702

Alaska Railroad photo from the Jack Klingbeil collection

Number 702 (builder number 59606) is a Baldwin 2-8-2 bought new on October 1926.  It weighed 240,000 pounds and had 22 x 28 inch cylinders with 54 inch drivers.  It was retired April 1954 and was sold to F.C. Langreo in January 1958.

From Bernadine Prince's book, The Alaska Railroad, "As Work Extra 702 South was passing over Bridge 287.7 on August 9, 1944, the north end of the bridge collapsed - high water had scoured the piling.  The locomotive remained on the trestle bridge, but the locomotive tank and one flat car fell to the river bed 12 feet below.  One other flat car and an outfit car turned over on their sides on the bridge approach.  No one was injured in the accident, and locomotive and cars were rerailed and bridge repaired for resumption of traffic on August 15."

702