Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 1309 is a compound

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were someti ...

class "H-6" "

Mallet A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. The term is descriptive of the overall size and proport ...

" type

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

with a

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 wheels. ...

(

Whyte notation Whyte notation is a classification method for steam locomotives, and some internal combustion locomotives and electric locomotives, by wheel arrangement. It was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte, and came into use in the early twentieth ce ...

) wheel arrangement. It was built by the

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...

in 1949 and originally operated by the

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...

(C&O) where it pulled coal trains until its retirement in 1956. In 1972, No. 1309 was moved 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 Balti ...

for static display until 2014 when it 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 (WM) ...

(WMSR), who undertook a multi-year effort to restore it to operating condition. The restoration was completed on December 31, 2020, and the locomotive entered

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

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 ...

for the WMSR on December 17, 2021. This was the first time an

articulated locomotive An articulated locomotive is a steam locomotive (rarely, an electric locomotive) with one or more engine units that can move independent of the main frame. Articulation allows the operation of locomotives that would otherwise be too large to neg ...

operated in the

eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

since the retirement of

Norfolk and Western 1218 Norfolk and Western 1218 is a preserved four-cylinder simple articulated 2-6-6-4 steam locomotive, built in June 1943 by the Norfolk and Western's (N&W) East End Shops in Roanoke, Virginia as part of the N&W's class "A" fleet of fast freight loc ...

in 1991.

History

Revenue service

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond to ...

No. 1309 was built by

in November 1949. It was the last Class 1 mainline locomotive built by Baldwin, maker of over 70,000 locomotives since 1832. It was ordered by the

to pull heavy coal trains in the mountainous terrain of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

which it did from 1949 until its retirement from revenue service in 1956, after which it was stored for nearly twenty years at their roundhouse at

Peach Creek, West Virginia Peach Creek is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Logan County, West Virginia, United States. Peach Creek is located on the east bank of the Guyandotte River across from West Logan. Peach Creek has a post office ...

. The locomotive, along with several others, all considered impractical to restore to working condition, were taken out of storage in 1972 for cosmetic restoration and later moved to the

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 ...

in 1975, where the restoration was completed while on static display.

Description

No. 1309 was built from a 40-year-old design, with

mechanical lubricator An automatic lubricator is a device fitted to a steam engine to supply lubricating oil to the cylinders and, sometimes, the bearings and axle box mountings as well. There are various types of automatic lubricator, which include various design ...

s, stoker, and

superheater A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into superheated steam or dry steam. Superheated steam is used in steam turbines for electricity generation, steam engines, and in processes such as steam reforming. There ar ...

, the last of a series of

s that the C&O began in 1911. A very similar design, the

USRA 2-6-6-2 The USRA 2-6-6-2 is a standardized design of 2-6-6-2 Mallet locomotives developed by the United States Railroad Administration during World War I. Design The USRA 2-6-6-2 locomotive is a Mallet, or compound articulated type, having both low-p ...

, was chosen by the

United States Railroad Administration The United States Railroad Administration (USRA) was the name of the nationalisation, nationalized railroad system of the United States between December 28, 1917, and March 1, 1920. It was the largest American experiment with nationalization, and ...

as one of its standard designs thirty years earlier during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The engine is a Mallet articulated locomotive. This design was a

compound locomotive A compound locomotive is a steam locomotive which is powered by a compound engine, a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. The locomotive was only one application of compounding. Two and three stages were used in shi ...

where steam was expanded once in smaller rear cylinders and the exhaust captured and expanded a second time in larger lower-pressure front cylinders. While compound locomotives are more efficient than single-expansion machines, the complexity of the design led to very few United States railroads using them after the turn of the century. The additional length of two sets of cylinders required the engines to be articulated to enable operation on tight radius turns common in mountainous areas in West Virginia and Kentucky coal country, adding even more complexity. It also had two cross compound air compressors mounted on the smokebox door to supply enough air for frequent heavy braking needed in mountain railroading. While complicated and uncommon, the C&O had a long history with Mallets and they were ideal for slow speed work in West Virginia. The Chesapeake and Ohio ordered 25 of these engines in 1948 to pull coal trains. When coal production dramatically fell due to labor unrest in 1949, the order was revised to just ten engines (Nos. 1300–1309), and No. 1309 became the last domestic steam locomotive built by Baldwin.

Western Maryland Scenic Railroad

In 2014, it was purchased by the

(WMSR) for restoration. When it returned to service, it became the largest

in regular scheduled service in the United States, and took

2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...

No. 734’s place as the largest active steam locomotive in the state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The WMSR intends to use the locomotive on tourist excursion trains between

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

and

Frostburg, Maryland Frostburg is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States, and is at the head of the Georges Creek Valley. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located west of Cumberland, the town is one of the first cities ...

. The Western Maryland's restoration, which began in July 2014, included returning all parts to meet or exceed original specifications. The railroad claimed the engine would be "better and more reliable than it was in 1949". The engine and tender were disassembled and then rebuilt with new parts where necessary. The engine's cab and floors were among the pieces replaced. In April 2016, Western Maryland Scenic Railroad No. 734, an ex- Lake Superior and Ishpeming

" Consolidation" type, was pulled from

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...

, as it was about due for a 1,472-day boiler inspection required by the

Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce rail saf ...

. Without a steam locomotive to operate or maintain, most of the railroad's money would be focused on 1309's proceeding restoration work. In early January 2017, the railroad said the reassembly process at the shop in

Ridgeley, West Virginia Ridgeley is a town in Mineral County, West Virginia, United States, and part of the Cumberland Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 590 at the 2020 census. Ridgeley was initially known as St. Clairsville, named for Sir John St Cla ...

would begin that month and announced that the inaugural trip of the restored engine would be on July 1, 2017; it began selling tickets for the excursion. That schedule was not met due to funding issues. The railroad had spent $800,000 but needed a matching grant of $400,000 from the state of Maryland to continue work. In August 2017, planned operation in November was further delayed until 2018 after

corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...

was found on the locomotive's axles requiring additional work on the axles, wheel boxes, and crank pins. Restoration almost stopped in the fall of 2017 due to a lack of funding, although work on the wheels continued with donations. The railroad announced in November 2017 that restoration had stopped. $400,000 provided by the state of Maryland had been spent and the railroad estimated it would take at least $530,000 more to complete the restoration, including $120,000 for the running gear and $115,000 for the boiler. The railroad was soliciting donations from individuals, seeking additional grants, and raising money with "freight photo charters". In January 2018, Maryland

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Wayne Norman proposed that Allegany County provide $530,000 to complete the restoration. The senator said there would be an economic benefit to the county in tourism, even drawing people from Europe and Asia. The county provides a $140,000 annual operating subsidy to the railroad, matched by $250,000 from the state of Maryland. In February 2018, the restoration project suffered another setback when the railroad learned that an employee had stolen parts, including bronze bearings and wear plates, and sold them for scrap at a salvage yard. The thefts were discovered by the Allegany County Sheriff's Office after they were alerted by the scrap yard. Stolen parts included 12 original crown brasses and 12 hub liners. The parts would have to be remade as they were damaged during removal. The scrapyard had paid the employee a total of $14,662 for the parts, some of which weighed . Formal charges were filed against the employee. In June 2018, the boiler passed a

hydrostatic Fluid statics or hydrostatics is the branch of fluid mechanics that studies the condition of the equilibrium of a floating body and submerged body "fluids at hydrostatic equilibrium and the pressure in a fluid, or exerted by a fluid, on an imme ...

test required by the

. The boiler was pressurized to 25% above its maximum operating pressure of . Stationary test firings to check for boiler leaks occurred several months later. The restoration had cost $1.8 million as of mid-2018, including $800,000 provided by the state of Maryland. The Western Maryland Scenic General Manager estimated the final cost would be $2.4 million. In September 2019, the project was again halted due to a lack of funds shortly after the front drivers were attached to the engine. The railroad said it would no longer make estimates of when the restoration would be complete. The total spent on the project was $2.8 million. In February 2020, a new

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

campaign was announced to raise $390,000 to finish the restoration. The organizers claimed the restoration could be completed in six months. In early May 2020, restoration work resumed and a successful fundraising effort promoted by Trains Magazine raised over $100,000 to restart the restoration. The WMSR estimated they were still around $200,000 short of completing the work and started developing a fund to cover initial operating expenses and facilities for fuel, water, and ash removal to name a few items. On December 31, 2020, the restoration was completed and the locomotive moved under its own power for the first time in sixty-four years as part of a series of test runs to return it to operating condition. On November 19, 2021, No. 1309 entered its break-in run phase, running from Cumberland to Helmstetter's curve and back for testing. After numerous test runs, the No. 1309 locomotive finally entered excursion service on December 17, 2021, pulling the annual

Polar Express ''The Polar Express'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1985. The book is now widely considered to be a classic Christmas story for young children. It was praised for its detai ...

train. On February 25–27, 2022, WMSR and Trains Magazine hosted a private photo charter runby of No. 1309 hauling an 11-car

freight train Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) haul ...

consist over Helmstetter's Curve. On May 6, 2022, a plaque was mounted inside No. 1309's cab, honoring former Trains Magazine editor Jim Wrinn, who died earlier in 2022 and had been deeply involved in the restoration project. Additionally, two more plaques were mounted underneath both sides of No. 1309's cab, honoring the late Jack Showalter, who originally ran the

Allegany Central Railroad The Allegany Central Railroad was a tourist railroad that took place in three different locations from the 1970s to the 1990s. It originally operated in Covington, Virginia, before ownership disputes moved it to Cumberland, Maryland. From there, own ...

between 1988 and 1991 on the same line that the WMSR operated today. During

Father's Day Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the United ...

weekend, No. 1309 was temporarily outfitted with a

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

(PRR) 3 chime whistle, which came from a PRR class T1

4-4-4-4 A 4-4-4-4 steam locomotive, in the Whyte notation for describing locomotive wheel arrangements, has a four-wheel leading truck, two sets of four driving wheels, and a four-wheel trailing truck. While it would be possible to make an articulated lo ...

locomotive. On October 14, 2022, No. 1309 pulled a fundraiser excursion in partnership with the

Railroaders Memorial Museum The Railroaders Memorial Museum (RMM) is a railroad museum in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The museum focuses on the history of railroad workers and railroad communities in central Pennsylvania, particularly Altoona, the Altoona Works, and the greater ...

to benefit the restoration project of the PRR No. 1361 steam locomotive with more than $13,000 raised and the latter's whistle being fitted on the former.

Gallery

File:C & O steam locomotive -1309.jpg, No. 1309 on static display at the B&O Railroad Museum in 2009 File:Western Maryland 1309.jpg, No. 1309 during its first test run on December 31, 2020 File:WMSR 1309 at No. 9 Switch.jpg, No. 1309 pulling a freight train consist on February 26, 2022 File:WMSR 1309 “Super Choo”.jpg, No. 1309 in Ridgeley yard wearing the nickname “Super Choo” in chalk on its smokebox on July 18, 2022

Notes

References

External links

{{Commons category, Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 1309, position=right
Western Maryland Scenic RailroadC&O Baldwin H-6 Builder's Sheet
Railway locomotives introduced in 1949 2-6-6-2 locomotives Baldwin locomotives Individual locomotives of the United States Chesapeake and Ohio locomotives Mallet locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Preserved steam locomotives of Maryland