Invention and Engineering

Central Pacific 173

Central Pacific 173 was a 4-4-0 "American" type steam locomotive, built by Norris-Lancaster for the Western Pacific Railroad in 1864. After its acquisition by Central Pacific, #173 was involved in a bad wreck, lying idle for two years before undergoing a sweeping reconstruction by the line's Sacramento Shops. It subsequently became the prototype for the railroad's engines when the CP began constructing locomotives. The engine was successful, and more engines were built to #173's design. In the 1950s, its blueprints became the basis for a miniature railroad built by Hollywood movie studio owner and railroad enthusiast Walt Disney, who had a 1:8 replica built by the studio's machine shop. The Lilly Belle which resulted was widely copied by other "live steam" hobbyists and became the basis for the future Disneyland theme park's miniature railroad's engine, the C. K. Holliday. The engine itself also served as the basis for Engine No. 2 in the Disney animated short films The Brave Engineer, Out of Scale, and A Cowboy Needs a Horse.

Also on this shelf

See also

• ▸John Fowler & Co.
• ▸Gabriel Cromer
• ▸2008 financial crisis

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