The Pere Marquette 1223 is a N-1 class 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built in November 1941 by the Lima Locomotive Works. It initially hauled freight and steel between Toledo and Chicago for the Pere Marquette Railway. After the railway was absorbed by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, the engine was assigned number 2657 but never had the new number applied because it remained under trust. It was eventually retired from service in 1951.
After retirement, the locomotive was moved to New Buffalo, Michigan, to be scrapped. However, it was repainted and moved in 1960 to the state fairgrounds in Detroit for display, funded by donations collected by school children in the Detroit area. In 1980, the locomotive was moved to Grand Haven after the city won a bidding process to relocate the engine from the fairgrounds.
With the help of the Michigan National Guard as well as the Grand Trunk Western and Chessie System railroads, No. 1223 was moved to Grand Haven in 1981. In 1982, the West Michigan Railroad Historical Society joined the engine on static display with a cosmetically restored PM steel boxcar #72222. The locomotive was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 7, 2000.
On February 28, 2020, the display in Grand Haven was vandalized. During this incident, No. 1223 was spray-painted several times and a caboose door was kicked in.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Friendly Jane
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