North Pacific Coast 4-4-0 #12 Sonoma

Photo by Cliff West

North Pacific Coast Railroad 36-inch gauge 4-4-0 locomotive #12, the Sonoma, was built by Baldwin in 1876 and was last run in October 1940. The North Pacific Coast operated an 80-mile main line between Sausalito and Duncans Mills, but always faced financial difficulty. By the end of 1879, the Sonoma had been sold to the Nevada Central Railroad, where it became #5 and was named General J. H. Ledlie. It was still in service when the Nevada Central was abandoned in 1938, and the line’s general manager J. M. Hiskey acquired it and loaned it to the Pacific Coast Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society. It was taken to the Southern Pacific shops in Berkeley on December 15, 1938, and made to resemble Central Pacific #60 Jupiter for the daily reenactment of the completion of the transcontinental railroad at the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco. After the exposition, the locomotive was put into storage in October 1940 and has not run since. It was moved to the new California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California, in 1977. In 1978 it was donated to the museum by the J. M. Hiskey family. It has been restored to its original appearance.

Virginia & Truckee 4-4-0 #12 Genoa

Photo by Cliff West

Virginia & Truckee 4-4-0 locomotive #12, the Genoa, was built by Baldwin in January 1873. The Virginia & Truckee Railroad Company was organized on March 5, 1868, and the 21-mile route between Carson City and Virginia City was completed on January 29, 1870, with an extension connecting Carson City to the Central Pacific Railroad in Reno completed in August 1872. The Genoa pulled passenger, freight and mixed trains on the V&T for nearly 30 years. On December 31, 1908, the Genoa was retired and stored in the Carson City engine house, where it remained until it was sold to the Eastern Railroads Presidents’ Conference in 1939. The Genoa was modified to resemble Central Pacific Railroad #60 Jupiter, one of the locomotives at the driving of the golden spike completing the transcontinental railroad in 1869. It was used in the Railroads on Parade pageant at the 1939-1940 World’s Fair in New York City, and operated at the 1948 Chicago Railroad Fair. It was donated to the Pacific Coast Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, which presented it to the state of California in 1969. For the 100th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad, Genoa It reprised its role as Jupiter for the golden spike reenactment at Promontory Summit in Utah, with Virginia & Truckee #11 Reno playing the part of Union Pacific #119. The Genoa’s last run was at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California, in May 1979. It was then restored to its 1902 appearance as seen here.

Central Pacific 4-4-0 #1 Gov. Stanford

Photo by Cliff West

Central Pacific 4-4-0 locomotive #1, the Gov. Stanford, was the Central Pacific Railroad’s first locomotive. It is named for California Governor Leland Stanford, the first President of the Central Pacific Railroad. It was built in 1862 by R. Norris of Philadelphia. The 40-ton locomotive arrived in Sacramento on October 7, 1863, and made its first run on November 9, 1863.

Photo by Cliff West

The locomotive was downgraded to a switcher in 1873, and was probably renumbered to #212 at the same time. It was renumbered to #1174 in 1891. It made its last run in January 1895 and was retired on July 20, 1895. It was refurbished in 1899 and presented to Stanford’s widow Jane Lathrop Stanford, who in turn donated the locomotive to Leland Stanford Junior University, where it was placed on display from March 1899 until 1963. In May 1963, it was loaned to the Pacific Coast Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, whose collection formed the basis for the California State Railroad Museum.

Toledo-Detroit 4-4-0 #16

Toledo-Detroit #16 is a 4-4-0 American type locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in August 1914. It was originally built for the Midland Pennsylvania Railroad as their #1, and was named T. E. Herrick. It was sold to the Toledo-Detroit Railroad in December 1915. In May 1916, the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad leased the Toledo-Detroit, and the locomotive became the DT&I’s #16. Henry Ford purchased the DT&I, and owned it until 1929, when he sold it to the Penn Road Corporation, a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1930, locomotive #16 was retired and donated to the Edison Institute of Dearborn, Michigan. It would later appear on display in the Henry Ford Museum. The original Toledo-Detroit Railroad trackage was abandoned in the 1960s. The DT&I was sold off as an independent railroad in 1970, and was acquired by the Grand Trunk Western in 1980, and fully merged into the GTW in 1984. In September 1983, the Illinois Railway Museum traded another locomotive to the Henry Ford Museum in exchange for Toledo-Detroit #16.

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