A Brief History

Number 35 Westbound at Mineola 1936 (Photo: Ron Ziel Collection)

With the rapid replacement of wooden passenger cars with ones made of steel in the early 1920's, the LIRR's 31 Pennsylvania Railroad built D16sb 4-4-0's could no longer haul the size trains the were needed. The resulted in the decision to replace them with an equal number of 4-6-0's starting in 1924. Locomotive 35 was built in 1928 by the Pennsylvania Railroad's Juniata Shops as part of the last of 3 batches.   A G5s class ten wheeler (4-6-0), it has 68" driving wheels and 205 pounds of boiler pressure.  Designed to haul commuters, these relatively small driving wheels let the locomotive accelerate quickly between the closely spaced stations found in this type of service.  Early on in their careers locomotives of this class also hauled the LIRR's most prestigious name trains, including the renowned Sunrise Special which ran on a tight schedule to Montauk.  One locomotive, number 21, was assigned to this train and wore a special emblem on its tender.  This tender is preserved with 35 and the emblem will once again grace its sides when the restoration is complete.

After being bumped off the name trains by leased PRR K-4s the G5s remained in commuter, and occasional light freight duty until being retired in the mid 50's.  35 was one of the last steam locomotives in service on the LIRR and even participated in the end of steam ceremony as well as being the last LIRR steam engine to haul an excursion in October 1955.  Donated to Nassau County, it was put on display in Eisenhower Park.   35 is one of three PRR built G5s preserved (this makes the G5s the most represented Pennsy built steam locomotive in preservation).  The two others are former LIRR #39 undergoing restoration in Riverhead, Long Island (it's not a competition, please no wagering) and PRR #5741 which is preserved in the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. As an interesting aside, #5741 was leased to the LIRR for a short time which means that all of the preserved G5s' ran on the LIRR.

     During its time in the park it was kept painted and cared for by members of the Long Island Sunrise Trail (L.I.S.T.) chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.  In the mid '70s, it was pulled from the park to be restored to operation by the tourist hauling Black River & Western railway in New Jersey.  This plan fell through and 35 sat at the end of an unused siding in Garden City.  Cared for by the L.I.S.T. members until the mid eighties when a number of factors led to the essential abandonement of the locomotive.  In 1990 a small group decided to paint the engine to prevent it from rusting away.  One thing led to another and that small group has grown and become the Friends of Locomotive #35, Inc.

Return to Home Page