The Warren & Ouachita Valley Railway Company was incorporated in 1899 and was controlled by the Arkansas Lumber Company (50%) and the Southern Lumber Company (50%). The line ran sixteen miles from a connection with the Iron Mountain in Warren to Banks, AR, where it connected with the Rock Island. It carried lumber for the parent companies from mills along the line, as well as providing passenger services.
Built by Burnham, Williams & Company, an early
incarnation of the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, PA, this Ten Wheeler (4-6-0) locomotive joined the roster in 1906 and was the only steam locomotive owned by the company. It has a 22’ 1” engine wheelbase and 11’ 9” driver wheel base. Weighing 103,600 lbs, 80,000 lbs on its 54” drivers, it has Stephenson valve gear and 17” x 24” cylinders. The grate is 23.5 sq ft, the firebox 139 sq ft and total heating surface is 1,959 sq ft. Operating at a boiler pressure of 180 psi, it developed 19,652 lbs tractive effort.
The tender weighs 70,000 lbs and has a capacity of 3,500 gallons of water.
In 1949, #1 was sold to the Rock Island and renumbered #801 (the number of the first locomotive in the railroad’s steam passenger series) and appeared at the Chicago Railroad Fair that year.
In 1952, it was renumbered #19 when a Baldwin-built switcher took the number #801. The Mid-Continent Railroad Museum in North Freedom, WI, bought the engine in 1965 and restored it to its original number, Warren & Ouachita Valley #1. It operated there for about ten years, but was withdrawn from service after developing severe boiler problems. In 1979, it was sold to the Kettle Moraine Railway in North Lake, WI, which intended to rebuild it but never did.
The Kettle Moraine folded in 2001 and, the following year, #1 was sold to a private individual in Black River Falls, WI, where it is now on display liveried as Black River & Northern #1.
Above, the circus flat was bought from the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI. Left, Parlor Car #779 was renovated by the Rock Island for the Chicago Railroad Fair. Far left, the passenger car was built for the Nickel Plate as #708. It was later rebuilt as cafe/coach #716 "Indian Summer". In 1948, it became business car #98 and, in 1953, #97. It was later Louisville & Nashville #350.