By Railfan & Railroad Staff

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — CSX Transportation has repainted a C30-7 back into the striking gray, red and yellow of Family Lines System. The locomotive, Louisville & Nashville 7067, was donated to Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp. in 2021 and will soon be moved to the non-profit’s facility in Estill County, Ky., along the former L&N. 

The locomotive was built in 1980 as one of 44 C30-7s owned by the L&N. The locomotive later ended up on the CSX roster. In 1999, the Huntington Locomotive Shop painted the locomotive in Marshall University colors and it was used in the Huntington area for university functions. In 2017, it was given to the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society. Last year, the group was looking to thin its fleet of equipment and decided to donate the General Electric to Kentucky Steam. Kentucky Steam has two other diesels: a former Norfolk & Western SD40-2 and an L&N SW-1500.

After the locomotive was donated in early 2021, it was moved to CSX’s Huntington shops until it could be moved to Kentucky. The locomotive will be moved to its new home this spring but before that happened, CSX decided to restore it for the non-profit and worked with the L&N Historical Society to get the color and lettering right. Although the C30-7 is inoperable it’s notable because very few of that type of General Electric have been preserved. The locomotive will be put on display and Chris Campbell, Kentucky Steam founder and president, said a dedication ceremony is being planned for later this summer. 

“CSX has been an excellent corporate partner over the years, and this is another example of how they have shown a commitment to helping us tell the story of railroading in Appalachia,” Campbell said. “We are grateful to all the employees who have contributed to this project. CSX has proven time and time again to be a first-class organization.”

Kentucky Steam is currently restoring Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 2716.