Untitled Document
Cab Forward 4294
Southern Pacific's Signature Locomotive
By David N Anderson, Vincent C Cipolla, Russel M H O'Day.
Color laminated softcover, 8.5x11", 88 pages, 70+ color and b/w photographs. 2018.
"Here's the story of SP 4294, the last new steam locomotive purchased by the Southern Pacific - and the last remaining cab forward.
"These cab forwards were the signature locomotive of the Southern Pacific. No other railroad used them. They were designed for the unusual operating conditions over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, there at the western end of the world’s first transcontinental railroad. And, in addition to the pictures of cab forwards in operation on the mountains, the color images of SP 4294 on display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento illustrate many of the parts and controls of the locomotive, with associated descriptions of their purpose and operation.
Written by two former docents and a former engineer on these impressive machines: you'll enjoy the detailed text describing how things work.
"Historian Scott Inman wrote an introduction that discusses the development of the cab forwards and puts these locomotives in context."
