St. Louis Iron Mountain &
Southern Railway
Jackson, Missouri

A History of Diesel Locomotive Number 5898

In 1998, the St. Louis Iron Mountain & Southern purchased a “new” locomotive…well, new to us anyway! The truth is that this locomotive has quite a history behind it. It was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors (also known as EMD) in 1950. It is designated as an E8 type diesel locomotive rated at 2,250 horsepower and capable of speeds up to 120 miles per hour. It was built new for the Pennsylvania Railroad to haul fast passenger trains such as the Broadway Limited. While on the Pennsylvania, the engine was assigned number 5898.

In 1971, the locomotive had traveled many miles for the Pennsy, but was not ready to be retired yet. It was sold to the newly formed Amtrak and pressed into service in the bust Northeast Corridor region hauling thousands of commuters each day. The locomotive was given number 497 while working for Amtrak.

The engine was sold once again in the late 1980’s, this time to a tourist railroad called the Blue Mountain & Reading in Pennsylvania. The BM&R restored the locomotive to its original Pennsylvania tuscan red paint and gold striped livery as well as returning it to its original number, 5898. The engine hauled many happy tourists, but after a few years, was deemed surplus once again.

In 1998, the BM&R was selling off its extra equipment. Chief Mechanical Officer of the Iron Mountain Railway, Danny Davis, made the trip to Pennsylvania to inspect the offerings. After returning, the board met and decided to fund the purchase of the 5898. Mr. Davis spent several weeks in Pennsylvania draining the old crankcase oil (which was full of water), cleaning, inspecting, and changing filters. After all this hard work, both of the 12 cylinder EMD engines roared to life. The engine was run around the BM&R yards for a couple of days to ensure it was ready for the trip to Missouri. It was attached to a westbound freight train and a few days later was delivered to the Iron Mountain junction in Delta, Missouri. It was fired up, and rolled the last 18 miles into Jackson under its own power to begin its new career.

The 5898 is an important part of the Iron Mountain Railway, and we hope you’ll come take a ride on this historic diesel locomotive.