Chesapeake & Ohio 614 is a class "J-3-A"
4-8-4
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type wa ...
"
Greenbrier" (Northern) type
steam locomotive built in June 1948 by the
Lima Locomotive Works
Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shop's location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between ...
in
Lima, Ohio for the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) as a member of the J-3-A class. As one of the last commercially built steam locomotives in the United States, the locomotive was built with the primary purpose of hauling long, heavy, high speed express
passenger trains
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...
for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway such as the ''George Washington'' and the ''Fast Flying Virginian''. Retired from active service in the late 1950s, the 614 was preserved and placed on display at the
B&O Railroad Museum
The B&O Railroad Museum is a museum and historic railway station exhibiting historic railroad equipment in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) company originally opened the museum on July 4, 1953, with the name of the Balt ...
in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. Between 1979 and 1980, restoration work on the locomotive to operating condition took place and it was used for extensive mainline
excursion service
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
from the early 1980s until the late 1990s. Today, the locomotive is on display at the C&O Railway Heritage Center in
Clifton Forge, Virginia
Clifton Forge is a town in Alleghany County, Virginia, United States which is part of the greater Roanoke Region. The population was 3,555 at the 2020 census. The Jackson River flows through the town, which as a result was once known as Ja ...
.
History and revenue career
![C&O Railway Heritage Center - C&O 614 Locomotive - 9](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/C%26O_Railway_Heritage_Center_-_C%26O_614_Locomotive_-_9.JPG)
Most railroads called their
4-8-4
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type wa ...
s "
Northerns", which is short for the railroad first using the 4-8-4 type,
Northern Pacific Railroad
The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whi ...
. The workers of the
C&O could not see naming these locomotives "Northerns" as the railroad was based in the southeast. The famous
Greenbrier Hotel in
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
White Sulphur Springs is a city in Greenbrier County in southeastern West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,231 at the 2020 census. The city emblem consists of five dandelion flowers and the citizens celebrate spring with an annual Da ...
, a major resort on the C&O mainline, was the inspiration for the name "
Greenbrier" applied to these 4-8-4s.
The C&O had a total of 12 4-8-4s, with the first five numbered 600-604 built in 1935, with the designation J-3. In 1942, two more were ordered from Lima numbered 605–606. In 1948, the design changed slightly and the 610-614 were produced, with the J-3-A designation. No. 614 was originally retired in 1952, but three years later, it, as well as No. 610 were brought back into revenue service to pull heavy freight trains in favor of the upcoming freight traffic on most American railroads. While being brought back into service, however, No. 614 was renumbered to 611, since there was a power shortage on the C&O as to alleviate any confusion with some leased 4-8-4s from the
Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad
The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad comp ...
, one of which was also numbered 614. The original C&O 611 remained out of service.
After just one year of revenue freight service, No. 614 was retired again and it was placed in storage with a group of other C&O steam locomotives in the form of a ‘scrap line’ in front of the C&O diesel shops in
Russell, Kentucky
Russell is a home rule-class city on the south bank of the Ohio River in Greenup County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 3,380 as of the 2010 census, down from 3,645 in 2000. Russell is a suburb of Ashland and part of the Hunting ...
where it remained for almost two decades.
Excursion service
In 1975, No. 614, as well as
2-8-4
Under the Whyte notation, a 2-8-4 is a steam locomotive that has two unpowered leading wheels, followed by eight coupled and powered driving wheels, and four trailing wheels. This locomotive type is most often referred to as a Berkshire, thou ...
Kanawha No. 2705 and
2-6-6-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a is a locomotive with one pair of unpowered leading wheels, followed by two sets of three pairs of powered driving wheels and one pair of trailing wheel ...
No. 1309, were sent to the
B&O Railroad Museum
The B&O Railroad Museum is a museum and historic railway station exhibiting historic railroad equipment in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) company originally opened the museum on July 4, 1953, with the name of the Balt ...
in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
and were cosmetically restored for static display, although in 2014, No. 1309 was purchased by the
Western Maryland Scenic Railroad
The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad (WMSR) is a heritage railroad based in Cumberland, Maryland, that operates passenger excursion trains and occasional freight trains using both steam and diesel locomotives over ex-Western Maryland Railway (W ...
in
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,076. Located on the Potomac River, ...
and restored to operating condition on December 31, 2020.
![Harpers ferry (3280540944)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Harpers_ferry_%283280540944%29.jpg)
During 1979,
Ross Rowland traded
Reading T1 No. 2101, which was previously damaged in a roundhouse fire, to the museum in exchange for the 614. She was restored over the next 18 months with a cost of $1.5 million. During the restoration, 614 was given an auxiliary tender, doubling her water capacity to 50,000 gallons. This allowed the 614 to run for longer times without having to refuel as much. The Chessie Safety Express was 614's first major run, bringing her a bit of spotlight in the process. After the successful system tour, 614 was kept in
Hagerstown, Maryland until 1985. American Coal Enterprise was developing a modern steam locomotive to be used as an alternative to rising oil costs by burning coal, known as the ACE 3000 Project. The 614 was modified for better performance under the guidance of David Wardale, and fitted with testing equipment to measure the performance of the engine. For several weeks in January and February 1985, 614 (now 614-T, symbolizing it as testing) hauled coal trains between
Huntington and
Hinton, West Virginia
Hinton is a city in Summers County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,266 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Summers County. Hinton was established in 1873 and chartered in 1897. Hinton was named after John "Jack" Hin ...
. The 614's fuel consumption costs were actually lower than most diesel locomotives operating at that time.
In 1992, Rowland's vision of the ''21st Century Limited'' was taking shape. To give the public an idea of the train, one side of 614 was decorated in a futuristic way with a blue streamlined shrouding and centered headlight. The 614 also came back to its former home at the B&O Railroad Museum for temporary display. In 1995, 614 was moved to the
New Hope and Ivyland Railroad
The New Hope Railroad , formerly and colloquially known as the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad, is a shortline and heritage railroad located in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Today, the railroad operates both steam and diesel powered locomotives and is ...
in
New Hope, Pennsylvania
New Hope is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,612 at the 2020 census. New Hope is located approximately north of Philadelphia, and lies on the west bank of the Delaware River at its confluence with Aquetong Creek. ...
for a complete overhaul. It was then used for a series of popular excursions between
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...
and
Port Jervis, New York
Port Jervis is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, United States, north of the Delaware Water Gap. Its population was 8,775 at the 2020 census. The communities of Deerpark, ...
in conjunction with
New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
(NJT) and co-sponsored by the
Volunteer Railroaders Association between 1996 and 1998.
[ (continued): ]
Current status
The 614 was required to pull 26
cars
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...
at 79 mph on some sections, and maintain speed up several hills. During this time, the 614 was equipped with cab signals, 26L brakes, speed control and an MU stand. The 614 was moved to storage on the
Reading and Northern Railroad in
Port Clinton, Pennsylvania
Port Clinton is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located at the confluence of the Schuylkill and Little Schuylkill rivers, it was a port on the Schuylkill Canal and named after DeWitt Clinton.
Geography
According ...
. In 2000, Rowland put the 614 up for auction at the NJT maintenance facility, but no buyers were interested. The locomotive is still maintained by Iron Horse Enterprises, the most recent servicing of the locomotive being in 2006.
In 2010, discussions began between Rowland and
Jim Justice, owner of the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia, and current governor of West Virginia. The resort owner had been interested in running steam-powered excursion trains from Greenbrier to Washington DC. To be known as the "Greenbrier Express", Justice planned to use steam and diesel power in the project, but would have needed cooperation from
CSX Transportation, the
Buckingham Branch Railroad
Buckingham Branch Railroad is a Class III short-line railroad operating over 275 miles (443 km) of historic and strategic trackage in Central Virginia. Sharing overhead traffic with CSX and Amtrak, the company's headquarters are in Dill ...
and
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
. In January 2011, the 614 was moved to the
Virginia Museum of Transportation
The Virginia Museum of Transportation is a museum devoted to the topic of transportation located in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, US. children under two years do not to buy tickets and students can get a discounted $10.5 ticket.
History
The Virg ...
in
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is ...
for its ''Thoroughbreds of Steam'' exhibit. In May 2011, the 614 was again moved to the C&O Railway Heritage Center in
Clifton Forge, Virginia
Clifton Forge is a town in Alleghany County, Virginia, United States which is part of the greater Roanoke Region. The population was 3,555 at the 2020 census. The Jackson River flows through the town, which as a result was once known as Ja ...
. From there, it was repainted in preparation for display for the
Greenbrier Presidential Express
The ''Greenbrier Presidential Express'' was a proposed luxury passenger train that was planned to operate between Union Station in Washington, D.C., United States, and the train station at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Vi ...
. Unfortunately, the Greenbrier Express project was cancelled in May 2012 due to lack of funding and capacity problems on the CSX portion of the route, where a lack of passing sidings makes it difficult for Eastbound trains to gain headway against the flow of Westbound empty coal trains. The diesels and passenger cars were auctioned off and the 614 continues to sit on display at Clifton Forge. As of 2022, the 614 is still painted in the Greenbrier Presidential Express scheme.
References
External links
The Chesapeake and Ohio Greenbriers, Including The 614Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Steam Locomotive #614
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chesapeake and Ohio 0614
Individual locomotives of the United States
4-8-4 locomotives
0614
Lima locomotives
Passenger locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 1948
Standard gauge locomotives of the United States
Preserved steam locomotives of Virginia