I lived in West Oakland from 1988 to 2001. 2467 used to be stored on the old Army base near the trestles of the Oakland Terminal Railway. The first time I heard the whistle I drove over to watch it run. I got to ride in the cab two times as it ran along the eastern approach to the bay bridge, maybe a mile of track, back and forth. This had to be in late 2000 or early 2001.
In the 2467 I was the one that put the fire out on it for its last day Mike Russell himself told me to kill the oil to it at 12:01 Hunters Point San Francisco
It's very rare to see two steam locomotives of the same class still operating. I was not aware that there were two P-8s operating, I have only seen videos of SP 2472 and never heard of her sister.
Unfortunately, while still in operating condition, 2467 hasn't been under steam since 2002. SP 2467 only operated 4 or 5 times in its post-revenue career, this being one of those times.
If I remember reading right it was mainly because of a bearing problem during a trip in 2001. The Frisco 1522 here in St. Louis had a similar problem early in its excursion career. It didn't ruin its career but it cause the crew to cancel a trip to Minneapolis and return to the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis for repairs.
2479 is currently under restoration as well. This would mean all 3 surviving P-8's have ran in preservation. Hopefully one day the 2467 can come back to the living. Imagine the sight of all 3 P-8's together again!
I’m cautiously optimistic that both 2467 and 2472 might be reunited under steam again someday in the future, but i also ain’t holding my breath. Also, 2467 is an often overlooked locomotive, and it’s somewhat sad that she was under steam only four or five times so far in the preservation era. I just hope that blown cylinder can be fixed.
2467 is in the capability to run again to be honest, but it's not very likely that will happen, and 2742 would need a lot more work if she will run herself, which has just as much of a chance to run again. Beautiful locomotives none the less.
SP 2467 is on static display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento where it is on long term loan from the Pacific Locomotive Association.
