Ghost of the Lehigh Valley
Sandblasting and priming of Lehigh Valley caboose No. 95100 was completed at the end of 2015, thanks to a grant by the Tom E. Dailey Foundation. Built in 1941 in the LV shops at Sayre, Pa., the caboose was rescued from a nearby junkyard and brought to the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum at the end of 2011. Museum volunteers are working to restore the caboose to its 1970s appearance, and operate it on their demonstration railroad in Rush, N.Y. The museum is asking for donations in any amount so that exterior painting can be completed this summer. Visit
www.rgvrrm.org to contribute.
PHOTO BY JOE NUGENT
never materialized, and the 0-4-4 was subsequently stored inside a shed and cared for by Ramsdell’s daughter, Alice, until her death in 1994. In 1995, the locomotive was sent to the WW&F museum at Alna as part of a lease agreement with the executor of the Ramsdell estate. Although No. 9’s boiler passed a hydrostatic test and the locomotive was successfully operated on compressed air in 1996, further inspections revealed that the original boiler was too thin for safe operation. Fundraising for No. 9’s restoration began in 2001, and construction of a new boiler was started at the Boothbay Railway Museum in 2006 and completed in 2009. For the past several years volunteers have worked to repair No. 9’s cylinders, frame, and drive wheels, and reassemble the locomotive for operation. Today No. 9 is one of five genuine Maine two-footers in existence (a pair of ex-Monson 0-4-4Ts and two ex- Bridgeton & Harrison 2-4-4Ts were preserved by Edaville and now belong to the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum). It is also the only surviving locomotive to have served the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes; Kennebec Central; and Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington. No. 9 will steam this summer at the WW&F Museum over 2.5 miles of track re-laid on the original grade. For more information visit
www.wwfry.org.
L&N 152 to Return
The Kentucky Railway Museum is working with the non-profit Coalition for Sustainable Rail (CSR) to return Louisville & Nashville 4-6-2 No. 152 to operating condition. The 1905 Rogers
16 MARCH 2016 •
RAILFAN.COM
locomotive was donated to KRM in 1957. Beginning in 1972 it was extensively rebuilt by volunteers, and in 1985 it returned to service pulling excursions over Norfolk Southern and Seaboard System. No. 152 later steamed over the museum’s ex-L&N trackage at New Haven, Ky., until 2011 when it was taken out of service due to leaks in the rear flue sheet. In early 2015, the museum formed a 152 Restoration Committee to disassemble and inspect the Pacific’s boiler and evaluate its running gear in preparation for its 1,472-day inspection. Volunteers
are currently working
with Intertech Mechanical Services to remove tubes and flues, along with the boiler jacketing, appliances, and other hardware.
On January 5, it was announced that KRM has partnered with Minnesota- based CSR, who will serve as consulting engineers on the project. “In making our selection of an engineering consultant, the Coalition for Sustainable Rail stood out because of its team members’ varied practical expertise, including experience on successful programs such as Santa Fe 3751, and Southern 630 and 4501, and their willingness to help us meet our goals for the project,” said 152 project manager Rob Minton in a press release. At press time No. 152 was being prepared for CSR’s engineering evaluation, which will include an ultrasonic test of the boiler. The inspection is intended to evaluate the overall condition of the locomotive and tender, after which it will be determined what repair work will be required. If funding can be secured to finish the project, the museum hopes to have No. 152 back in steam by 2017.
UP GP9 to Heber Valley
Utah’s Heber Valley Railroad has acquired former Union Pacific GP9 No. 296 from the Boulder Valley Railway Historical Society of Boulder, Colorado. Out of service since 2000, the unit has been a static exhibit at BVRHS’ yard at Valmont, Colo., since 2003. It was trucked from Colorado to Utah, and arrived in Heber City on December 29. The 296 was built by EMD in September 1954 as one of five UP GP9s (Nos.
service generators,
295-299) set up for passenger and equipped with steam 800-gallon water
tanks,
and 800-gallon fuel tanks. When UP passenger operations ended, its steam generators and water tanks were removed, and a 2,400 gallon fuel tank was installed during December 1972. In 1985, No. 296 was retired and sold to Great Western, who pressed it into freight service still wearing Union Pacific yellow and gray. It continued in operation, often serving as the Longmont switcher, until 2000 when it was retired and stored. During 2003 Glenn Pearson and Ben Mesander purchased No. 296 from GW parent company Omnitrax and donated it to the Boulder County Railway Historical Society, which became BVRHS in 2011. When the group disbanded in 2015, the unit was offered for sale. No. 296 is in mostly original condition and retains its original
high short
hood, class lights, dynamic brakes, and control stand. At Heber Valley it joins a large collection of former Union Pacific equipment, including Baldwin 2-8-0 No. 618 and NW-2 switchers D.S.1011 and D.S.1043. Visit Heber Valley’s web site at
www.hebervalleyrr.org.
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