MoPac 6001 – Madame Queen

[benjamintickell53]

Joe Collias in MoPac Power provides a fairly detailed explanation of MP 4-6-2 #6001, Madame Queen. The locomotive began as #6000, a 3-cylinder experiment, in 1925, and was rebuilt at North Little Rock in 1942 into a conventional 2-cylinder locomotive, but with poppet valves, roller bearings, and other modernizations, and renumbered #6001. The December 1942 MoPac Magazine described the “new” locomotive and noted that it had been assigned to passenger service between Poplar Bluff and Texarkana. There is also photo evidence of the locomotive in Memphis, and it apparently spent its entire career on the Arkansas Division and Memphis Division, before being scrapped in April 1952.

Does anyone have any specific service details of this locomotive… consists showing the locomotive, dispatcher sheets, etc.? Was it scrapped at North Little Rock? By the time it was retired, was it just another 4-6-2, or did it still have a following as a unique locomotive?

Also, where did the nickname come from? Discussions on Trainorders.com of the ATSF Madame Queen (#5000, now on display in Amarillo) say that the name came from the Amos & Andy Radio show, at least on the Santa Fe.

Bill Pollard

[Mike Vana]

That– along with The Kingfish– and “Holy Mackerel”– come from Amos ‘N’ Andy. I think that radio show and Dogpatch and Little Orphan Annie were the things driving the culture until Elvis burst on the scene in the late 50’s.

Jim Ogden

[Author]

Posts