Pere Marquette 1225, The Famous 2-8-4 "Berkshire" Steam Locomotive

(Please note the images here feature Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 #765.)

The Pere Marquette 1225, when built in the early 1940s was simply one of more than three dozen 2-8-4 "Berkshire"-type steam locomotives the railroad had purchased during the time. The graceful and powerful 2-8-4s used by the PM had a very short career, lasting just a few years with the original owner and only about 10 years with their new owner, the Chesapeake & Ohio. The locomotive managed to survive the scrappers torch and spent 14 years under restoration. Today, the locomotive is owned by the Steam Railroading Institute and usually hosts annual excursion trips somewhere around the country (normally near its home in Owosso, Michigan).

This new locomotive would get its name, Berkshire, because of where it was first tested, the Berkshire Hills on the Boston & Albany Railroad in 1925. After very successful tests against a Class H-10 Mikado where the Class A-1 easily outperformed the Mikado (the Class A-1 left Selkirk Yard nearly 50 minutes after the Class H-10 and pulled a train that was over 600 tons heavier, yet arrived at North Adams Junction ten minutes ahead of the Mikado!), the B&A quickly ordered 45 Berkshires.

The railroad's 2-8-4s came listed in three different classes; Class N, Class N-1, and Class N-2. The Pere Marquette 1225 was delivered in 1941 as part of the railroad's Class N-1 Berkshires (all three types varied very little amongst one another), which included road numbers 1216-1227 that were capable of producing 69,350 pounds of tractive effort.

After the PM's takeover by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway in 1947, Pere Marquette 1225 and the rest of the Berkshires carried on in regular service on home rails until 1951 at which point all were retired (interesting, 1225 remained in its original livery until the end).

After the club formed the Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation it formally received the locomotive from MSU in 1978. With help from "Project 1225" and other donors, along with another seven years of hard work the locomotive returned to full operation in November, 1985.

Today the group is known as the Steam Railroading Institute and is based in Owosso, Michigan where the Pere Marquette 1225 is stored. The SRI does more than maintain the locomotive, however, as it also now operates excursion trains and generally looks to tell the story of the railroad industry as a whole.

Perhaps Pere Marquette 1225 had its biggest moment in 2004 when it was the star in the hit movie, The Polar Express, as the locomotive's blueprints where used to construct the digital version used in the movie. Even more, the locomotive's sounds and steam whistle was also incorporated into the movie. To learn more about the locomotive and when it will be operating please visit the institute's website by clicking here. For more information about Pere Marquette 1225 please click here.

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Also, consider the book American Steam Locomotives from author Brian Solomon. While this publication does not include quite as much technical data as Parker's book, How a Steam Locomotive Works, it is still a very good resource with lots of information and best of all, is loaded with photographs! If you're interested in perhaps purchasing either (or both) of these books please visit the links below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.

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