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1⁄1Santa Fe 2-8-0
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A.T. & S.F. 643
Oklahoma Railway Museum in Oklahoma City has a selection of railroad artifacts including this steam locomotive, Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe No. 643. The museum tells us;- No. 643, weighing 125,000 lbs, was built by Hinkley in 1879 for the ATSF (Santa Fe) Railway as a 4-4-0 No. 73 and named the “H. C. Hardon.” In 1897, the Santa Fe Railway converted No. 73 into a 2-8-0, renumbering it as No. 933. A general renumbering occurred in 1900, and the 933 was changed to No. 643, the road number it kept until retirement.
In March of 1953, the engine was working in the Santa Fe’s Southern Division in freight service. The locomotive retired in April of 1953 and was donated to the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds for display. In 2015, the No. 643 was donated and moved to the Oklahoma Railway Museum.
No. 643 is not a complete locomotive. When AT&SF donated the engine, they removed some parts of the valve gear and the steam chest. The tender is actually from No. 780, per the plaque on the tender frame, under the "4". It rides on Arch Bar trucks, too.
O-R-M is still working on the almost 130-year-old loco and has given her a fine future.
Copyright ©2021 by Frederick Boucher. _OPINIONS RailRoad Modeling, KitMaker Network, or Silver Star Enterrpises. Images also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. Opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of ModelGeek. All rights reserved. Originally published on: 2017-01-22 20:05:13. Unique Reads: 14562