the St. Louis - San Francisco #1522

In June of 1995 the Frisco 1522 charged into town on the Burlington Northern mainline, to run 3 days of excursion rides between Lincoln and Omaha during the annual "Haymarket Heydays" and BN's 125th Anniversary in Lincoln celebration. This classic steam engine came to life in 1926 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the St. Loius-San Francisco Railway - better known as the Frisco. It's classified as a mountain-type with it's 4-8-2 wheel arrangement. It's restoration is considered to be one the finest in the country. 1522 is the only operational mountain-type locomotive in existance in the U.S.

The Frisco once depended on 1522 to handle important long-haul passenger trains such as the Kansas City-Florida Special , or the occasional assignments to the Meteor and Bluebonnet between St. Louis, Oklahoma and Texas. By 1951, the age of diesel had dawned and the 1522 was retired, donted to the Natonal Museum of Transport in St. Louis County, Missouri in 1959. In 1985 a private, not-for-profit, volunteer organization -- the St. Louis Steam Train Association -- began the painstaking task of restoring the massive engine to it's former glory. Three years, 40,000 man-hours and over $180,000 in parts later, the 1522 was reborn.

Since 1988, the locomotive has been leased from St. Louis County by the St. Louis Steam Train Association for rail trips in cooperation with various railroads and excursion trip sponsors.