List of Surviving Steam Locomotives

Virginia Museum of Transportation Collection

• The Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke houses three of the best preserved and most important major steam engines in American history. The N&W J-Class 611 was the last large passenger steam engine built and possibly the fastest. It resides at the museum alongside the Chesapeake and Ohio 614, another impressive passenger train engine, which was built in Lima, Ohio for the C&O railroad. The third, the N&W 1218, hauled freight and coal in its heyday during the 1940s and 1950s. The museum also houses several other examples of steam locomotives.

California State Railroad Museum Collection

• The California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento maintains a collection of 21 steam locomotives, most more than 100 years old. The oldest member of the collection, the Central Pacific Railroad No. 1, is named the Governor Stanford. It was built in Philadelphia in 1862 but shipped around Cape Horn in crates to be reassembled in San Francisco. It became property of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which saved it from being scrapped in 1895.

Union Pacific "Big Boys"

• Many of the Union Pacific "Big Boys," often cited as the largest locomotives ever built, still stand -- but none are in operating condition. Of the 25 originally built, eight remain and can be found on display in Denver, Colorado; St. Louis; Dallas; Omaha, Nebraska; Pomona, California; Scranton, Pennsylvania; Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Cheyenne, Wyoming. They each put roughly 1,000,000 miles on their engines before retiring.

Baltimore and Ohio Museum

• The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum boasts the "oldest, most historic and most comprehensive American railroad collections in the world." They have a number of remarkable engines, including one of two remaining "Allegheny" class engines, the C&O Mo. 1604. These engines had the greatest horsepower ever for steam locomotives at 7,500 hp at 40 mph. It also contains restored versions of very early steam locomotives, including the B&O John Hancock and Atlantic.

Cass Scenic Railroad

• One of the best examples of a well-maintained operating engine is the No. 2 Pacific Coast Shay that runs almost daily on the Cass Scenic Railroad in Cass, West Virginia. The operating collection also includes "Big 6," the last and largest Shay ever built. A third engine, Shay No. 5, is the second oldest Shay in operation. Originally a logging line, the route is now used for tourist trips through the mountains.