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Description
In 1863, the Central Pacific Railroad purchased from Cooke Locomotive Works its third locomotive, a 4-2-4 "bicycle" tank engine named C.P. Huntington for the railroad tycoon Collis P. Huntington. It was put to work on building the Transcontinental Railroad, but the single driving axle made it unsuitable for heavy work, and it was transferred to light commuter trains. When the Cental Pacific was succeeded by the Southern Pacific, C.P. Huntington became No. 1, and was upgraded by the Sacramento Locomotive Works. It ended its service as a weed burner in 1901, and was preserved by SP management for historical purposes. Today it occupies a special place in the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, and is the symbol of the museum.

Fans of the classic children's story The Little Engine that Could will find that the engine in that story is based on C.P. Huntington, with the main difference being that that engine was blue and this one is red.

Description
In 1863, the Central Pacific Railroad purchased from Cooke Locomotive Works its third locomotive, a 4-2-4 "bicycle" tank engine named C.P. Huntington for the railroad tycoon Collis P. Huntington. It was put to work on building the Transcontinental Railroad, but the single driving axle made it unsuitable for heavy work, and it was transferred to light commuter trains. When the Cental Pacific was succeeded by the Southern Pacific, C.P. Huntington became No. 1, and was upgraded by the Sacramento Locomotive Works. It ended its service as a weed burner in 1901, and was preserved by SP management for historical purposes. Today it occupies a special place in the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, and is the symbol of the museum.

Fans of the classic children's story The Little Engine that Could will find that the engine in that story is based on C.P. Huntington, with the main difference being that that engine was blue and this one is red.