A narrow gauge (36”) Mogul type (2-6-0) locomotive, #279 was built for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway in 1912 at Alco’s Schenectady, NY, works. It worked on a sixteen mile line between Fennimore and Woodman in Wisconsin. The line had very sharp curves unsuitable for standard gauging and remained narrow gauge until 1926, when it was abandoned. The following year, #279 was bought by the Pioche Pacific Railroad Company to serve on the Jackrabbit to Pioche line in Nevada.
#279 was retired in 1939 and placed in storage at the Jackrabbit roundhouse. It was donated to the town of Pioche in 1957 and is on display in Pioche Town Park.
A coal burner, #279 weighs 52,500 lbs, 44,500 lbs on its 43” drivers. With 11” x 18” cylinders, it operated
at 150 psi delivering 6,460 lbs tractive
effort.
It is looking a little worse for having stood in the open air for over fifty years.
