Rebirth of the ALCO 0-6-0 She kept America moving during those vital years following World War II, serving her time in the U.S. Army before ‘retiring’ to the private sector. There she became small-town America’s link to the world, her engine fueling a freight and passenger industry that chugged on despite airlines and world travel. Now this once celebrated locomotive is undergoing an historic restoration and joining the fleet of SMS Rail for the next chapter of her illustrious career. Made for the Military Built in Schenectady, NY, for the U.S. Army in 1942, steam engine locomotive #4023 was part of a large WWII production that continued post-war. The numbers were staggering: 7,362 Army tanks, tank destroyers, shells, bombs, gun carriages and mounts, and 4,488 locomotives by 1945. A sleek state-of-the-art steam engine, Locomotive #4023 weighed in at 160,000 lbs. She did stints in naval supply service during the 1940’s and 1950’s. As the military often moves around, so do their locomotives. By 1952, the steam engine had a new home at Fort Eustis, Va. There, she joined a team of locomotives used in Army training for the military railroad. The Move to Freight It was 1958. The War Assets Administration was looking carefully at its holdings. They decided it was time to sell their surplus equipment and material. Locomotive #4023 became #9 when she was sold to the Virginia Blue Ridge Railway. For the next 15 years, you’d find the locomotive hauling freight from Piney River to the Southern Railway connection at Tye River, Va. By this time, it was unusual to see a standard gauge steam locomotive hauling freight. That’s because most of the country was moving to diesel. The once shiny locomotive would be among the last of her kind to haul freight in the continental U.S. Finally, in1964, she was officially retired from freight runs. Diesel ruled the rails. All Aboard the Passenger Line Passenger rail excursions were still using steam locomotives even if freight carriers weren’t. Locomotive #9 was sold to Steam Trains, Inc. in New Hope, Pa., where she was fixed up to carry passengers on the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad Co., a tourist railroad that debuted in 1966. Locomotive #9 carried passengers from the Bicentennial summer through 1981 when its flue time expired. It remained on display for another decade, requiring an extensive overhaul. She received major firebox and boiler repairs. Retirement and Restoration That’s where SMS Rail came in. What better place than a specialist in rail freight to refurbish an historic train and get her up and running again? The company bought Locomotive #9, with the commitment to bring her back to life. We’ll be documenting the process every step of the way, right here on this site. Check back here to watch our progress, and help us celebrate the lost era of the great Steam Engine. Our Steam Locomotive is slowly getting prepped for restoration # 9 has been stripped of all it's rails and other appendages |
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