KINGSBURG – The wheels are in motion for the Kingsburg Depot to receive a historic artifact.
In September 2022, the city of Fresno donated Southern Pacific (SP) locomotive #1238 to the Friends of Historic Kingsburg Depot. The locomotive is currently on display in Roeding Park – the engine’s home since it was retired from service in 1956.
“I had this idea to move the engine after passing by it so many times leaving the Chaffee Zoo,” said former Kingsburg Mayor and current Friends president and CEO Michelle Roman. At the time, Roman was the chairman of the Fresno County Zoo Authority Board.
“It is such a beautiful engine and seeing it just sit behind a fence always made me feel terrible,” Roman said.
PROJECT 1238
SP #1238 is a Baldwin S-10 0-6-0 steam locomotive. It was constructed in 1918 and was operational in Kingsburg and the Valley until 1956.
But one does not simply move a machine that weighs 165,000 pounds – even if it was running. The estimated cost for the project is $190,000, of which about $150,000 has been received in donations.
Project 1238 is an all-volunteer operation that, when finished, will provide #1238 with a display environment worthy of its stature.
“We are laying approximately 220 feet of track; we need approximately 70 to 80 for the locomotive and its tender,” said Roman. A locomotive tender is a rail vehicle that carries fuel and water for a steam locomotive.
The project’s goal is to place #1238 on 320 feet of track, which will accommodate the engine and its tender. Roman said future plans include adding a caboose.
#1238 does not currently run. Roman said it will be transported from Fresno to Kingsburg on a flatbed. Friends has hired a professional hauling company to move the engine. Once in place in the depot, volunteers will set to work restoring the locomotive. It will be the centerpiece of an historical railroad display at the depot.
Volunteers have installed railroad ties at the depot. The project received 280 feet of railroad track from an anonymous family estate. The estate also donated a 1923 Fairmont Speeder two-seat motorized track maintenance vehicle, a Velocipede single-seat 3-wheeled pedal-powered track maintenance vehicle and other antique railroad items.
Once #1238 has been moved and is in place, volunteers will lay an additional 364 feet of track for the main and secondary track. This track will be used to demonstrate the Speeder and the Velocipede.
#1238 will rest on a 100-year-old track that was donated in 2022 from a site in Kern County. The Fresno County Rural Transit Authority donated 1,250 feet of decorative steel fencing, gates, hardware and other materials. Some of the fencing has already been installed.
Roman said Friends continues to accept donations for the project because it will take time – and money – to fully restore the locomotive. The goal is to move #1238 to Kingsburg at the end of October or in early November.
