Fort Caspar Is Getting A Locomotive!

Exciting news! Fort Caspar Museum is getting a locomotive!

The Fort Caspar Museum announced it is bringing "Standard Oil Locomotive No. 1" back to Casper. The 1920 steam engine will return from the Colorado Railroad Museum and be put on public display less than a mile from where it once worked.

The first phase of the project includes a $15,000 fundraising goal to help cover transportation, site preparation, interpretive planning, and early preservation work.

More details and future fundraising opportunities will be shared as planning continues. For additional information, please contact Fort Caspar Museum.

The Locomotive was built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1920. It spent its working life switching tank cars at the massive Standard Oil of Indiana refinery in Casper. The engine is being transferred to Casper as part of the Colorado Railroad Museum’s effort to rehome artifacts tied to other states.

The small steam locomotive that once worked at the largest oil refinery in the world will soon be returning to Casper, the “Oil Capital of the Rockies.” This 0-4-0T tank engine was built by the American Locomotive Company’s Cooke Works (of Paterson, New Jersey) in 1920. (Fort Caspar Website).

It was ordered by Standard Oil Company of Indiana for use at the Standard Oil Refinery in Casper, becoming its number 1. For the next 42 years, the diminutive No. 1 would switch tank cars within the refinery before being retired in 1962. It was then acquired by the Colorado Railroad Museum of Golden, Colorado, arriving at the museum on a semi-trailer on December 12 of that year.

The museum subsequently modified the engine and initially used it as a billboard, renaming it “Lulu Belle.” Eventually, the Standard Oil logos were placed back on the locomotive, and it became a favorite of younger visitors. More recently, the Colorado Railroad Museum has been reevaluating its collections, identifying locomotives, rolling stock, and smaller artifacts that are not historically connected to Colorado. Locomotive No. 1 fits squarely into this category.

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“Through careful consideration and thoughtful deaccessioning—in cases where we either have artifacts unrelated to Colorado, or duplicates of other more significant objects—the Colorado Railroad Museum is working to place selected items with new owners. The goal is to better target our existing resources, including space, so the Museum can continue to collect artifacts and rolling stock that focus on telling the rich railroad history and diverse stories of Colorado,” said Executive Director Paul Hammond.

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