By Justin Franz

The 470 Railroad Club of Portland, Maine, is putting the finishing touches on its newly-restored Boston & Maine GP9, while also welcoming a new addition to its fleet, a former Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority GP18. 

In 2020, the 470 Club acquired GP9 1741 from Utah’s Heber Valley Railroad. The unit was one of three Heber Valley locomotives purchased from Pan Am Railways in 2018. However, unlike the other two (Pan Am’s B&M and Maine Central “heritage” units 77 and 52), this one was never sent west. It was later moved to North Conway, N.H., where it has been worked on at the Conway Scenic Railroad, which is also home to 470’s other locomotives including two ex-B&M F7A locomotives. 

Over the last few years, volunteers have worked on the locomotive, and earlier this fall, it got a fresh coat of B&M blue. As of this writing, installing flooring in the cab and bathroom and cab heaters were among the last things needed before it could be put in service. The group is still working on raising money for the effort. 

Meanwhile, the club has also taken possession of a new locomotive, MBTA GP18 904. The locomotive was built in 1960 for the Grand Trunk Western and later acquired by MBTA. The 470 Club originally acquired the locomotive as a parts source for the F7s and GP9, but has since decided to work with New Hampshire Northcoast to return the locomotive to operating condition. NHN operates on the south end of the former B&M Conway Branch and already rosters one GP18.