Hear that whistle moan: historic steam engine finds its way home.

• Author: Lavrakas, Dimitra
• Position: Special section: Transportation

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Steam engines are just plain romantic. Conjuring up memories of exotic trips on the Orient Express or the Trans-Siberian Railroad, or a quick trip from London to Edinburgh on the now-retired steam engine the Flying Scotsman, the days of steam bring us back to a simpler era when we had the luxury of time to travel at leisure.

And train fans are so enamored of those great hunks of steel that they're referred to as "foamers." Don't worry--it's an affectionate term for those dreamy fanatics who make it their life's goal of boarding as many trains as possible.

"They are so passionate about trains," says Tim Sullivan, public relations director at the Alaska Railroad Corp.

Sullivan is spearheading the drive to put the railroad's historic steam Engine No. 557 back on the tracks after its absence from the state.

The Engine's Lineage

Baldwin Motor Works of Pennsylvania serial number 70480 was built for the U.S. Army Transportation Corps as U.S. No. 3523, eventually becoming No. 3557 after it arrived in Alaska in December 1944. She was one of the dozen S-160 locomotives dedicated to Alaska service in war time.

One of the many S-160 locomotives built for the war effort, others were shipped to Europe and Africa. As military operations in the wake of World War II heated up in Alaska, there was an undeniable need to beef up the equipment.

Heavy locomotives were required to haul troops and equipment to key sites to support the various campaigns.

That's where the s-160 was introduced.

Known as GI Consolidation or Gypsy Rose Lees, after the famous burlesque stripper, they were "stripped" down for action--in other words, customizable to what was required for use in their divergent destinations.

For Alaska service, No. 557 was modified by mounting larger compound air compressors on the front pilot, steam coils were added to the cab to keep it warm in the harsh Alaska winters, and the cab roof was raised and widened to 10 feet so the crew could see back around the tender. A snowplow was attached to clear the tracks.

After military service, the majority of these locomotives were transferred under the Marshal Plan to national railway systems on every continent except Australia and Antarctica.

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After the war, the 160,000-pound locomotive was put into passenger service, and was a star attraction as a ride to the Alaska State Fair in Palmer. Number 557 also bested the newfangled diesels when tracks flooded--with her...