During the American Civil War, when all the major locomotive works were busy producing for the war factions, the Central Pacific was in search of locomotives for its eastward expansion. Since no powerful tender locomotives could be found, the two small 4-2-4T tank locomotives with the names “C.P. Huntington” and “T.D. Judah” were purchased from Cooke. The former was named after Collis Potter Huntington, who was one of the “Big Four” and thus played a key role in the realization of the First Transcontinental Railroad.

After the procurement of more powerful locomotives, the No. 3 quickly lost importance due to its low power and small supplies and was used in front of construction trains. After being taken over by the Southern Pacific, it was assigned number 1 because of its importance and took on lighter duties in northern California. It was on display from 1888, but ended up in storage as early as 1891, only to be converted into a mobile weed incinerator ten years later.

A new life for the locomotive began in 1910 when it was restored to working order. In the decades that followed, it participated in many parades and exhibitions, including the opening of Union Station in Los Angeles. In 1964 it was sold to the State of California, which has exhibited it at the California State Railroad Museum since 1981 after it had been at two other locations in Sacramento. Since 1960, more than 400 scaled-down replicas have been manufactured in two feet gauge, which have been available with different types of power for several years.