CARSON & COLORADO RAILWAY
P.O. BOX 194
INDEPENDENCE, CA. 93526
Web: CarsonColorado.com
June 18, 2025

For Immediate Release

Re: Locomotive Open House and Operational Demonstration, July 4 and 5

For More Information: Dave Mull, 760-876-5586

 

Carson & Colorado Operates SP #18 over Fourth of July Weekend

Fourth of July in Independence will have a new highlight this year when the restored, historic Southern Pacific #18 steam locomotive gets steamed up and rolls over the holiday weekend.

The event is open to the public and free, with donations gratefully accepted.

The Slim Princess will run on short stretches of track at the Eastern California Museum, 155 N. Grant Steet, in Independence. The locomotive will operate after the traditional 4^th of July parade on Friday, July 4. The engine will start running around 1 p.m. and keep rolling until about 4 p.m. so everyone can enjoy the BBQ dinner in Dehy Park.

On Saturday, July 5, the Slim Princess will start operations at about 10 a.m. and run through the day. Kids activities will be available for fun.

Members of the all-volunteer Carson & Colorado nonprofit group will also set up a booth on the courthouse lawn on the 4^th. The public can find information about the decades-long effort by Carson & Colorado crews to bring SP #18 back into operational shape and keep the locomotive running.

On both days, the public will be able to tour the Larry Peckham Engine House and talk to volunteers about the literal nuts and bolts involved in keeping the 114-year-old locomotive running safely. Visitors can also check on the progress to restore a historic, 1880-era SP boxcar, another Carson & Colorado project.

Running the locomotive on July 4 and 5 will give visitors a chance to watch the historic steam engine in action. Watching the locomotive steam over narrow-gauge tracks is an impressive sight and recalls the long and important role played by the Carson & Colorado and Southern Pacific railroads in the history of the Owens Valley. The locomotive and tender will be operated by volunteers who are experienced, licensed steam locomotive engineers and firemen to ensure safe operations.

The events at the Engine House are free, but donations will be accepted and will go toward ongoing operating and maintenance costs for #18.

The Slim Princess is a 1911 Baldwin locomotive that Southern Pacific brought to the Owens Valley in the 1920s, along with its “sister,” SP #9 (which is at Laws Railroad Museum in Bishop). The steam engines ran from Laws to Keeler into the 1950s, when they were retired and donated to Inyo County, which installed #18 in Dehy Park in Independence. The locomotive was a well-known landmark for decades.

In 2001, several local residents and train fans started literally tinkering with #18 and eventually completed enough work to actually fire the engine. With that promising start, work began in earnest in 2001 to restore the engine. From the start, the volunteer group working on #18 included current and retired mechanics and engineers at such historic railroads as the Virgina Truckee, Durango Silverton, Knotts Berry Farm, Southern Pacific, Nevada Northern Railway and others. By 2010, extensive work had been performed on the locomotive’s components, such as the cab, trucks and boiler.

In 2016, the restored locomotive was successfully fired and ran on a short piece of track at the park. Work began on the Larry Peckham Engine House, which was completed in 2017 and became the home of the Slim Princess.

Donations have fueled the entire restoration and operating budget for #18.

The 4^th of July Steam Up event is made possible by these co-sponsors: the County of Inyo; the Eastern California Museum; PAWS; the Friends of the Easter California Museum; and hundreds of donors and benefactors who have supported the Carson & Colorado Railway. The locomotive is housed at the Eastern California Museum, 155 N. Grant Street, Independence, CA. For more info see Carsoncolorado.com or carsoncoloradorailway on Instgram and YouTube.