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C&O 1309: Yet ANOTHER Big Steam loco to return to service


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I don't know if you guys saw this or not, but the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad negotiated the sale of Chesapeake and Ohio Mallet 1309 from the B&O Railroad Museum.   Their plans are to return it to service and use it to pull their excursion trains up the mountains in Western Maryland. 

 

Here's a link to the B&O info page. 

 

Here's a blurb in the Baltimore Sun: paper

 

I have never ridden the WMSR, as it is just a little on the far side for a day trip from here, but it might be a good weekend destination when this locomotive is restored.  The bike path that parallels the route most of the way would be the other item of interest for the rest of my family.

 

 

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I'd struggle to restore one of these with my own money, too!  There is a lot of work that has to go in to these things to make them run again.  They have to remove all the tubes from the boiler, then do a complete ultrasound survey for the thickness of the shell.  That;s a time consuming and labor intensive job.  Then, once you've got all that done, if there are no repairs you need to make,  you have to put all new tubes in.  Only  a few places to procure those tubes, which also need to be machined and then rolled in to place.  The good thing about this engine is it had a relatively short life as a road engine before it was retired.  It'd probably take a month or two with a full time shop to rebuild this engine back when you had the people, and know how to do it.  Now, it will take about 2-3 years.  But I still think it will be worth it to see an engine like this running in tourist service in mountains!

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Outstanding news!!  And to top it off it's a compound (Mallet) !!  I think this will be the first compound engine to be in operation in a very long time and I wonder if there are any in the world actually running now.  I will travel to see this one run :)

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Rayman, I know of one compound in use.

It's here in the U.K. and is often stated to be the first Garratt articulated type. Actually the first order was for two locos and the one stil in existence contains parts from both.

I was fortunate enough  to be in the right place at the right time to travel behind it on it's first day in service after restoration. It was withdrawn in 1929 and returned to service in 2007!

 

Take a look at www.whrsoc.org.uk/WHRProject/k1.htm

post-29-0-60975800-1399543893_thumb.jpg

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That is great news about restoring a Mallet!

 I wish them the best of luck  :)

 

Didn't one of the N&W articulated's able to be switched between compound & simple?

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The Y6 class (not sure if it was just the Y6b or if also the Y6a) but they could run the front cylinders on full boiler pressure, compound or hybrid where the compound cylinders were shot will a little of boiler pressure steam.  I recall hearing the tractive effort numbers on the three modes and the performance was very impressive!

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  • 1 month later...
 

I would say the Aristo Mallet is close to the C&O pictured.  The most obvious difference is that the C&O is a 2-6-6-2  while the Aristo mallets are 2-8-8-2.  Personally, I really like the Aristo Mallets.

                                      Joe

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It would be very doable from an Aristo mallet.  All you do is remove the fourth driver and cut that motor block at that point.  You'd need to shorten the boiler shell, too, but that would be pretty straight forward.

 

I noticed they've got a web cam dedicated to this move.

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http://www.southernsteamtrains.com/gallery/al-123001-03..jpg

she's a beauty. I saw another hi-end brand on ebay. It was almost as much $ as a car.

I have several of them in O gauge. The last MTH one I got so cheap, even I was in shock and couldn't pass it up. I upgraded it to PS3 with help from Ray who got me the high amp boiler board.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaSaEUKlLow

2 of them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H-3uICIqfg

3rd rail version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H02b76Arx8

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  • 2 weeks later...

Webcam of the move is now online and available at:

 

http://trn.trains.com/Railroad%20Reference/Locomotives/2014/06/Chesapeake%20Ohio%202%206%206%202%20No%201309%20live%20webcam.aspx

 

You do need to log-in, no subscription is necessary.  If you don't have an account just register for free.

 

[Thanks Chuck for the heads-up :)  ]

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  • 3 weeks later...
 
 
 
  • 8 months later...
 
  • 7 months later...

C&O 1309 Donation Drive

C&O 1309 is currently being restored, with an anticipated return to service of July 24, 2016. Once complete, it will be an impressive display of steam locomotive power. But we need your help to make it happen. It is a costly project, so we are currently running a donation drive through the WMSR Foundation. Experiences like Cab Rides and Hands on the Throttle are coveted by train enthusiasts, so we thought it fitting to reserve these inaugural experiences aboard 1309 for the people who help make it happen. We can think of no better way to show our appreciation!

 

edd638b4-8e33-4cce-b029-4e09e31597a3.jpg

Donate:

$500 or more = Cab Ride
$1,000 or more = 30-minute HOTT

$2,000 or more = One-hour HOTT

 

 

Make a Donation 

 

Learn more about 1309!

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  • 4 months later...

A GoFundMe page has just been setup for donations for the 1309 restoration.  

I found the post/link on their FB page:  https://www.facebook.com/Wmsrsteam/?fref=nf

Direct link:  https://www.gofundme.com/277xns4

Link to the Western Maryland Railroad website:  http://www.wmsr.com/ 

Please consider making a donation.

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