Gov. Stanford

Gov. Stanford is a 4-4-0 steam locomotive originally built in 1862 by Norris Locomotive Works. Following construction, it was disassembled and hauled by the ship Herald of the Morning around Cape Horn to California, then up the rivers aboard the schooner Artful Dodger, arriving in Sacramento on October 6, 1863. With a dedication ceremony that included artillery discharge, it entered service on November 9, 1863, and it was used in the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in North America by Central Pacific Railroad bearing road number 1. It was Central Pacific's first locomotive and it is named in honor of the road's first president and ex-California governor, Leland Stanford.

In May 1864, the Gov. Stanford was used to pull the first ceremonial passenger train beginning in Sacramento. The locomotive was withdrawn from mainline service in 1873, and was rebuilt in 1878 with larger cylinders and an increased boiler pressure, which increased its tractive effort to 11,081 lbf, as well as being outfitted with a water pump for extinguishing lineside fires. In 1891 the locomotive was renumbered to 1174, although both Joslyn (1956) and Diebert & Strapac (1987) both assert that this number was never actually applied to the locomotive. From 1873, the engine operated as a switcher in the road's Sacramento railyard until retired on July 20, 1895, at which time the railroad donated it to Stanford University; however, it was not delivered to the university until 1899.

The locomotive was disassembled and stored during World War II but was returned to display at the university after reassembly by retired Southern Pacific engineer Billy Jones. In the 1960s, the university needed the space occupied by the engine for other uses, so the engine was removed and loaned in 1963 to the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, which had been in the process of collecting historic locomotives and rolling stock to be displayed in what would ultimately become the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. The locomotive is currently a centerpiece at the museum, where it has been cosmetically restored to its 1899 appearance.