In early 1995, the Illinois Railway Museum acquired from Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, ATSF #2903, one of the huge 2900 class Northern Type oil burning locomotives of the Santa Fe's fleet. The challenge was to move the locomotive from the MSI on Chicago's lakefront in Hyde Park to the Illinois Central Railroad at 51st Street on Chicago's South side. Thanks to both Pete VanCampen and Ken Jamin, I can offer some images of that move.

Snap Track!? Nope, this is the real thing, called "panel track." It's rails fastened to ties with parallel joints ready to be laid for a move such as this.

Crews have to bolt the sections of panel track together before the locomotive can move across the joint.

Musuem volunteer, Bill "Scoops" Delaney poses at 2903's pilot, providing an idea of just how tall this locomotive is! AT&SF 2903 is the largest (physical dimension with tender) locomotive in the state of Illinois.

Ken Jamin, another museum volunteer (and photographer of many of these images) is at the pilot on Chicago's lakefront at Hyde Park Drive.

I HATE parallel parking!

Chicago's finest issues a citation for parallel parking the tender in a no parking zone!

(Just kidding...this was, of course, a posed shot.)

This unsuspecting Amoco service station at 51st Street is about to have an unusual customer!

"Invasion of the Chooch Snatchers!"

Fill 'er up!

This brings new meaning to the term "service station creeper."

Clearances Are Us

Well, the loco made it to the IC tracks, was hauled by the IC to the Belt Railway of Chicago who moved it to the Indiana Harbor Belt yards. The Chicago and North Western picked up 2903 there and hauled it up the IHB to Proviso, thence to the Ill. Railway Museum in Union, where we see 2903 reposing after her move on a grey, rainy day.

AT&SF 2903 sat for quite some time on IRM's "Station Track 2" waiting to be moved back onto the "steam service leads." This was finally accomplished, using the J. Niels Lumber 70-ton Class C Shay #5. The long wheelbase of 2903 caused serious concern, as previous attempts to move the locomotive around the wye indicated that severe damage could occur to the trackage. Although the locomotive is now in the steam service yard trackage, the west leg of the wye did require rebuilding following that move. The wye is now rebuilt (along with the museum entrance walkway grade crossing) and that trackage is back in service.