Cab Forward 4294: Southern Pacific Railroad?s Signature Locomotive

This book tells the story of SP 4294, the last new steam locomotive purchased by the Southern Pacific and the last remaining cab forward. The cab forwards were the signature locomotive of the Southern Pacific; no other railroad used them. The cab forwards were designed for the unusual operating conditions the Southern Pacific faced over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, route of the world’s first transcontinental railroad. Within its 88 pages this book has 70 photographs, 47 of them in color of SP 4294 on display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. These photographs illustrate many of the parts and controls of the locomotive with associated descriptions of their purpose and operation.