Logo
 
 
8/25/2024
View Photos
Members
 
 
 
 
Viewing Album:  Steam Engine in Action on the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad
 
By:Matthew Zisi
Dates:6/7/2019 - 6/7/2019
Album Info:Howdy, friends! Today, I went for a ride on the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad. It was 100th birthday weekend for ATSF 3415, which used to sit in Eisenhower Park. Then, the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad (a heritage line which runs excursions on the former Rock Island tracks east to Enterprise) bought the steam engine in 2001. Fred Schmidt, who spearheaded restoration efforts for the steam-powered carousel in Abilene as well as a steamboat engine from the 1856 Arabia at the Arabia Steamboat Museum in Kansas City, MO, made this his last great restoration effort. After eight years of work, the locomotive became the only operational steam engine in Kansas in 2009. Today, it pulls some of the rides the railroad offers, including the one we went on this day. What a thrill it was to get to hear the whistle blow in real life! If you ever get to Abilene, make sure you take a ride on this! P.S.--the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad runs out of the Rock Island Depot a few blocks south of the interstate. It is not the Union Pacific Depot, which you will see just south of NW 3rd Street, on your right. Nor is it the BNSF Depot, which you will see just north of SW 3rd Street, also on your right. It is the Rock Island Depot, just past the Eisenhower Library and Heritage Center, on your left on 5th Street. You know a town's a big railroad town when it's easy to get the depots mixed up!
  Page Controls   View:  Pics Per Page:
BNSF 1773 1759
Title:  BNSF 1773 1759
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/13/2019 7:15:26 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Roster
Locomotives:  BNSF 1773(SD40-2) BNSF 1759(SD40-2)
Views:  260   Comments: 0
Rock Island Depot
Title:  Rock Island Depot
Description:  The old Rock Island Depot still boards passenger trains pulled by steam engines!
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 8:49:45 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Station
Locomotives: 
Views:  39   Comments: 0
ATSF 3415
Title:  ATSF 3415
Description:  Back in Abilene, 3415 is letting off steam!
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 8:43:00 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Roster,Steam,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:  ATSF 3415(4-6-2)
Views:  97   Comments: 1
ATSF 3415
Title:  ATSF 3415
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 8:43:40 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Roster,Steam,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:  ATSF 3415(4-6-2)
Views:  112   Comments: 1
ATSF 3415
Title:  ATSF 3415
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 8:44:24 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Roster,Steam,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:  ATSF 3415(4-6-2)
Views:  73   Comments: 1
ATSF 3415
Title:  ATSF 3415
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 8:45:02 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Roster,Steam,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:  ATSF 3415(4-6-2)
Views:  66   Comments: 0
ATSF 3415
Title:  ATSF 3415
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 8:45:42 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Roster,Steam,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:  ATSF 3415(4-6-2)
Views:  90   Comments: 1
ATSF 3415
Title:  ATSF 3415
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 8:46:21 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Roster,Steam,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:  ATSF 3415(4-6-2)
Views:  96   Comments: 2
ASV 25466
Title:  ASV 25466
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 8:47:27 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  RollingStock,Steam,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:  ATSF 3415(4-6-2)
Views:  82   Comments: 1
Rock Island Depot
Title:  Rock Island Depot
Description:  Now, the station also serves as a museum and gift shop!
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 8:51:00 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Station
Locomotives: 
Views:  36   Comments: 0
Rock Island Depot
Title:  Rock Island Depot
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 8:51:50 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Station
Locomotives: 
Views:  62   Comments: 0
Rock Island Depot
Title:  Rock Island Depot
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 8:52:32 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Station
Locomotives: 
Views:  24   Comments: 0
Rock Island Depot
Title:  Rock Island Depot
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 8:53:21 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Station
Locomotives: 
Views:  18   Comments: 0
Rock Island Depot
Title:  Rock Island Depot
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 8:54:06 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Station
Locomotives: 
Views:  17   Comments: 0
Rock Island Depot
Title:  Rock Island Depot
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 8:54:55 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Station
Locomotives: 
Views:  15   Comments: 0
Empire 6
Title:  Empire 6
Description:  Meet the Empire 6, the Abilene and Smokey Valley Railroads "new" diesel.
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 9:00:12 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Roster
Locomotives: 
Views:  73   Comments: 1
Empire 6
Title:  Empire 6
Description:  The engine was donated to the railroad by the Heart of the Heartlands Railroad Museum, but moving it from Asbury, Missouri, to here took a whopping four days! They had to build a special trailer to carry it. That first day, going around curves caused them to only get 3 miles in nine hours. Two days later, a wheel came off. After four days, though, they finally got it to Abilene. You can read the whole story here: http://www.abilene-rc.com/news/close-to-two-years-later-engine-makes-it-to-abilene/article_3abf894a-c0cd-11e8-b96b-1bc24e65a2fd.html
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 9:04:51 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Roster
Locomotives:  EMPIRE 6(S4)
Views:  151   Comments: 1
Empire 6
Title:  Empire 6
Description:  The 1953 Alco S4 is right at home in Abilene, though, as this is where it used to work!
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 9:05:58 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Roster
Locomotives: 
Views:  31   Comments: 1
Empire 6
Title:  Empire 6
Description:  Eventually, it is supposed to be another option to pull the excursion train.
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 9:07:02 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Roster
Locomotives: 
Views:  63   Comments: 1
Other Diesels
Title:  Other Diesels
Description:  Visible down the track
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 9:08:06 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  Roster
Locomotives: 
Views:  26   Comments: 1
ASV 25466
Title:  ASV 25466
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 9:26:55 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  RollingStock,Passenger,Action
Locomotives: 
Views:  45   Comments: 1
ASV 25466
Title:  ASV 25466
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 9:27:44 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  RollingStock,Passenger,Action
Locomotives: 
Views:  60   Comments: 1
The Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad Train
Title:  The Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad Train
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 9:28:40 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  RollingStock,Passenger,Action
Locomotives: 
Views:  58   Comments: 1
Silver Flyer
Title:  Silver Flyer
Description:  This is what is used for the unconnected section east of Enterprise.
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 9:31:20 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories: 
Locomotives: 
Views:  33   Comments: 0
Old Boxcar
Title:  Old Boxcar
Description: 
Photo Date:  6/7/2019  Upload Date: 7/11/2019 9:32:45 PM
Location:  Abilene, KS
Author:  Matthew Zisi
Categories:  RollingStock
Locomotives: 
Views:  13   Comments: 0

Page 2 of 2
<-Prev 1 2

Site Design ©2001-2020 Tim Huemmer
Photos © respective authors		   Contact: info@rrpicturearchives.net