East Jordan and Southern #6 rests at her new display location about 1/4 mile away from her previous home of 57 years. The locomotive was recently moved across town to a more prominent display location to make room in a city park for an expansion project.
This well proportioned little Mogul was built by ALCO in 1909 and was the first new piece of motive power ever purchased by the little Railroad, who would subsequently order two other 2-6-0's at later dates from ALCO. Although she was ordered new, it would come with some older technologies and styling cues, such as a low decked tender and inside valve gear. In 1945 this engine was sent south to be rebuilt by the PM at their Wyoming Shops, and this rebuild is well documented. The reason why #6 was selected over the other modern engines was not clear, but it is believed that it was a crew favorite on the railroad. Oil burning headlights were replaced with electric ones, the wood cab had an all new steel cab made from scratch and the entire firebox was replaced. This rebuild would also later on be the saving grace for #6, as by the time a small Plymouth Diesel arrived on the scene most of the steam locomotives except #6 had been scrapped or were worn well beyond their usefulness.
The locomotive would become a well known favorite for excursions across the EJ&S, which was only 20 miles long between East Jordan and Bellaire. The final nail in the coffin came in 1959 when the road's primary customer at the end of the line stopped shipping by rail and switched to trucks. The last run occurred in 1960 in which the engine ran one last charter, and by 1961 the locomotive was on display in downtown and the EJ&S was all but a memory...
