Little River Railroad: Pumpkins and Push-Pulls

One of the most unique steam operations in the United States is none other than the Little River Railroad in southern Michigan. Operating over the former New York Central's "Old Road" on tracks now owned by the Indiana Northeastern Railroad, the family owned and operated railroad has been a staple tourist attraction in the region since the 1970s. Based out of Coldwater, MI, the railroad features an eccentric collection of locomotives and rolling stock that give off the flavor of classic shortline Midwest railroading. #110 is the face of the operation, and is the smallest Pacific-type steam locomotive ever built. She is also notable for being built in the Baldwin shops in November of 1911 at the same time as one of America's most famous steam stars, Southern Railway #4501. The Little River Railroad also rosters 0-4-0T #1, a locomotive that has a mysterious past, but is also riddled with great personality.
In this video, we see both #1 & #110 on two separate occasions at the railroad. We first see them in August of 2022, when they headed to Hillsdale, MI to meet up with Nickel Plate Road #765 as she arrived in town with the Indiana Rail Experience's "Tri-State Scenic Steam Excursion". During the layover, the #1 & #110 led passengers on a short trip throughout the Hillsdale yard limits in push-pull fashion, with #1 leading the train on the outbound run, and #110 heading up the return trip. Later in the year on the first weekend of October, we follow #110 on the first Pumpkin Train excursion of the season from Coldwater to Quincy, MI. At Quincy, riders could pick out a pumpkin, later to be turned into a Jack-O-Lantern as Halloween approaches. After running into a short delay just east of Coldwater, #110 made up for lost time by running at track speed for the remainder of the run, making for a surprisingly tricky chase as the classy log hauler headed eastward. With a great variety of steam action, this video serves as a fine sampler of a truly one-of-a-kind operation!
#110 was built by Baldwin in 1911 for the original Little River Railroad, which was a logging operation in Townsend, Tennessee. She has the distinction of being the smallest Pacific-type locomotive to run on standard gauge track in the United States. #110 worked for the Little River until the main sawmill in closed in 1939. A year later, she was sold to the Smoky Mountain Railroad, operating there until 1954 and was left abandoned after the railroad ceased operations in the 1960s. In 1972, #110 was purchased by Terry Bloom, and moved to Ohio for restoration, before making her first runs at the current Little River Railroad in 1975. She emerged from an FRA-mandated 1472-day rebuild in 2020 and in 2021 was re-lettered to her Smoky Mountain Railroad appearance, in recognition of her 110th birthday.
#1 is believed to have been built by Vulcan in 1908, as studies show that the frame and wheels, as well as the boiler, were built at different points in time. The Little River acquired her from the LaPorte County Railroad Historical Society in LaPorte, Indiana in 2000, restoring her to service in 2004.
Enjoy!

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An interesting locomotive, this saddle tank steam locomotive. A fantastic steam train with two great steam locomotives and a great train. Thank you for showing me