The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum in Sugarcreek, Ohio, has completed its cosmetic restoration of Bessemer & Lake Erie 2-10-4 643. The locomotive will make its public debut on March 29, during Age of Steam’s Member Day. 

Locomotive 643 was built by Baldwin in 1944, but it only ran in regular service for about eight years. Thankfully, the locomotive was preserved by B&LE in the roundhouse in Greenville, Pa. In the 1980s, it was sold to a private individual who kicked off an effort to restore it to operation. While a lot of work was completed by the late 1990s, the locomotive never ran and the owner kept it in storage for decades. In 2019, Age of Steam purchased it in tribute to its founder, Jerry Joe Jacobson, who had long dreamed of acquiring the locomotive he had dubbed “The King.” The locomotive was moved in pieces to Ohio in early 2024. 

In the year since the locomotive has been reassembled and painted. It is now on display inside the roundhouse alongside 22 other steam locomotives. Visit Age of Steam’s website for additional information. —Justin Franz