Locomotive No. 2 was built in August 1906 by Baldwin Locomotive Works for the New Berlin & Winfield in Pennsylvania. No. 2 is a class 8-16-D Baldwin, meaning it is a 2-6-0 with cylinders bored to 11".  It has a cylinder stroke of 16" and has 38" drivers. No. 2 weighs about 20 tons, and was originally listed as being 36'-0-1/2" long.

No. 2 was built as a coal burner with a straight stack, extended smokebox, round-case kerosene headlight, quick-opening smokebox, air brakes, and a vertical stave pilot.  It was painted in olive green and aluminum, style 291. In every way, it was as basic of a Baldwin Locomotive as one could have ordered.

The N.B.&W.R.R.Co. operated an 8-mile line in Pennsylvania for an agricultural community. No. 2 hauled freight and passengers on this small operation until 1917. No. 2 received very few modifications while in Pennsylvania. It is believed that the tender suffered a derailment, which required it to be repaired. During this repair, it received wider decking and a new endsill. The only other known modification No. 2 received while at N.B.&W. is the addition of a siphon to take on water from a crick that ran along the line. 

In 1917, the locomotive was sold to the Argent Lumber Co. in South Carolina.  At Argent, No. 2 would operate alongside two of MCRR's other locomotives: S.S.&S.Ry./A.L.Co.'s No. 6 and B.C.L.Co./A.L.Co.'s No. 1 until 1956. At Argent Lumber, No. 2 gained an iron cab, a Rushton stack, a H.K. Porter tender tank, an electrical system, and many other small details. The original air brakes were replaced with steam-jam brakes.

After Argent shut down, No.2  was purchased by the MCRR and shipped to Iowa. It was renovated by 1971 and operated as the main road engine for nearly 20 years until 1987, when it was taken out of service for a complete rebuild. This on-going rebuild includes a complete frame up restoration comprising of a new boiler. 

 

No. 2 being refueled in August 1974

 

No. 2 going over the bridge at the Old Threasher's Reunion in Mt. Pleasant, IA, August 1974