{"id":130790,"date":"2026-01-12T23:06:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T23:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/130790\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T23:06:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T23:06:08","slug":"historic-southern-pacific-engine-finally-makes-move-from-roeding-park-to-kingsburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/130790\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic Southern Pacific Engine Finally Makes Move from Roeding Park to Kingsburg"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fresno\u2019s historic train engine that embodied the city\u2019s origins finally has a new home.<\/p>\n

For years, Fresno City Councilmembers have worried about the cost of maintaining and protecting the Southern Pacific Engine 1238 at Roeding Park.<\/p>\n

Back in 2022<\/a>, councilmembers reached an agreement with the Friends of the Historic Kingsburg Depot to find a home for it at that city\u2019s popular museum. But they left it to the nonprofit to figure out how to move it.<\/p>\n

Michelle Roman, CEO of the group, says that by the end of Monday the train engine will be on the tracks at the Kingsburg Depot<\/a> where it will join the rest of the attractions at the living railroad museum.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to have kept this engine in Fresno County and make it part of our living railroad history museum in Kingsburg,\u201d Roman said. \u201cI had this vision for this locomotive to come to the Kingsburg Depot for a long time, and I can\u2019t wait for it to roll into town on Monday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Friends of the Historic Kingsburg Depot gather on Monday, Jan. 12 2026 as the Southern Pacific Engine 1238 is loaded onto a truck for transport to the train museum. (Special to GV Wire)
\nFailed Move in May Made January Move Much Easier: Roman<\/p>\n

The engine came to Fresno by way of a 1956 donation agreement with the Southern Pacific Company. For years, it had been behind a short fence at Roeding Park where vandals damaged the train.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias announced the plan to move the train.<\/p>\n

While donating the massive train engine was relatively easy, moving it became a different challenge, Roman told GV Wire. To move the 67-ton engine and accompanying tender \u2014 the 45,000-pound fuel attachment \u2014 to Kingsburg, Friends had to contract with Bakersfield T&T Truck and Crane Service.<\/p>\n

They tried to move the train in May 2025 but by the time they had it figured out, movers told Roman that they would be unloading it well past dark. It took a nine-axle truck to haul the massive engine.<\/p>\n

They had to cancel the move and reschedule it for Monday.<\/p>\n

Roman said having the trial run helped Monday\u2019s move go smoothly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was kind of like a practice run, so to speak,\u201d Roman said. \u201cWe knew what we were getting ourselves into this time and what equipment we needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The tender for the Southern Pacific Engine 1238 being moved from Roeding Park to the Kingsburg Railroad Depot on Monday, Jan. 12 2026. (City of Fresno)
\nFriends of the Kingsburg Depot Preserves the Importance of Rail to the Central Valley<\/p>\n

Once at the depot, it will sit on 350 feet of brand-new track where the engine will eventually get a new coat of paint, Roman said. They also plan to get a train car and caboose to go behind the train at the museum. The move is being livestreamed at this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to completely refurbish it as well. All the pieces that have been missing are going to be on it, so we\u2019re gonna try to completely bring it back to its glory,\u201d Roman said.<\/p>\n

The train itself has a Kingsburg connection as well. The last conductor on the engine was from Kingsburg, and several people from the town also worked on it.<\/p>\n

Fresno and other Central Valley towns got their start as train stops, expanding outward from those stations and growing through the decades. For farmers, those trains took their produce to markets across the country.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that history that Friends of the Historic Kingsburg Depot tries to preserve. At the museum, staff dress up in 1920s garb and relive the past for future generations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe teach them everything you do with your phone, you would do here, whether it was texting, you have our telegram. You wanted to send packages? Here you go, you\u2019d come down here,\u201d Roman said. \u201cEverything was done right here at your depot. It\u2019s fun to teach them all about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Moving the 67-ton Southern Pacific Engine 1238 takes a special 9-axle truck, said Michelle Roman, CEO of the Friends of the Historic Kingsburg Depot. (Special to GV Wire)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fresno\u2019s historic train engine that embodied the city\u2019s origins finally has a new home. For years, Fresno City…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130791,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":{"0":"post-130790","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fresno","8":"tag-fresno","9":"tag-fresno-headlines","10":"tag-fresno-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}