Central Pacific #1 "Governor Stanford". The very first locomotive to serve the fledgling Central Pacific Railroad was this 40-ton wood-burner, built in 1862 by Richard Norris & Son in Philadelphia, PA. Just getting her to her new home in Sacramento, CA would be an ordeal. She was disassembled and shipped in crates from Boston on a sailing vessel that made the long voyage around Cape Horn to San Francisco. She then made the trip to Sacramento via a river schooner. She made her first run on the CP in 1863 and soon held the distinction of hauling the line's first excursion train, its first freight and its first scheduled passenger service. Later, she hauled construction trains involved with the building of the CP over the Sierra Nevada. As newer and more powerful engines became available, this engine was relegated to switching service and fire patrol duties in the Sacramento area. When finally retired in 1895, the CP had the foresight to save her from the scrappers. She was completely refurbished in 1899 and presented to the widow of Governor Leyland Stanford, who donated her to Stanford University. She was displayed there until 1963, after which she was loaned to the Pacific Coast Chapter of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, and eventually became part of the collection of the California State Railroad Museum. The locomotive looks quite a bit different today than it looked when originally built. Photos of that original configuration do exist and consideration was given to restoring it to that condition, but given the number of modifications that had been done to it over the years, the museum determined that such work would leave very little historic fabric. She appears today exactly as she did when presented to Gov. Stanford's widow in 1899.
The other side of this display commemorates the CP's record of 10 miles of track laid in just one day. For a look at that diorama click here.
