Today's first photo is from Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1969. The Jupiter (officially known as Central Pacific Railroad #60) was a 4-4-0 steam locomotive. Don't know what 4-4-0 means? Don't feel bad; I used to be in the dark, too! 4-4-0 refers to the number of leading wheels, then the number of driving wheels, and finally the number of trailing wheels.
The Jupiter was one of two locomotives to meet at Promontory Summit during the Golden Spike ceremony commemorating the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. Built in September 1868 by the Schenectady Locomotive Works of New York, the Jupiter was taken apart and sailed to San Francisco where it was loaded onto a barge and sent to the Central Pacific headquarters in Sacramento, then reassembled and put into service on March 20, 1869. Forty years later, it was scrapped.
A stand-in for the Jupiter was placed on display at the Golden Spike National Historic Site to celebrate the centennial of the Golden Spike. The engine was "portrayed" by Virginia and Truckee Railroad's Inyo. For the May 10, 1969 centennial, the High Iron Company ran a steam powered excursion train round trip from New York City to Promontory. The Golden Spike Centennial Limited transported over 100 passengers including (for the last leg into Salt Lake City) actor John Wayne.
If The Jupiter looks familiar to you Disneyland fans, that's because the C.K. Holliday was modeled very closely to its design. The C.K. Holliday locomotive was named for Cyrus Kurtz Holliday, founder of the Atchison & Topeka Railroad (later known as the Santa Fe) and built by WED Enterprises in Burbank from a design inspired by Walt Disney’s model train engine, the Lilly Belle (his backyard railroad, the Carolwood Pacific) which also closely resembled the Jupiter.
The C.K. Holliday, weighing in at 23,200 pounds, joined the Disneyland Railroad on Opening Day, July 17, 1955. Here's an early 1955 photo of the locomotive at the Frontierland Depot:
Two more from the same depot dated September 1958:
and some time in the same decade:
This Spring 1963 image of Sophia Loren almost makes one forget to notice the Locomotive.
Back at the Main Street Station, the C.K. chugs away in October 1972:
And in March 1974:
To round out the post, two contemporary images from the Frontierland/New Orleans Square Depot:
A trailer for the recent Disney film "The Lone Ranger" shows The Jupiter for a very short moment at the end. The word "Jupiter" can be seen on the tender.
NASHVILLE CONTEST UPDATE: K. Martinez wins one of the two free copies of the Complete Season One DVD set. Please email your mailing address to: dvdpicasso@aol.com. I still have one set left; anyone in the Continental U.S. can win it; first person (besides K.!) who leaves a comment today will get it.
See more vintage & current Disneyland Railroad photos on my Disneyland Railroad web pages.
1 comment:
I grew up with trains on the brain, so I'm familiar with the steam loco wheel configurations. My dad would take us to the freight yards and any steam loco that was still in operation back then. He was also into HO scale model railroading in the 1950s and 60s which the kids loved and my mother hated.
Have you ever been to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento? I always enjoy that museum when I go to Sacramento.
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