Western Maryland Railway No. 202 is a preserved

4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomotiv ...

"pacific"

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 ...

built in 1912 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Western Maryland Railway. The locomotive was used for pulling various

passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

trains of the WM over the course of 40 years. In 1938, the locomotive was refitted with

Walschaert valve gear The Walschaerts valve gear is a type of valve gear used to regulate the flow of steam to the pistons in steam locomotives, invented by Belgian railway engineer Egide Walschaerts in 1844. The gear is sometimes named without the final "s", since it ...

, replacing its original

Baker valve gear After about 1910, the Baker valve gear was the main competitor to Walschaerts valve gear for steam locomotives in the United States. Strictly speaking it was not a valve gear but a variable expansion mechanism adapted to the Walschaerts layout repla ...

. In 1947, it was converted to burn oil and stayed east of

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 ...

after the conversion. No. 202 pulled its last revenue freight assignment in 1952, and it was subsequently retired and donated "to the children of Hagerstown", to be displayed in City Park,

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...

. It is one of only two surviving Western Maryland steam locomotives and the only surviving mainline WM steam locomotive. In 1983, No. 202 was purchased by John Long, who started an effort to restore the locomotive to operating condition, but unfortunately passed away before it could be completed. After he died, ownership of No. 202 reverted to the City of Hagerstown. In the late 1980s, the line that ran between Cumberland and

Frostburg 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 ...

was sold to the then-new

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 started looking for a steam locomotive to operate on their trackage. The WMSR initially wanted to restore No. 202, since it was an authentic Western Maryland locomotive. However, due to its low tractive effort and the city of Hagerstown choosing to retain ownership of the locomotive, restoration and subsequent operation of No. 202 on the WMSR never came to fruition, and it has since remained in the park under the auspices of the Hagerstown City Park Train Hub. No. 202 spent so much time being exposed to the elements and vandals, that it was cosmetically restored in 2008 for a cleaner appearance. However, the locomotive is still remains in City Park, as of 2022. No. 202 was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1984.

References

Western Maryland 202
from www.steamlocomotive.info

External links

*, including photo from 1982, at Maryland Historical Trust Western Maryland Railway 4-6-2 locomotives Baldwin locomotives Rail transportation on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Individual locomotives of the United States Hagerstown Railway locomotives on the National Register of Historic Places Museums in Washington County, Maryland Railroad museums in Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Maryland Railway locomotives introduced in 1912 Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Preserved steam locomotives of Maryland {{US-train-stub

See also

References

External links