OUR NO. 31 LOCOMOTIVE
In the summer of 1960, the Strasburg Rail Road acquired Canadian National Locomotive No. 7312, a steam engine built by Philadelphia’s Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1908. No. 7312 (later renumbered as No. 31) spent nearly 50 years of service on the Grand Trunk Railway, and its later merged conglomerate, Canadian National Railway before coming to the Strasburg Rail Road in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was the first steam locomotive to run at Strasburg Rail Road after the company divested itself of its steam locomotives in the 1920s. When No. 31 pulled her first passenger train on September 1, 1960, she was the first steam locomotive returned to passenger service in the United States! Saving the locomotive from the scrap heap and putting it back into passenger service was a huge accomplishment for the little Strasburg Rail Road. It is the second-oldest locomotive on the company’s roster.
Since 2009, No. 31 has been under an extensive rebuild in conjunction with the Federal Railroad Administration’s mandatory 1,472 day/15-year inspection cycle.
Year Built: 1908
Maker: Baldwin Locomotive Works (Philadelphia, PA)
Wheel Configuration: 0-6-0
Weight: 153,400 lbs.
Arrived at Strasburg: June 1960
