1225’s role as the Polar Express  the Wiki article does state that “Appropriately enough, the locomotive's road number is the date of Christmas, 12/25.”  But that is all.

I really don't remember where I read it, it was a number of years ago, probably around the time that 1225 was doing the Polar Express soundtrack.  The mention was in something that I considered authoritive at the time (not the Internet!).   Supposedly it was one of the guys that was looking at the dead line and he pointed 1225 out.  If it happened probably 1223 was pulled simply because it was handy.  I wouldn't think there would be any significance there.  If it didn't happen, it's still a nice coincidence. 

Sorry I can't give anymore info.  I suppose I'll find it 10 years from now.

The C&O merged the Pere Marquette into itself and eventually renumbered all of it's 2-8-4's, with PM #1225 becoming C&O #2659.  In all, there are 20 surviving engines of this class, of which 14 were from the C&O (two of which ex-PM).

So - seems odd that one could single out one of 14 engines as being specifically saved owing to it's former number.

It would be interesting to see an article stating the specific reason each and every surviving engine (or let say "large" surviving engine) earned it's survivor status.

/Mitch

I have a feeling that whatever locomotive got saved had to do with one of four things..

1. Location. Was it stored serviceable at a roundhouse in or near the town that had asked for one..

2. Latest shopped engines... I know the reason Ft. Wayne got 765 was it had just been shopped prior to being stored serviceable, and was in much better shape than the 767 which had been asked for... which brings me to number

3. Towns might have asked for a certain number as in the above case.

4. Historically signifigant engines such as NKP779 (last engine built at Lima), C&O 614 (last Northern built at Lima) etc...

Dave

I volunteer at the SRI and the story was told to me in the first year I volunteered there but I don't have any fact to back this up. I know the same story was told to Lionel and they used it in there copy for the model. Here's the link:

http://www.lionel.com/Products...neID=&CatalogId=

Mitch the PM locomotives were renumbered when C & O took them over but it was stipulated that any Locos that were fully NOT paid for by PM would keep there PM livery. I believe only the class N ones (1201-1215) were actually renumbered. The N1s and N2s were not. These would be PM Class N-1s #1216 - 1227 and N-2s  #1228 - 1239. You're right about the 1225 becoming C&O 2659 but I don't think she actually carried the number. The same would apply for the 1223.

Ron