Is the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway still active?

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 1309 is a steam locomotive built in 1949 for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) where it pulled coal trains until retirement in 1956. It was the last steam engine built by Baldwin Locomotive Works for the North American market. In 1976, it was moved to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum for static display. The engine was purchased in 2014 by the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad which began restoration with the intention of returning it to service as the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 1309.

Chesapeake and Ohio 1309

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 1309 was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1949. It was the last Class 1 mainline locomotive built by Baldwin, closing out more than 100 years of production, a total of more than 70,000 locomotives. It was ordered by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway to pull heavy coal trains in the mountainous terrain of West Virginia and Kentucky which it did from 1949 until 1956, after which it was stored for twenty years at their roundhouse at Peach Creek, West Virginia. The engine, along with several others, all considered impractical to restore to working condition, were moved to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland in 1976 for cosmetic restoration and static display. It remained there until 2014 when it was purchased by the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad for restoration. When returned to service, it will be the largest steam engine in regular scheduled service in the United States. The Western Maryland intends to use the locomotive on excursion trains between Cumberland and Frostburg in Maryland.

No. 1309 is built from a 40-year-old design, mechanical lubricators, stoker, and superheater, the last of a series of 2-6-6-2s that the C&O began in 1911. A very similar design, the USRA 2-6-6-2 was chosen by the United States Railroad Administration as one of its standard designs thirty years earlier during World War I.

The engine is Mallet articulated locomotive. This design was a compound locomotive 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, their extra complication led to very few United States railroads using them after the turn of the century. The added 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, which added even more complication. 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 (numbered 1300 to 1309), and 1309 became the last domestic steam locomotive built by Baldwin.

The Western Maryland's restoration, which began in July 2014, includes returning all parts to meet or exceed original specifications. The railroad claims the engine will 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 early January 2017, the railroad said the reassembly process at the shop in Ridgeley, West Virginia 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 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 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 rail fans 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 had another setback when the railroad learned that an employee had stolen parts, including bronze bearing 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 employee, who was formally charged by police, was paid $14,662 for the parts by the scrap yard, some of which weighed.

In June 2018, the boiler was tested and passed a hydrostatic test required by the Federal Railroad Administration, the boiler was pressurized to 25% above it maximum operation pressure of. Stationary test firings to check for boiler leaks occurred several months later.

The restoration 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 will be $2.4 million.