As El Paso became one of the great rail hubs of the west, timber was brought from Cloudcroft and coal from Dawson, New Mexico.

In 1960, Southern Pacific Railroad donated it to the University of Texas at El Paso who displayed it near the Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens.

In 1968, El Paso Historical Society and the Junior Chamber of Commerce raised money to build a shelter to protect this important national treasure from the elements.

In October 1999, the engine was officially recognized as a National Trust for Historic Preservation Save America’s Treasures project.

In 2001 more than $1.1 million of Texas State Transportation Commission and local matching funds were allocated for the removal and restoration of the locomotive.