The East Board Top has acquired a diesel locomotive from the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. The 80-ton H.K. Porter locomotive, currently numbered 1203, arrived at the Pennsylvania railroad earlier this month and will serve as a backup for EBT’s steam locomotives. 

“The acquisition of this locomotive boosts our capacity for efficient operations,” said EBT Foundation General Manager Brad Esposito. “While the restoration and operation of our historic steam locomotives remains the Foundation’s primary focus, the growth of our business and expansion of our footprint demands greater flexibility in our motive power.”

The locomotive was built in 1946 for U.S. Gypsum’s operation in Plaster City, Calif. The locomotive worked in California until 1979 when it was sold to the Huckleberry Railroad in Michigan. In 2005, it was sold to the Georgetown Loop and then traded to the D&SNG in 2017. 

EBT plans to renumber the locomotive to 19 and repaint it to better match its fleet. In return for the diesel locomotive, D&SNG got two EBT hopper cars.