Great Western 90

No. 90 was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in June 1924, in Philadelphia. it originally pulled sugar beet trains of about 40 to 50 cars length for the Great Western Railway of Colorado to the company's towering mill in Loveland, Colorado. No. 90 was the Great Western's largest and most powerful road locomotive, and saw extensive use on trains too large for the company's fleet of 2-8-0s. In 1944, No. 90 was hit by a truck at a grade crossing and knocked onto its fireman's side, killing both the fireman and the truck driver. The Great Western sent 90 to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad's shops in Denver for repairs.[2] Following WWII, 90 was used primarily in the Autumn during the harvest season.[2]

By the late 1950s, No. 90 was occasionally used in excursion service on the Great Western. On one such excursion in 1963, Strasburg Rail Road's Chief Mechanical Officer, Huber Leath, met the Great Western's superintendent, a man who grew up in the vicinity of the Strasburg Rail Road, and struck a deal in which the Great Western would contact the Strasburg Rail Road as soon as No. 90 was available for purchase.[2] The Strasburg Rail Road purchased No. 90 on April 5, 1967 for a price of $23,000.00(~$175,000 in 2019), and the locomotive arrived on Strasburg's property a month later on 5 May.[2]

In the winter of 1968, Ross Rowland's High Iron Company planned to operate a series of mainline steam excursions between Jersey City, NJ and Ardsley, PA on the Central Railroad of New Jersey. Rowland had originally planned to lease two ex Canadian Pacific G5-class 4-6-2s, numbers 1236 and 1283, both owned by George Hart, however those two locomotives were on emergency lease to the city of Reading, PA to provide steam for the city after the boiler at the Reading Steam Heat and Power Co. became disabled.[3] Since tickets for the excursion had already been sold, and Rowland was unwilling to pull the trip with a diesel, he leased Steamtown's ex Canadian Pacific 127 (formerly the 1278), a sister to the two locomotives he intended to use to pull the train. However, the 127 did not have enough power to pull the train over the grades on the CNJ near Jim Thorpe, PA on her own, and Rowland leased Strasburg Rail Road 90 to act as a helper engine for the trips, double heading with the 127 between Bethlehem, PA and Jim Thorpe, PA. After the trips concluded, 90 was returned to the Strasburg.

As it was on the Great Western, No. 90 is also the most powerful of the four steam locomotives in operation at the Strasburg Rail Road in Lancaster County PA, rated for 1,211 tons on the line. She is currently one of the only two operating Decapods in the United States, the other one being former Frisco #1630, who operates at the Illinois Railway Museum.

90 has undergone a number of modifications by the Strasburg in order to better suit their needs.

• In 1992, the sand dome between the steam dome and cab was removed along with all of its associated piping.
• In 1993, the smokebox extension added in the 1940s by the Great Western to allow the locomotive to burn poorer grades of coal was removed in order to improve drafting. The coal board extensions were also removed at this time presumably to improve rearward visibility.
• In 2006, 90's tender tank was replaced with a brand new identical tank made from stainless steel welded with cosmetic rivet heads spot welded to make it appear authentic. 90 was also given its 1920s scheme. Its visored Pyle National headlight was replaced with a Pennsylvania Railroad style headlight that had previously been mounted on 475. 90 also had the Great Western lettering applied above the numbers on the sides of the cab along with the Great Western lettering being applied to the tender.
• In August 2008, 90's tender had the Strasburg letters applied on it still keeping the complete 1920's scheme described above.
• In 2011, 90 was fitted with a continuous blowdown mounted between its whistle and dynamo. 90 also had its original Pyle National headlight returned.
• In February 2013, as part of a photo freight charter by Lerro Productions, 90 was given her 1950's Great Western paint scheme and had her smokebox painted a white silver, her cab numbers were painted inside a Great Western trademark white diamond, her tender was fitted with stripes and had Great Western applied, her wheels were striped with white as well as her running boards, and her number and builders plate were painted black and gold.
• In May 2013, 90 had a paint scheme similar to the 1990s, minus the tender being redone with white Strasburg lettering, all of the striping was painted black, the diamond numbers on the sides of the cab were taken off and plain white numbers were applied. The silver smokebox was left as well as the black and gold number and builders plate
• In December 2013, 90 had her Reading Six Chime whistle replaced with a Hooter whistle but it was replaced back with the Reading Six Chime very shortly after.
• In 2016, 90 had her smokebox repainted from her Great Western silver to a dark grey.

Other changes made include the addition of radio and the removal of a sheet metal cover on the pilot.

• Strasburg Rail Road

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Great Western Railway 90.

• Strasburg Rail Road's official website
• Railroad museum of Pennsylvania
• Strasburg Rail Road Pictures Flickr
• February 1968: The Strasburg 90 On The Main Line O-Gauge Railroadling Forum
• Steam Locomotives Age of Steam Roundhouse