The William Crooks is a 4-4-0 steam locomotive, which became the first to operate in the State of Minnesota, beginning in 1862. It was named after William Crooks, the Chief Mechanical Engineer for the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. Crooks laid the initial track between Minneapolis and St. Paul, and the William Crooks was the first locomotive to run on the line. The William Crooks first provided service a year later, in 1862, for the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (into which the M&P had been reorganized). It entered regular service four days later. The locomotive was restored to operation for Hill's 70th birthday in 1908, as he had insisted when informed of its condition. After Hill's death in 1916, the Great Northern continued to exhibit the train at special events. For this event, the railroad rebuilt the engine to further resemble its original form, restoring it to the original three-dome configuration, though it retained the tapered boiler. The William Crooks was displayed at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's "Fair of the Iron Horse" in 1927, then at the 1939 New York World's Fair, and finally at the Chicago Railroad Fair in 1948 as part of the "Wheels A-Rolling" pageant, traveling to and from all three events under its own power.
On the way to the 1939 World's Fair, the locomotive made a stop in Paterson, New Jersey, where it had been built 78 years before. The old locomotive made many stops en route to New York City, drawing crowds everywhere it went. At that time it was the oldest locomotive operating under its own power. Accompanying the William Crooks was John J. Maher, a retired Great Northern engineer. Maher began his career with the railroad in 1881 as a fireman for the William Crooks; he became the locomotive's engineer in 1888. He indicated that there had been no breakdowns during the trip from St. Paul and speculated that the locomotive could probably travel at up to without difficulty.
Maher, whose work as a fireman took place before the William Crooks was converted to burning coal, recalled that in the early days, part of a fireman's equipment was an axe, so wood could be chopped if the wood in the locomotive's tender ran out. He said he often needed to go out and look for wood to keep the William Crooks moving.
Gallery
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File:William Crooks photo.JPG|William Crooks near Elk River, Minnesota in 1864
File:Locomotive William Crooks at St. Paul Union Depot 1954.jpg|William Crooks being placed on display at the Saint Paul Union Depot
File:Pullman sleeping car circa 1860s.JPG|This Pullman sleeping car, original to the train, was part of the 1924 exhibition tour.
File:William Crooks at St. Paul Union Depot 1962.JPG|The William Crooks on display in the Saint Paul Union Depot in 1962
File:Minnesota Historical Society dismantling William Crooks.jpg|William Crooks being dismantled in preparation for its move to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in 1975
File:William Crooks at station.jpg|Publicity photo of the William Crooks at Union Station, Washington, D.C., on 20 September 1927 while en route to the Fair of the Iron Horse
File:William Crooks and Blackfoot tribe at the Fair of the Iron Horse 1927.JPG|Postcard photo of the William Crooks with members of the Blackfoot tribe. The photo was taken at the Fair of the Iron Horse in Baltimore, MD, in 1927.
File:St. Paul & Pacific William Crooks steam locomotive.jpg|The William Crooks In 2015
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Works cited
- Wills Boosters, Hustlers and Speculators St. Paul MN Hist. Soc. 2005
- Chicago Railroad Fair Official Guide Book (1949).