The original number plate for the Boston & Maine’s Flying Yankee streamliner was recently discovered in the Steamtown National Historic Site collection and has been returned to New England. The stainless steel plate will be reunited with the three-car train that is currently being restored in New Hampshire. 

The Flying Yankee was built by the Budd Company in 1935 and operated in New England for 22 years until its retirement in 1957. It was privately owned and displayed at the Edaville Railroad for 40 years before being acquired by New Hampshire in 1997. Over the decades, there have been ongoing efforts to restore the train, and currently, the non-profit Flying Yankee Association is working on it at the Conway Scenic Railroad. The Flying Yankee Association obtained the car from the state in 2024. 

The No. 6000 number plate measures 24 inches long and approximately 8 inches tall. It was reportedly removed from the train in the late 1950s when preservationist F. Nelson Blount purchased it. Eventually, the plate found its way into the Steamtown collection in Scranton, Pa., where it was rediscovered this year by park staff. After conducting some research on the plate, National Park Service employees realized it belonged to the Flying Yankee and decided to return it to the organization. 

“We’re incredibly grateful to Steamtown for their efforts in reuniting this original piece of history with the Flying Yankee,” said Brian LaPlant, President of the Flying Yankee Association. “This is more than a plate; it’s a powerful symbol of the train’s legacy and journey through time.”

The Flying Yankee group recently raised more than $30,000 to restore the train’s traction motors. That work is expected to begin soon. For more information, visit flyingyankee.org. —Justin Franz