Engine with Fergus Falls railroad has long history

Published Saturday, April 5, 2008

Rick Wooton can tell you a thing or two about “Katy 375.”

That’s what you’d expect from an engineer of the 2000 horse-power locomotive that rides the rails through Fergus Falls on the Otter Tail Valley Railroad.

Let’s clear one thing up, however.

Wooton has never been behind the controls of the actual locomotive, known locally today as the OTVR 3900. But he has spent hundreds of hours at his computer on a train simulator program as engineer of the local locomotive.

So it was no surprise that Wooton was at the Fergus Falls rail yard Wednesday after the train rolled into town in all her red and gray glory. The OTVR 3900 is the train enthusiast’s all-time favorite locomotive and he’s thrilled to have it stationed right here at home in Fergus Falls.

As Wooton studied up recently on his favorite locomotive, he uncovered some exciting news.

This week is ol’ 3900s 24th birthday — a fact known by those who work with the engine every day but a fact that Wooton and others find interesting.

The locomotive has a very interesting history — one that began as part of the Union Pacific fleet in 1984 and nearly ended with a serious crash in 1989 or 1990, according to Pam Slifka, vice president and general manager of Otter Tail Valley Railroad.

Wooton has researched the early beginnings of the locomotive.

It was built by General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division at London, Ontario, in April of 1984 as one of 20 GP39-2 units originally sold to the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad. The locomotive got its original nickname because it was on that Kansas-Texas line. It was the KT — or Katy Line as it was affectionately known, Wooton said.

But after only four years, the engine was sold to the Union Pacific Railroad and was renumbered the UP2374.

“In 1989 or 1990 it was in a big wreck in Liebold, Kansas,” Slifka said.

“It was the third unit in a four-locomotive chain. The front end was sideswiped, causing the trains to flip over and derail. There was major damage. It hit the locomotive in front of it and was hit by the one behind it.”

The locomotive spent a year in Union Pacific’s blacksmith shop being repaired, Slikfa said. It then spent extended time on UP’s overhaul line.

The engine pulled for Union Pacific for 12 years before being retired in 2000 because the company made a move to a more powerful locomotive.

The locomotive made its way to Rail America, the parent firm of the Otter Tail Valley Railroad. In 2005 it arrived in Fergus Falls from a Rail America yard in McDonald, Ohio, Slikfa said.

Today the locomotive Rick Wooton refers to as “Katy” is painted in the colors of the Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad while proudly wearing the OTVR moniker .

Today the locomotive is simply called the OTVR 3900 and is one of six locomotives riding the rails of Otter Tail County. It is the company’s second most powerful locomotive at 2,000 horse-power and is used to primarily pull coal cars for Otter Tail Power Company, Slikfa said.