St. Louis–San Francisco 4018 is a class USRA Light 2-8-2 "Mikado" steam locomotive which operated for three decades hauling freight between Bessemer and Birmingham, Alabama (United States), on the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway (SLSF or "Frisco"). It went on display at the Alabama State Fairgrounds in 1952 and is one of only a few locomotives of its type that survive. History Called a "war baby" because it was part of the build-up of cargo capacity ordered through the United States Railroad Administration during World War I, Engine No. 4018 was constructed in October 1919 to a standardized USRA Light Mikado design by the Lima Locomotive Works of Lima, Ohio, for the Pennsylvania Railroad. The engine is a 2-8-2 locomotive of the USRA standard Mikado type, inherited from Japan, and is coal-fired. The standard gauge locomotive was capable of of tractive effort, running two cylinders under of boiler pressure. The driving wheels are in diameter and its wheelbase is . The overall length of the engine and its tender is just under . The locomotive stands tall. Engine No. 4018 was sold to the St Louis – San Francisco Railway (Frisco Railway) in 1923 and spent much of the next three decades carrying transport between Bessemer and Birmingham. The USRA Light 2-8-2 "Mikado" design itself was later improved upon by the Lima Locomotive Works evolving into the 2-8-4 Berkshire locomotive. Part of this evolution involved increasing the size of the Mikado's firebox. This larger firebox improved the engine's coal burning efficiency, however the additional weight facility adding the second wheel set to the trailing truck. But steam engines were phased out in favor of diesel locomotives in the mid-20th century. This locomotive has the distinction of being the last Frisco steam locomotive in regular service, completing its final run (a five-mile trek from Bessemer to Birmingham, Alabama) on February 29, 1952. It is quite possibly the last steam locomotive to operate within the Birmingham metro area. Retirement At the request of then-Birmingham mayor J. W. Morgan, the locomotive was spared from the scrappers torch and given a full cosmetic overhaul before making its final five-mile (8 km) run to Birmingham on February 29, 1952. A. M. Ball, assistant to the president of the Frisco, was in attendance for the occasion. The engine was turned over to the city on May 29 of that year. It traveled on Atlantic Coast Line Railroad