Grand Trunk Western 4-6-2 No. 5629

Published: February 13, 2026

By: Adam Burns

Grand Trunk Western No. 5629 has become one of the more haunting “what-if” stories in Midwestern steam preservation. Built as a practical, passenger-minded 4-6-2 during the last great wave of new steam construction, it outlived its intended role by decades—working commuter trains, powering sold-out fan trips, hauling high-profile special trains, and then sitting in limbo while the clock ran out. In the end, 5629’s story wasn’t decided by worn-out machinery so much as circumstance, property rights, and a bitter legal standoff that culminated in scrapping on-site in July 1987.

Built for the Grand Trunk Western: A USRA Light Pacific

No. 5629 was one of five Grand Trunk Western Class K-4-a “Pacific” locomotives (Nos. 5627–5631). The group was built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) at Schenectady, New York. 5629’s builder’s serial number was 65290, and its build date is recorded as February 1924, with delivery the following month.

The GTW’s K-4-a class is often described as a close relative—or copy—of the USRA Light Pacific concept, optimized for fast passenger schedules and frequent stops. In typical railroad fashion, “copy” didn’t mean “identical.” The GTW specified details it preferred, including Walschaerts valve gear, a Worthington feedwater heater, and a Delta trailing truck arrangement rather than components used on some baseline USRA designs.

The K-4-a engines represented a mature, standardized approach to passenger steam—efficient enough to justify new construction, conservative enough to be maintainable systemwide, and capable of handling commuter work one day and longer passenger runs the next.

Key Specifications

Configuration and class

• Wheel arrangement: 4-6-2 (Pacific)
  
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  GTW class: K-4-a
  
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  Cylinders: Two, outside
  
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  Cylinder size: 25 in × 28 in
  
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  Valve gear: Walschaerts

Boiler and steaming

• Boiler pressure: 200 psi
  
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  Grate area: 66.70 sq ft
  
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  Superheater: Schmidt, 794 sq ft
  
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  Feedwater heater: Worthington

Drivers, weight, and performance

• Driver diameter: 73 in
  
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  Locomotive weight: 285,500 lb
  
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  Weight on drivers: 170,000 lb
  
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  Tractive effort: 40,753 lbf
  
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  Maximum speed (listed): 80 mph

Tender Capacity

One of the more important “preservation-era” changes was 5629’s tender situation. In excursion service, it ultimately carried a much larger tender than it had in GTW revenue days—boosting the practical range between water/coal stops and making longer trips more feasible in the 1960s excursion market. The modified tender capacities commonly cited are 22 tons of coal and 18,000 gallons of water.

Revenue Service

In GTW ownership, 5629’s core work centered on passenger service—especially the kind of demanding, start-and-stop operation commuter railroading requires. The locomotive’s assignments shifted over time as newer power arrived and steam was pushed toward secondary service.

A pivotal moment came in 1942, when the GTW received its U-3-b 4-8-4s (larger “Northern” types). With those engines taking the heavier or more prominent passenger jobs, locomotives like 5629 were reassigned. 5629’s later GTW work included commuter and other service in Michigan, reflecting steam’s gradual repositioning as the diesel era approached.

One of 5629’s most notable late-career GTW moments was a fan trip on September 27, 1959, when it pulled an excursion for the Michigan Railroad Club between Detroit and Bay City—essentially a farewell-era run, as the locomotive was slated to come off the active roster amid systemwide steam retirement.

By March 1960, 5629’s GTW revenue career was effectively over, and the locomotive stood at the edge of the same fate that met thousands of other steam locomotives: the torch.

Richard Jensen

Here’s where 5629’s story takes a dramatic turn.

Chicago-area railfan Richard (“Dick”) Jensen decided he wanted a mainline steam locomotive for excursions. Learning that 5629 was headed for retirement and scrapping, he moved quickly—and bought the locomotive from the GTW for its scrap value. The purchase date frequently cited is April 4, 1960, and the price is given with memorable precision: $9,540.40.

Jensen stored the engine on a siding rented from the Baltimore & Ohio in Hammond, Indiana, and began the slow, difficult work of returning a big road steam engine to operable condition—without the institutional resources that a railroad shop once provided. Contemporary accounts emphasize the intensity of the effort: long hours after work, volunteer help, and the need for regulatory inspection before mainline operation.

First Excursion Era: B&O Operations and Early Limitations (1961–1962)

By late 1961, 5629 had returned to steam. Test runs were followed by early excursions on B&O-connected trackage near Chicago. One widely cited early trip occurred in November 1961, with additional operation including a Father’s Day excursion on June 17, 1962, running between Chicago and Walkerton, Indiana.

But steam excursions are a balancing act: mechanical readiness, inspection requirements, and market demand all have to align. After limited early running, 5629 was sidelined again—needing work such as flues, and facing competition in a Midwest excursion scene that, at the time, included other steam programs and company-sponsored trips.

Even so, 5629’s return to operation in this period mattered. It proved the locomotive was viable beyond static display, and it established the engine’s identity as an excursion machine—something that would intensify later in the decade.

The Midwestern Excursion Market and 5629’s “Second Wind” (1966–1969)

By the mid-1960s, Jensen sought to expand 5629’s excursion usefulness, including longer trips. A major step was fitting the locomotive with a larger tender from a Soo Line 4-8-2, significantly increasing coal and water capacity—exactly the kind of modification that turns an “it can run” engine into an “it can run far” engine.

Indiana Sesquicentennial (1966)

In 1966, 5629 was leased for Indiana sesquicentennial excursions, operating over ex–Nickel Plate Road trackage associated with the Norfolk & Western. Reports note that over 14,000 passengers rode these trains, though the locomotive did experience mechanical issues on some trips that required repairs with diesels stepping in.

This period demonstrates a key truth about mainline steam: success isn’t “no problems,” it’s whether the organization can solve problems fast enough to keep the show on the road. 5629 did both—ran impressively when healthy, and still needed real railroad-level support when something went wrong.

Return to GTW Excursions Out of Chicago and Detroit

5629 also returned to GTW rails for excursions in the late 1960s. SteamLocomotive.com summarizes that Jensen ran a number of successful trips during 1967–1969, including Chicago- and Detroit-area operations.

The Schlitz Circus Train (1967–1968)

One of 5629’s most famous assignments was hauling the Circus World Museum / Schlitz Circus Train in 1967 and 1968. In 1968, the locomotive suffered an overheated bearing en route, requiring emergency work and contributing to delays and cancellation impacts tied to the event.

For a historian, this is gold: a preserved steam engine on a high-visibility, culturally resonant train—exactly the kind of “steam in the modern world” moment that turns a locomotive into a legend.

A Near-Miss With the Southern Railway Steam Program

A fascinating sidebar: in 1968, Southern Railway president W. Graham Claytor Jr. explored obtaining 5629 for use in Southern’s steam program (with cosmetic changes to resemble a Southern Ps-4). Negotiations went nowhere, and 5629 remained with Jensen.

It’s tempting to speculate how different 5629’s end might have been if it had entered a stable, well-funded corporate steam program. But history chose the harder path.

Second Retirement

By the early 1970s, cracks were showing. A planned April 25, 1971 excursion over Penn Central rails was cancelled at the last minute after tickets were sold, amid issues arranging passenger equipment; some ticket-holders reportedly did not receive refunds.

Operational setbacks, the difficulty of storing equipment, shifting railroad attitudes toward excursions, and Jensen’s own financial and personal challenges all tightened the vise. Over time, 5629 ended up stored in the Rock Island’s Blue Island yard area south of Chicago, a location that later became central to its fate.

SteamLocomotive.com’s Jensen overview also portrays the precariousness of the whole endeavor—early promise followed by a grind of logistical and financial challenges that eventually overwhelmed the operation.

Ultimate Fate

The end of 5629 is one of the most controversial chapters in modern U.S. steam preservation—and a cautionary tale about what happens when ownership, storage, and cooperation fall apart.

By the mid-1980s, the locomotive’s storage situation had become untenable. Metra wanted the engine removed from property it controlled, while Jensen remained the owner. Court actions and escalating conflict produced a grim outcome: if the locomotive could not be removed intact through cooperation, the legal system allowed dismantling as the practical alternative.

Multiple preservation groups reportedly attempted to buy the locomotive (offers often cited around $15,000), and Metra was described as supportive of solutions that would remove the engine without scrapping—but ownership and legal realities prevented an easy transfer.

A judge’s order in June 1987 set the final course, and in July 1987 the engine was cut up. Wikipedia’s sourced timeline places the start of scrapping on July 14, with the process stopping around July 17, and removal of the remains completed by July 20.

Metra sought removal, refusal and legal deadlock led to an eviction/scrap remedy, and even efforts by the Illinois Railway Museum failed to save the engine. For many railfans, 5629’s destruction felt especially painful because it had been a mainline excursion locomotive—proven, charismatic, and historically significant. It wasn’t a rusted-out hulk from a park display; it was a Pacific that had run hard in the 1960s, the kind of engine that—under different conditions—might have survived into today’s preservation landscape.