The Strasburg Rail Road’s mechanical department has joined the effort to restore Pennsylvania Railroad steam locomotive 1361. The 4-6-2 K4-type locomotive is currently being restored at the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona, Pa., and is being managed by railroad contractor FMW Solutions.
PRR 1361 was built at the railroad’s Altoona Works in 1918 and ran until 1956 when it was put on display at Horseshoe Curve. In the late 1980s, the locomotive was restored to operation but a series of major mechanical failures sidelined it after just two years. In the 1990s, the locomotive was sent to Steamtown National Historic Site for another restoration, but that effort eventually fell apart. The locomotive returned to Altoona in pieces. In 2021, the museum hired FMW Solutions to lead a renewed restoration effort.
Since 2021, major progress has been made on the boiler and firebox. Now the locomotive’s drivers are being sent to Strasburg for work. Joe DeFrancesco, executive director of the Railroaders Memorial Museum, said that successful fundraising efforts have enabled them to hire Strasburg and thus shorten the projected timeline for the restoration. —Justin Franz