| Niles Canyon Railroad Museum - serial #8973, built on January 27, 1950. #918 is one of 48 F7's ordered by WP (24 "A" units and 24 "B" units). #918-D met her end on the Western Pacific on March 30, 1981 while heading eastbound over Altmont pass. She was the trailing unit of the San Jose Turn and her main electrical cabinet caught on fire. Before much could be done, most of the wiring in the cabinet was in ruins. After being deemed "uneconomical to repair", she was unceremoniously parked next to the Stockton roundhouse to be used as a parts source for the 2 other F units still on the WP roster. A member of the Pacific Locomotive Association (Jim Evans) wrote the WP and asked for the donation of an F unit. We were offered this one as the other 2 (917 and 921) were still in service (the 913 having been donated to the CSRM in 1981). Never being afraid to accept a challenge or blissfully unaware of severity of her condition, the club decided to accept the 918 on December 1, 1981). |