In 1989, it was sold to Tarantula Corporation for a rebuild that never came to fruition, and it spent another decade in storage in Fort Worth, Texas.

In 1999, it was sold again the Rio Grande Pacific Corporation, and it was rebuilt to operate in New Orleans, Louisiana until 2001.

It was eventually sold once again to Iowa Pacific Holdings for use on the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad between Alamosa and La Veta, Colorado.

The boiler was sent to several out of state facilities for repairs, until the Rio Grande Scenic ceased operations.

Significant maintenance difficulties appeared, particularly with uneven forces wear on the crosshead guides.

As 4-6-0s and 2-8-0s became more reliable in completing certain assignments, along with locomotives with longer wheel arrangements being introduced, the 2-6-0s were all relegated work in branch lines and rail yards across the SP system.

4460 was assigned to pull the Oakland-Sacramento Senator plus an extra string of Harriman type passenger cars for an excursion over the 34-mile Sutter-Basin branch North of Sacramento.

4460 has remained on static display at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri, as the Forgotten Daylight, whereas No.

2248 has been restored to operational status on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad in Tarrant County, Texas, as Puffy since 1993, but is currently undergoing a 1,472-day overhaul.

1744 was purchased by the New London and Village Incorporation, and it was moved by truck to Heber City, where it was given a major rebuild in the locomotive shops.

As the decade progressed, however, the Heber Creeper was running into some financial trouble, and they slowly struggled to operate any more trains.

1744 made its last run in Heber on December 3, 1989, when it pulled the Santa Claus Express, and its fire was dropped once again.

1744 was sold to the Rio Grande Pacific Corporation (RGP), who gave it a thorough overhaul beginning in January 2000 at a combined purchase and rebuild cost of $1.3 million.

The Locomotive made its official inaugural run the following month for the Burlington Rock Island Historical Society, and subsequently, it started pulling regular weekend passenger trains between Belle Chasse and Gretna on one of the RGP's subsidiaries, the New Orleans and Gulf Coast Railway.

1744 would operate forwards to Gretna, and one or two EMD FP10 diesel units would pull the train back to Belle Chasse with No.

1744 operated under RGP ownership, and as patronage was downgraded, the locomotive was put into storage in New Orleans for the next six years.

1744 was purchased by Iowa Pacific Holdings (IPH), which owned and operated the newly opened Rio Grande Scenic Railroad (RGSR) that operated on San Luis and Rio Grande (SL&RG) trackage.

1744 was moved to Alamosa, Colorado, and it operated on a test run pulling ten loaded boxcars thirteen days later on May 22.

1744's boiler was separated from the frame, and it was shipped to Historic Machinery Services Corporation in Springville, Alabama with the hopes of having it repaired.

[15] As the 2010s progressed, the boiler was shipped back to Alamosa, as the RGSR was starting to run into some financial trouble to the point where they could no longer afford to operate or maintain steam locomotives.

One of the final straws to the RGSR's struggle was a wildfire that badly damaged the Fir Concert Grounds.

The railroad ceased all tourist train operations as IPH filed for bankruptcy by the end of 2020.

1744 would be purchased by the Pacific Locomotive Association, with the hopes of finishing its restoration to operate it on the Niles Canyon Railway (NCRY), which lies on the last leg of the Transcontinental Railroad.

[1][19][20] Crews of the SL&RG began to help move the separated components of the locomotive West-bound to Brightside.