AR HB1657

Designates the St. Louis Southwestern No. 819, class L1 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive as the official state steam locomotive of Arkansas.

Engine 819 was the last steam locomotive produced in Arkansas, built at the Cotton Belt Railway shops in Pine Bluff and placed in service on February 8, 1943.

The locomotive traveled over 804,000 miles during its 12 years of active service before being replaced by diesel locomotives.

Engine 819 is currently housed at the Arkansas Railroad Museum in Pine Bluff, the former location of the Cotton Belt shops where it was manufactured.

The Cotton Belt Railway was a major railroad that contributed significantly to Arkansas's economic growth and operated the nation's fastest freight train, the Blue Streak Fast Freight.