Santa Fe 769

After becoming a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1897, the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad decided to upgrade their steam locomotive fleet with a series of 2-8-0 "consolidation" types.[1] The first order came with eighteen locomotives from the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Dickson Locomotive Works in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1899, initially numbered 1–18 right before being renumbered 246–265. A second batch of twenty locomotives from the Richmond Locomotive Works of Richmond, Virginia came along the following year, numbered 266–285. No. 769 was numbered 266 at the time and was the very first of the Richmond batch that came in 1900, one year before the Richmond works would merge into the American Locomotive Company. These little locomotives were commonly used for freight service on the mainline, as 2-8-0s were the most common wheel arrangement to show up at the time. In 1902, the SFP became completely absorbed into the Santa Fe, and a renumbering system was in order for the 2-8-0s; Nos 246–265 were renumbered 3030–3044 and 3100–3102. Nos 266–285 were also renumbered 3045–3064. Only a few years later, the 2-8-0s were renumbered again; the 1899 group of locomotives renumbered Nos 699–706 and 719–728, and the 1900 group of locomotives renumbered 769–788.

These little locomotives were primarily used for mainline freight trains throughout the Santa Fe system in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Kansas until the mid-late 1910s, when larger locomotives, including the 2-10-2 "Santa Fe" type and the 2-8-2 "Mikado", were becoming more frequently built in favor of the growing freight traffic, and the 2-8-0s, including No. 769, were relegated to yard switching and pulling shorter freight trains on branch lines. As the 1930s and 1940s progressed, the Santa Fe retired their aging 2-8-0s and sold them for scrap, but No. 769 was one of the exceptions. At one point, the locomotive swapped tenders with 4-6-2 No. 1227. In April 1950, No. 769 was sold off to the Albuquerque and Cerrillos Coal Company in the mountain-based town of Madrid, New Mexico, which was located at the end of a branch extending south from the Santa Fe main at Waldo.[2] There, No. 769 was only accompanied by 2-8-0s No. 772, 870, and 874. It was regularly used by the A&CCCO to haul coal and water between Madrid and Santa Fe to provide warmth for the citizens who lived in Madrid. However, No. 769's time at the A&CCCO was cut short in 1954, when the company decided to cease all train operations after a catastrophic fire burned down the building that stored most of their coal, and coal marketing was declining in favor of oil marketing. No. 772 and 874 would be sold for scrap as an attempt for the company to recoup some of their financial losses, but to no avail. By the end of the decade, the entire town itself was abandoned, and Nos 769 and 870 would sit idle there for the next twenty years. While No. 870 was left outside, exposed to the elements, No. 769 was stored underneath one of very few engine sheds that were left there.

In the late 1970s, the ghost town of Madrid was rediscovered by a group of explorers, and the town was soon re-populated as an artist community and tourist attraction. While No. 870 was sold off to Santa Fe Springs, California, No. 769 remained in Madrid,[3] and was sold in 1982 to Joe Huber. Huber cosmetically restored the locomotive,[4] and moved No. 769 outside its previous storage shed, which was converted to a Theatre[5] as part of Madrid's Old Coal Mine Museum.[6] No. 769 was facing forward toward the stage as a dramatic backdrop. However, No. 769 is in an active flood zone. When the town of Madrid experienced floods, No. 769's wheels were buried in deposits of sand and silt, which required the locomotive to be regularly dug out. Local road enhancement projects completed in 2010 now prevent severe flooding in Madrid,[7] but 769's wheels remained buried in about one foot of dirt, with the tracks intact underneath.

Since March 2020, the Old Coal Mine Museum’s new owner, Lori Lindsey, has invited volunteers from the New Mexico Steam Locomotive and Railroad Historical Society (NMS&RHS) and the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad to help clean and inspect No. 769, with most of the components deemed to be in good condition as a result of the Southwestern United States's dry climate. This work is part of the early process of restoring No. 769 to operating condition.[8] Some features of No. 769 remain in disrepair, including the smokebox, which is corroded and filled with sawdust due to the locomotive's uncovered smokestack, and the tender, which has begun to develop cracks. Volunteers are currently preparing the locomotive to be moved, either to a temporary shop in Madrid or a roundhouse in Albuquerque, to perform a necessary rebuild on the locomotive, estimated to cost over $1.2 million. The Old Coal Mine Museum had originally considered leasing No. 769 to the Santa Fe Southern Railway, in order to operate it there, but it was later discovered that the locomotive is too heavy for the Santa Fe Southern’s trackage and bridges. As of 2023, the museum is raising additional funds to reconstruct the old Madrid line to eventually begin their own tourist operation with No. 769.