Maumelle Ordnance Works Locomotive 1

Maumelle Ordnance Works Locomotive 1 is a small gasoline-powered engine from the 1940s that was built for a munitions factory in Arkansas. It has two wheel sets, a four-speed gearbox, and was manufactured by Vulcan Iron Works to pull heavy freight cars along factory tracks.

Built in 1942 by Vulcan Iron Works, this locomotive transported materials inside a factory producing explosives during World War II. After the war ended, it changed hands several times and later served the Augusta Railroad before being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

This locomotive represents a time when wartime production shaped daily life and factories were central to the economy. Its simple, practical design still shows the engineering choices people made during that critical period in American history.

You can see this locomotive at the Fort Smith Trolley Museum, where it is permanently displayed. The location offers a good overview of railroad history and lets you examine the mechanical details up close.

Unlike typical locomotives of its time, it ran on gasoline instead of diesel or electricity because copper and other materials for electric motors were scarce during wartime. This practical solution shows how engineers creatively worked around limitations and still built reliable machines.

• Location: Arkansas
• Location: Fort Smith
• GPS coordinates: 35.38556,-94.43056
• Latest update: February 9, 2026 07:43