Purchased for $70,000, the locomotive was built to handle heavy passenger and freight services along the Frisco Railway's Eastern and Western divisions, and had a 200 PSI boiler pressure, 69-inch drivers, 54,085 lbs.

1522 sat on display until September 1985 when the newly formed non-profit organization, The St. Louis Steam Train Association, selected the locomotive for restoration to operational condition.

1522 pulled a 22-car excursion over Rolla Hill alongside St. Louis Southwestern 819, Norfolk and Western 1218, and Union Pacific 844.

In June of the following year, the locomotive was the special guest of the annual haymarket heyday and did several excursions between Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska.

A rail overturned under the fireman's side as the locomotive was moving onto the wye, causing extensive damage to the running gear.

1522 was invited to pull the Burlington Northern Santa Fe annual employee appreciation special which included a historic tour through the state of Texas.

New FRA regulations required that an active steam locomotive must be inspected and re-tubed every 15 years (old boiler flues must be replaced with new ones), which proved to be too expensive for the SLSTA.

[5][6] As of 2025, Frisco 1522 is still a major exhibit at the National Museum of Transportation, and it remains the only 4-8-2 type locomotive in the United States to have an excursion career.

Some people have stated that while the locomotive could technically be restored, it is not financially feasible, as her original flue sheet is badly cracked, which would mean fabricating a new one.