For my video of the day please check out my Instagram Post.
Every once in a while, you witness something so iconic, so achingly beautiful, that it stops you in your tracks. For me, that moment came when I laid eyes on Santa Fe 3751, a living legend of the rails, gleaming like a steel phoenix in the California sun.
This wasn’t just some cute train ride for tourists. This was a full-blown pilgrimage to a piece of history. Built in 1927, Santa Fe 3751 was the first 4-8-4 steam locomotive for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway—a powerful new design for a powerful new era. She carved a path through the rugged American Southwest, from La Junta, Colorado to Los Angeles, hauling passengers through blazing deserts and steep mountain terrain with grace, speed, and strength. She wasn’t just getting people from point A to point B—she was delivering progress.
And let’s be honest: she did it all with style.
I got to see her in person at a rare public appearance—a restoration showcase, open house, and celebration of rail history all rolled into one. It wasn’t just a static display. This steel goddess was hissing, breathing, alive. Standing next to her, you could feel the rumble of industrial power and legacy in your chest. Her sheer size was humbling, her details immaculate. From the rivets in her chassis to the gentle curve of her art deco lines, she felt like something out of a movie—except this wasn’t fiction. This was real.
What blew my mind the most was how close we came to losing her. After pulling her final passenger train in 1953, she was sidelined like so many of her kind, forgotten as diesel and modernity took over. But unlike the others, she wasn’t scrapped. Instead, thanks to preservationists like the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society—and people like Alex Gillman and his incredible team—Santa Fe 3751 was painstakingly restored, piece by piece. By 1991, after a $1.5 million restoration, she was back where she belonged: on the tracks, huffing steam and stealing hearts.
This event wasn’t just for train nerds (though I’m officially one now). It was for anyone who loves the drama of history, the poetry of machinery, the sense that once upon a time, America built things not just to last—but to inspire. I spoke to a few of the volunteers and engineers on-site, and you could feel how deeply they loved this train. It wasn’t just nostalgia. It was respect. Reverence, even. They knew they weren’t just preserving a locomotive—they were preserving a story.
There’s something uniquely American about this story, too. Santa Fe 3751 embodies the grit and ambition of the 20th century. She’s an artifact of our obsession with movement, exploration, connection. Think about it: before the highways, before the 747s, it was the railroad that made the West feel reachable. It was this kind of engine that helped define California as a destination.
And Santa Fe 3751 is still doing that—drawing people in, sparking awe, reminding us of where we’ve been.
It’s wild to think how something built nearly a century ago can still move people—literally and emotionally. Seeing her felt like stepping into a black-and-white photo and finding out it was in full color the whole time.
In a world of soulless design and fast fashion, where everything feels disposable and digitized, Santa Fe 3751 is proof that we used to get it right. She’s a reminder that beauty and function can coexist. That preservation matters. That storytelling lives in steel and steam, too.
I’ll never forget standing beside her, feeling that deep rumble echo through the ground, watching kids stare up at her with wide eyes, and knowing I was witnessing something truly rare.
If you ever get the chance to see her in motion—go. Trust me. Some things are too magical to only read about.
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