No. 2248 was modified to fight fires in the forests that were located next to the lines operated by the
Southern Pacific Railroad but these modifications were later removed.[2]
Preservation
Two locomotives have been preserved:
No. 2248 was saved from the scrapper's torch as it was selected to be part of
Disney's collection as they were looking for a locomotive to operate at one of their parks. However, the project never came to be and the 2248 was instead sold off to the
Texas State Railroad (TSRR) in 1974, it was eventually restored to operating condition and was operated as
Texas State Railroad No. 200. The locomotive would operate tourist excursions at the TSRR from 1976 until being taken out of service in 1981. In 1990. No. 2248 was later sold to the
Fort Worth and Western Railroad for use on the
Tarantula Express and operated there until being taken out of service again in 1999 due to major boiler work being required on the locomotive. In 2001, 2248 was restored back to operation and later sold again to the
Grapevine Vintage Railroad in 2004 where it operated more excursions until being taken out of service once again in early 2016 due to boiler issues.[2][3][4]
No. 2252 was also saved from the scrapper's torch and was donated by the
Southern Pacific to the City of
Roseville, California where the locomotive was placed on static display until 2003 when the locomotive was moved to its current location near the Southern Pacific's
Roseville yard and is currently on display outside along with a
rotary snowplow.[5][6]