Between 1937 and 1943 the Illinois Central erected 76 4-8-2 or Mountain type locomotives in its Paducah shops. The 56 engines in the 2500 series were built using boilers from retired 2-10-2s; for their specifications, see the commentary on No. 2502. The first locomotive, No. 2500, was a rebuild of 2-10-2 No. 2953 and was outshopped in March 1937. It poses here in a semblance of a "builder's photo" taken by an IC company photographer on the east side of the Paducah shops (this information per Cliff Downey). For this rare image our Random Steam Collection is indebted to Donna Harrison-Rodeghiero, whose husband was a 36-year employee of the Illinois Central.

When commercial builders — ALCo, Baldwin, Lima — rolled out a new class of steam locomotives they usually produced an official photograph, for which they placed a plain white backdrop behind the engine or airbrushed out any extraneous matter such as other equipment or buildings in the background. Whoever processed this photo of IC No. 2500, the first of its class, took care of the background above and at the ends of the locomotive, but left traces of other equipment beneath its tender and between the tender and cab. After putting in over a million miles in service, No. 2500 was retired by 1960 but escaped the scrapyard and is displayed in Centralia, Illinois.