The Black River & Western Railroad is proud to announce that after a 12 year hiatus, steam
has returned to the BR&W. New Jersey's oldest operating steam locomotive is back!
When Steam Operates
Steam is planned to operate during all of the events listed on the left side of this page in the "Steam Schedule" section. This does not mean
those are the only dates/times/events during which steam will operate! We often operate steam un-announced for the purpose of qualifying crews,
accomodating private excursions, pulling an ocassional freight train, or just to offer our customers a pleasant surprise!
Remember, we always reserve the right to substitute motive power and equipment without notice and as operating conditions demand.
Why Steam Doesn't Always Operate
There are many reasons we cannot operate #60 on all our excursions. Crew and staff limitations are a major consideration. Also, we feel it is important to offer
a variety of trains, events, equipment, and motive power for the enjoyment of our guests. Above all, our mechanical department needs regular windows of time
when they can perform maintenance.
Since the BR&W began operating passenger excursions in Flemington back in 1964, #60 has been the star of the show. #60 was built by the American Locomotive Company
(Alco) in Schenectady, NY in August 1937. This is a consolidation 2-8-0 type locomotive, meaning that #60 has two pilot wheels, eight drive wheels, and no trailing wheels.
This design of locomotive was typically used in slow to medium speed freight service.
#60 was first owned by the Great Western Railway of Colorado and had the distinction of being the only Alco locomotive in their fleet -
all of the company's other locomotives were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, PA. Because #60 was one-of-a-kind at Great Western,
it saw the least amount of service of all their locomotives. When the BR&W purchased the locomotive from Great Western it was delivered along
with a box car containing their entire stock of parts for #60!
