Three steam locomotives powered the American Freedom Train during the Bicentennial era before America250.
The locomotives were Reading Company No. 2101, Southern Pacific No. 4449, and Texas & Pacific No. 610. Each handled a different portion of the train’s nationwide tour rather than all three pulling together as a single set.
No. 2101 was a Reading Company T-1 class 4-8-4. Southern Pacific No. 4449 was another 4-8-4 and pulled the train through the western United States. Texas & Pacific No. 610 was a 2-10-4 locomotive associated especially with the train’s Texas route.
Steam power was not used on every segment. Diesel locomotives substituted on parts of the route because of track conditions, light rail loadings, and an incident in Chicago involving a derailment. The three-steam-locomotive figure refers to the restored engines assigned to the tour, not every engine used operationally.