Southern Pine Locomotive Company

08/24/2026

Today a rather unique and interesting piece of East Texas railroading history followed us home.

Originally belonging to the Waco, Beaumont, Trinity and Sabine Railway, this Fairbanks-Morse No. 28 motorcar was used almost daily by Willie Reinhardt to perform his duties as a "Pump Man" along the Railroad's Trinity-Colmesneil Branch.

Ahead of each day's trains, he would ride this motorcar to each of the line's four pump stations (Chester, Stryker, Woodlake and White Rock Creek) to operate the pumps, topping the tanks off with water to be used by the steam locomotives pulling the coming trains.

In the late 1930's, as the WBT&S fell into financial difficulties (and the Trinity-Colmesneil
branch faced abandonment), Willie's time at the railroad came to an end and, through unknown circumstances, he ended up keeping his motorcar!

For the next 80+ years, the Fairbanks remained in the Reinhardt family. Stored indoors, the relic has stood the test of time exceptionally well. It is largely complete, with the exception of its outriggers, which we will likely fabricate new.

We are deeply grateful to the Reinhardt Family for entrusting us with this special piece of their family's history and we cannot wait to share it with generations to come.

To help support this effort, and others like it, consider donating today at www.southernpineloco.org

07/19/2026

July Update!

Today, the remaining tubes were removed from 20's boiler, allowing us to see the entirety of the boiler's interior for the first time since the 1950's!

While there is still clean up to be performed and tube ends to be removed from the sheets, we are thrilled at what we have found so far. Preliminary UT readings look promising, but we will be able to more accurately address the scope of work once the boiler has been fully cleaned and gridded.

Along with this, the two Ohio #10 injectors and associated piping were also removed from the locomotive to facilitate the removal of the cab in the future.

07/04/2026

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Happy Fourth of July from the Southern Pine Locomotive Company!
Wishing everyone a safe and happy Independence Day. Thank you for supporting our mission to preserve East Texas railroad history!

06/21/2026

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT FROM SPLCO!!

After considerable planning and negotiation, SPLCO is pleased to announce the acquisition of our second steam locomotive: former AT&SF/Temple Lumber Co. No. 1140.
Built by Baldwin in 1903, No. 1140 was acquired by the Temple Lumber Company from the AT&SF in September 1952 and remained in service until the engine house fire of August 1958. Following its retirement, the locomotive sat in Pineland alongside stablemates, No. 20 and No. 28, until the late 1980s, when the Red River Valley Railroad Historical Society acquired the engine and relocated it to Shreveport, Louisiana.
For more than three decades, No. 1140 has been stored at Camp Minden, east of Shreveport, along with other pieces from the RRVRHS collection.
In recent months, a series of discussions with the Shreveport Railroad Museum led to an agreement to complete the locomotive’s acquisition. We are honored to play a role in preserving two of the last three surviving Temple Lumber Company steam locomotives.
In the months ahead, preparations will begin for No. 1140's relocation to Rusk, where the locomotive will receive a cosmetic restoration. At the same time, evaluation and operational restoration efforts will continue on No. 20. Upon completion, No. 1140 will be permanently displayed alongside our original 1915 Santa Fe Pineland depot. We look forward to providing updates as work on this project progresses.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this acquisition possible. We are excited for the future of No. 1140 and its continued preservation for generations to come!

06/20/2026

Did you know that in August of 1958, the Temple engine house in Pineland, Texas caught fire and burned? Our #20 escaped unharmed and #28 suffered minor damage. Unfortunately, Temple Lumber Co. #1140 wasn’t so lucky.
One of the lessor known events in East Texas railroad history.

05/31/2026

May 2026 Update!

We realize we have been pretty quiet on social media lately, but have no fear, progress is still taking place behind the scenes, so let's get everyone up to speed on what's been happening!

This month, we were only able to spend a few days working on 20, but some major milestones were achieved nonetheless. On May 17, the steam dome lid was lifted off, and the boiler was entered for the first time in over 60 years! That same day, tube removal commenced. By day's end, almost all of the 2" tubes were out! Removal of the remaining tubes and flues will take place during our next work session, followed by a thorough cleaning and inspection of the boiler interior.

Not to be overshadowed by the locomotive, work on other fronts is advancing as well. In the depot, rooms are being cleaned out, and preparations made for the construction of a new ADA compliant deck, as well as new windows and a new coat of red paint. In the yard, dirt and track work is continuing and plans are being drawn up for a new engine shed!

We appreciate everyone's unwavering support more than we can express! If you haven't already, give us a follow and keep an eye on our page. We have some big announcements on the horizon, a few hundred tons worth, actually..

Donate today at https://southernpineloco.org

05/02/2026

❗️Attention❗️

Due to the amount of rain we have had, the golf tournament for tomorrow has been rescheduled to June 27th.

Thank you all for your understanding and support! We are looking forward to the tournament!

04/21/2026

And with that, the superheater units are OUT!

As expected the superheaters were quite happy right where they were, having likely been in the boiler for 70+ years. But with perseverance, our crew was able to remove all 28 units over the course of about 5 hours. With these out of the way, attention can now turn to removal of tubes and flues to allow further inspection of the boiler interior.

04/16/2026

We are excited to announce our next fundraiser, “The Ironhorse Challenge” golf tournament! The game will be held at the Birmingham golf club in Rusk, Texas on May 2nd. The price person player is $50. If you would like to be a sponsor we have options that range from $100 to $10,000!

We would like to thank the community for the opportunity and support and we look forward to seeing everyone!

04/15/2026

Day 2 of our fundraiser and only 4 languid plate keychains left! Get 'em while they're hot!

Throughout the entire journey of SPLCo, from our wild dreams last April through every major milestone achieved so far, we've been blown away by the support, kindness, and generosity of the community around us. We're thrilled this first fundraiser has taken off so fast, and look forward to many more milestones to come.

Our most sincere thanks to all our donors and supporters, past and present, your belief in our mission and this community is what makes all of this possible!

Send a message to learn more