1903 Santa Fe Engine, 1914 Oil Tank Car, 1948 Caboose and Depot

History

The Union Depot in downtown Bartlesville is home to the last remaining Santa Fe-type "2-10-2" locomotive out of 332 such steamers that saw service. Fueled by oil, engine No. 940 was built by Baldwin in 1903 and operated for a half century in Oklahoma and five other states. Its 2-10-2 wheel arrangement (2 pilot wheels, 10 drivers and 2 trailing wheels) equipped it to handle heavy freight trains at a top speed of about 35 miles an hour.

Recently added is a 1914 Oil Tank Car that has been placed between the 1903 Engine and 1948 Caboose.

A restored Santa Fe caboose, built in 1948, is coupled to this last-of-its-kind locomotive on a display track next to the depot. The cab of the locomotive is accessible by stairway and the powerful whistle can be operated on most Saturday mornings. The interior of the caboose is open for tours periodically.

The Bartlesville Union Depot, completed in December 1909, once served by two major railroads lines-the Atchison, topeka and Santa Fr (the "santa Fe") and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas (the "M-K-T" or "Katy"). Built by the Santa Fe in its trademark Southwest architectural style, the carefully maintained structure is currently home to the Visitor Information Center as welll as the Bartlesville Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Bartlesville Development Corporation.

Three blocks south of the depot along tracks now owned by the South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (SKOL) is a 1923 coaling tower built for MKT. The structure is one of only two like it left in Oklahoma.

For more information on the restoration and history visit www.bartlesvillelocomotive.org 

Admission

Free

Image courtesy www.bartlesville.com/