The "Movie Engine" in the spotlight. Prominently displayed to passing motorists and pedestrians in downtown Hill City, SD, Black Hills Central Locomotive #7 shines in the glow of display lighting as an invitation to come ride this beautiful railroad. Locomotive #7 is a 1919 product of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. She's a 2-6-2 Prairie type, built for the Arkansas-based Ozan-Graysonia Lumber Co. as their Locomotive #2. In 1938, she was apparently sold to the Prescott & Northwestern Railroad, which was also Arkansas-based. She came to the Black Hills Central in 1962 and ran for decades as primary power. She has also appeared in a number of Hollywood movie productions, which helps explain some of her features, such as the massive diamond stack. She was last operated in 2011, and is now on semi-permanent static display. While mechanically, this locomotive could be made operable, the railroad has more or less outgrown it, as she can only pull about 4 coaches, and the normal train length today is 7. That said, the railroad folks tell me "never say never." If Hollywood were to come looking for her services and the price was right, it is possible that she could be brought back for another curtain call.
A continuously growing album of photos that IMHO reveal the awesome and seldom-seen beauty of the railroad world from the dimming of day to dawn's early light! From dusk to dawn, trains roll on! (I'm still finding gems of sunset-to-sunrise surprises!)
