One Last Restoration: the history and tribulations of a steam locomotive
By Norm TessmanThere is no doubt that Porter steam locomotive #873 is one of the Sharlot Hall Museum's most significant artifacts. The little railroad engine clearly meets the criteria which museums consider when adding objects to their collections. The locomotive has extensive local history, and excellent potential for exhibition. It can be restored to near-original condition, and finally, it is an extremely rare item. Of over 1000 steam locomotives, which operated in Arizona, less than twenty remain intact.
So, you are probably asking, if the Museum values the little locomotive so much, why is the poor thing now sitting under tarps, looking rusty, unloved, and forgotten? The answer to that question lies in the locomotive's history, and that of the museum where it resides.
Records of the H.K. Porter Company (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) show that #873 was built in 1887 as a "steam dummy" for the Lincoln Rapid Transit Company of Lincoln, Nebraska. Until the final decade of the nineteenth century, humans, draft animals, or steam engines powered all land transportation. Lincoln was among the many cities to replace horse-drawn trolleys with small locomotives. Since steam engines were noisy, and their many moving parts terrified horses, #873 and many of its siblings were replaced by trolley-like full wooden bodies. Unfortunately, no photos have been found of the little engine's "steam dummy" configuration.
In 1889, Lincoln's trolley line converted to electricity, and #873 was sold to the Development Corporation of America. This company, owned by "Diamond Jo" Reynolds, operated mines in Tombstone, Congress, Silver Bell, and Christmas in the Arizona Territory. Then, we lose track of the locomotive until 1899, when it was working at Congress some 45 miles southwest of Prescott. The three-mile Congress Gold Company line connected the rich mines (over $8 million total production) to the main tracks of the Santa Fe, Prescott, and Phoenix Railway. Lacking power to haul ore, the little locomotive shuttled personnel and supplies. On one occasion, it carried residents of Congress to Phoenix for "The Bostonian," a stage play, via the main line. Photos of the locomotive at Congress show that its dummy body had been replaced with a standard wooden cab.
In 1910, the Congress mine closed. Number 873 and another locomotive sat abandoned at Congress Junction. In 1928, Grace M. Sparkes of the Yavapai Country Chamber of Commerce wrote to Mr. F. L. Hanna of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway asking that the "two little dinky engines which are side tracked at Congress Junction" be donated to "the old Capitol grounds here in Prescott." She also spoke of Miss Sharlot M. Hall's "glorious work in restoring the Old Governor's Mansion." Mr. Hanna agreed, and in 1932, the locomotive was donated to the Old Governor's Mansion Museum. The other "dinky" was apparently given to the Arizona Museum of Phoenix.
During the next sixty years, the locomotive sat on the Museum grounds. Outside and unsheltered, it became locked in a cycle of refinishing and deterioration. Since 1980, it has been "restored" at least four times. At one point it was considered as power for a local scenic railway. This idea ended when the local Santa Fe tracks were pulled about 1990. Probably #873's soft-soldiered boiler and limited pulling power made it a poor choice for such an enterprise in any event. Surprisingly, with the exception of its H.K. Porter maker's plate, whistle, bell, and other brass components, it has retained nearly all the parts which are visible in the Congress Gold Mine photos.
Today, the Museum staff would like to give the heroic little engine "just one last restoration." This would be planned with the assistance of a railroad conservator from the Nevada State Railroad Museum. Careful detail would go into this project. Missing parts would be fabricated or purchased. Rust would be removed using Alco Conversion Coating, which cleans and reduces iron without removing its surface. Three coats of high gloss industrial enamel would be brushed by hand, as was done in the H.K. Porter factory. Wood will similarly be refinished to factory specifications. Local groups and individuals have volunteered to help with the restoration.
After it is painted, the little locomotive will be moved into the Museum's Transportation Hall across from the Modoc Stage Coach. Some of the building's vehicles will be shuffled to make room. There, #873 will become the centerpiece of a railroad exhibit. In the nearly twenty years since the last freight train left its Santa Fe depot, Prescott has nearly forgotten the railroad, and its former importance to our community. This new exhibit will commemorate Prescott's eighty-year interdependence with the Santa Fe Railway and its various local lines.
Frankly, all that is missing is money. Sharlot Hall Museum is the public face of the Prescott Historical Society, an agency of the State of Arizona. As such, budgeted funds pay staff salaries, utility costs, and the maintenance of buildings and grounds. However, exhibits, and projects like locomotive restoration must be funded from sources such as donations and grants. A 1999 Transportation Enhancement grant requested restoration for the locomotive, but in the intense competition was not funded. If the locomotive is ruled as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (at least two Arizona locomotives are so listed) museum staff will submit a Heritage Fund (funded by the Arizona Lottery) Historic Preservation grant request. At best, this could be funded in November, 2000, and the project completed the following summer. It is the dream of the Museum's staff that a railroad-loving benefactor - individual or business - will step forward. For the cost of a new small pickup truck, that person could rescue little #873 from its rusty isolation to achieve the exhibit stardom which it deserves. For further information about the locomotive and the Museum's plans, contact Richard Sims or Norm Tessman at 445-3122 or via e-mail at rsims@lib.az.us or ntessman@lib.az.us.
(Norm Tessman is Senior Curator of Collections at the Sharlot Hall Museum)
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Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number: (shm151.1pf). Reuse only by permission.
#1: In the first decade of the 1900s the Porter locomotive #873 was used at the Congress Mine. The Museum is currently seeking funding to restore the engine and move it in-doors.
Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number: (shm151.1pg). Reuse only by permission.
#2: Besides its light use at the Congress Mine, the Porter Locomotive #873 carried theatre-goers to Phoenix for a play. The engine now sits on the grounds of Sharlot Hall Museum.