Welcome to the official website of Mack Truck Locomotive #4
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Please note, this website is best viewed in Internet Explorer.
This website also features several additional pages regarding the history of: short line railroads, trolley museums, tourist railroad preservation operations, and historical equipment groups, that: Jimmy, Ann, & JC McHugh have been associated with over the years.
Discover the history of two vintage boxcab's #4 & #5, that were converted by the Mack Truck Company into Gas-Electric locomotives.
#4 & #5 unique locomotives even in the early years.
The mid-west style interurban boxcab locomotive #4 was originally built as a trolley freight motor for the Southwest Missouri Railroad Company. The S.M.R.C. purchased #4 from General Electric for $15,400.00 with a completion date of March 01,1924 at the Erie, PA plant. The S.M.R.C. in 1927 identically built boxcab #5 at there Webb City, MO shop complex. With the demise of the SMRC line in 1939 the Mack Truck company of Allentown, PA then purchased the #4 & #5, rebuilding them both into experimental gas electric locomotives. The two retrofitted locomotives were offered for sale as new products, but were never sold causing Mack Truck to exit out of the locomotive business. Both locomotives were eventually placed into switching service at the two Allentown 5-A & 5-C plants.
The journey of Mack #4 & #5 throughout Pennsylvania.
A trolley museum located in central PA acquired Mack #4 in 1967 and transported it to the town of Rockhill Furnace. Mack # 4 during the last two months of 1968 preformed the last switching duties over the rare ( 3' narrow & 4' 8-1/2" standard ) dual gage trackage at the EBT rail yard located in Mount Union, PA. Then in March of 1970 Mack #4 was again on the move, this time to assist the fledgling NH&I short line railroad located in eastern PA. Mack #4 was transported to Penndel PA in January 1971 where it was then placed into storage. A tourist line railroad located about 20 miles west of Allentown PA obtained Mack #5 directly from the Mack Truck Company in 1978. Mack # 5 was then occasionally operated and provided motive power for that lines passenger trains. The trolley museum in March of 1986 transfered ownership of Mack #4 to the tourist railroad that now owned Mack #5. Mack #4 was then moved to Kempton PA where it was placed on the ground less it's truck assemblies.
An uncertain fate, for both Mack #4 & #5 at the WK&S.
Mack #5 while at the WK&S railroad in the mid 1990's had an engine failure along with a electrical fire. An attempted was made to remove one of the operating engines from Mack #4 to replace the failed Mack #5 engine and to also make the other necessary repairs. The all volunteer group in 1997 abandoned the project, and the two Mack locomotives were then offered for sale to railway & trolley museums, tourist railroads, the Mack Truck Museum, and even private collectors. One railfan desired to make the two rare boxcab's into storage sheds, but this outrageous idea was declined. With no parties interested in saving either the Mack #4 or #5 as complete locomotives, it looked to be the end of the line for both units. The WK&S then began to strip both Mack locomotives of their useful parts and components, selling the truck assemblies from Mack #5 to a trolley museum.
Mack locomotive #4 & #5 are scheduled to be scrapped.
The WK&S in late 2007 decided to scrap Mack #4 & #5 because of the high prices being paid for scrap iron, and price offers were received from scrap dealers. Then during the third week of December 2007 JC McHugh became aware of the doomed fate of Mack #4 & #5, and over the next 2-1/2 months he negotiated to purchase the remains of the two boxcab's. An offer much higher than scrap iron value was made to the WK&S, along with the statement that the McHugh family would cosmedically restore one of these rare Mack locomotives within a year from the date that they would purchase them. One thing that the McHugh's had in their favor for restoring one Mack locomotive, was that they already had a replacement set of truck assemblies complete with traction motors.
A fondness for one of these rare Mack boxcab's saves it.
The McHugh family nostalgia for one of these rare old boxcab's, and that both Mack #4 & #5 were also a part of Pennsylvania's Industrial Railroading Heritage is why they wanted to see one of these Mack locomotives preserved. In June 1970, when Mack #4 was last in service, Jimmy McHugh placed his 9 year old son on the engineers seat and JC McHugh operated it for 1/2 mile down the railroad yard tracks at New Hope, PA. Although a few people at the WK&S along with several railfans had made comments that neither Mack locomotive was worth the expenses involved to save them. These remarks did not discourage JC McHugh, who was adamant that his family would restore one of these two Mack locomotives when others felt it was not worth the effort to do so. On March 16, 2008 Jimmy, Ann, & JC McHugh purchased the two boxcab's with a favorable outcome for one Mack locomotive.
The restoration of one Mack locomotive by the McHugh's.
During the third week of May 2008 both Mack locomotives were loaded onto two tractor trailers in Kempton, PA and they were then transported to the McHugh plant in Fairless Hills, PA. Here both old boxcab's frames were unloaded and placed onto cribbed blocking on the ground, then both #4 & #5 were evaluated to see if one or two locomotives could be restored. Even know the WK&S did not scrap these two rare boxcab's and stored them at Kempton, the last two decades of neglect made it impossible to restore both Mack locomotives. It was determined to disassemble both #4 & #5 with the parts and components from both locomotives to be combined together so one of these two identical rare Mack Truck, Inc. built boxcab locomotives would exsist and not be lost forever.
The Heritage of the old Mack #4 & #5 locomotives.
This last example of these rare Mack locomotives will be preserved by the McHugh family and the locomotive will wear the number '4' representing the unit JC operated in 1970 along with having a 'Mack Trucks, Inc. - Railcar Dept.' herald applied. The Mack company redesigned the two locomotives to handle a consist of 1 to 2 passenger cars, or a small train of 3 to 4 freight cars. This was the type of usage the Mack company intended the locomotives to be marketed and sold, hopefully replacing steam locomotives across America's shortline's and branchline's. The Mack Truck company's vision of a mass production of 'boxcab gas electric locomotives' did not materialize, however today the only Mack boxcab in exsitance is the McHugh family Mack #4 locomotive.
Displaying the Mack Boxcab Locomotive.
The McHugh family enjoyment of this vintage Mack locomotive comes from sharing it with others, and being able to provide the history of these rare Mack Trucks, Inc. built locomotives to people that also may have an interest to learn about them. The locomotive has been displayed at several historical equipment or railroad events over the past couple years, and it is planned to continue displaying it so the general public can discover this rare boxcab locomotive.