By Railfan & Railroad Staff

The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad is raising money to replace the pistons on Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 1309. 

WMSR spent more than $3.5 million to restore the steam locomotive, one of the largest operating steam locomotives in the country, in 2020 and since then it has been the road’s primary motive power. Last year, the locomotive underwent running gear work. But in December, the railroad realized there were issues with its pistons, something that had not been addressed during that earlier work, and it had to be taken out of service. 

The locomotive was built by Baldwin in 1949, retired in 1956, and placed on display at the B&O Railroad Museum in 1972. Western Maryland Scenic purchased the locomotive from the museum in 2014, and restoration began at their shops in Ridgeley, W.Va., that summer. After extensive work, the reassembly process began in 2017, but was halted when it was discovered additional funds would be needed to complete the project.

In 2018, it was discovered an employee had stolen certain parts and sold them for scrap. A final fundraising push in 2020 helped return the engine to steam at the end of the year, with the first break-in runs taking place in November 2021. C&O 1309 made its public excursion debut on WMSR that December, hauling several Polar Express runs during the holiday season.

There is no timeline for when the locomotive will return to service. For more information and to donate, visit wmsr.com/donate.