The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum in Sugarcreek, Ohio, has announced the arrival of Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 1308, transferred from the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society (CPHRHS) in Huntington, W. Va. The engine joins the museum’s ever-growing collection as its 25th steam locomotive and its first articulated.

Because the locomotive holds a historic designation on the National Register of Historic Places, relocating it required coordination with the National Park Service (NPS) and the State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) of Ohio and West Virginia to preserve that status. The process took several months, but Age of Steam ultimately received approval to move the locomotive.

The museum acquired C&O 1308 last year, after the dissolution of CPHRHS left the locomotive in need of a new home. It had been on display at the society’s railroad park for more than six decades, receiving regular cosmetic work over the years, though decades of outdoor display eventually took their toll.

C&O 1308 was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in November 1949, as part of an order of ten 2-6-6-2 articulated locomotives for the railroad, and hauled coal trains in West Virginia for most of its career. After less than a decade in service, it was donated to the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society in Huntington, W. Va. Age of Steam plans to cosmetically restore 1308 for display in its 18-stall  roundhouse. The other surviving C&O 2-6-6-2, 1309, operates at the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.

— Nick Stewart