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| Add Photo — Add Link — Add Commentary — Correct this page — Print | | El Paso in El Paso County, Texas — The American South (West South Central) |
El Paso & Southwestern Railroad
Locomotive Number One
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By Bill Kirchner, October 21, 2012 | |
| | | 1. El Paso & Southwestern Railroad Locomotive Number One Marker | | |
Inscription. One of the oldest survivors of America's steam railroading era, this locomotive was built 29 years after the steam engine was first developed for transportation. Breese, Kneeland & Company of Jersey City, New Jersey also operated as the New York Locomotive Works and is represented by the No. 73 on the locomotive builders plate. The company used its standard style, based on a design patented by Henry Roe Campbell in 1836. Known as a 4-4-0 "Classic American" for its wheel configuration, this particular locomotive was manufactured in 1857 for the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad Company.
Believed to have been named Spring Green, the locomotive served the upper midwestern United States for more than 30 years. By 1889, the Arizona & Southeastern Railroad Company, which later became the El Paso & Southwestern Railroad (EP&SW), had acquired it and converted it from a wood-burner to a coal-burner. The smokestack was also likely reconfigured from a funnel type to a straight type at that time. Calling it Locomotive No. One, EP&SW utilized it in the development of Bisbee, Arizona and in other mining and industrial operations of the Southwest.
EP&SW retired Old Number One after more than 50 years of service, moving it to a park adjacent to company headquarters at 416 N. Stanton Street in 1909. Except for its brief role in | | | | 
By Bill Kirchner, October 21, 2012 | |
| | | 2. El Paso & Southwestern Railroad Locomotive Number One Marker | | |
the 1938 film Let Freedom Ring, it remained there until 1960, even after the rail company became part of the Southern Pacific Railroad system in 1924. In 1960, the railroad donated it to Texas Western College (now The University of Texas at El Paso), which placed it at the Centennial Museum. In 2000, the City of El Paso received state and national funds to restore the engine to its 1909 appearance, moving it to the present site at El Paso's Union Plaza Transit Terminal.
Erected 2005 by Texas Historical Commission.
Location. 31° 45.39′ N, 106° 29.56′ W. Marker is in El Paso, Texas, in El Paso County. Marker is on West San Antonio Avenue east of West Paisano Drive (U.S. 85), on the right when traveling east. Click for map. Marker is located at the Union Plaza Transit Terminal. Marker is at or near this postal address: 420 West San Antonio Avenue, El Paso TX 79901, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Bataan Memorial Trainway (about 500 feet away, in a direct line); El Paso Union Passenger Station (approx. 0.2 miles away); Hotel Paso Del Norte (approx. 0.2 miles away); A City Is Born (approx. 0.2 miles away); Montgomery Building (approx. ¼ mile away); Stage Station (approx. ¼ mile away); La Patria Newspaper (approx. ¼ mile away); El Paso (approx. ¼ mile away). Click for a list of all markers in El Paso. |
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By Bill Kirchner, November 3, 2010 | |
| | | 3. El Paso & Southwestern Railroad Locomotive Number One and Marker | | Marker is mounted on the building between the two large windows. | | |
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By Bill Kirchner, October 21, 2012 | |
| | | 4. El Paso & Southwestern Railroad Locomotive Number One | | |
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Credits. This page originally submitted on November 12, 2010, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. This page has been viewed 559 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 28, 2012, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. 3. submitted on November 12, 2010, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. 4. submitted on October 28, 2012, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.
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