Lets Talk: The C&O 1309 Restoration
C&O 1309's sister locomotive 1308 as seen in this public domain image.
Flashback: its the summer of 2013. I am on a family vacation in Pennsylvania visiting the famed railfan sites there. Steamtown, Horseshoe Curve, etc. In a gift shop (I think at the Railroader's Memorial Museum in Altoona?) I pick up Kalmbach Book's Tourist Trains Guidebook Fifth Edition. I had been out of the country for quite some time, and flipping through its pages I found an advertisement:
"NEW in 2016! The No. 1309 in operation on the WMSR! The last locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works and the largest regularly scheduled articulated steam locomotive in the USA! Join us in 2016 as we welcome 1309 to the WMSR." (p. 323)
I was honestly, rather impressed. I knew of the plans to restore UP 4014, but I wasn't aware of this east coast based restoration project. I thought it sounded pretty cool and then sort of forgot about it. My next reminder of the project other than a few occasional online comments was in the 2017 Trains Magazine special BIG STEAM IS BACK. While the familiar UP 844 bore the cover photo, in the left corner was a blurb: "C&O 1309: Beast of the East p.18" What I read in the magazine was the story of a fascinating piece of machinery, and the massive restoration project to get it back running. When shortly there after Trains published an online article saying July 1, 2017 will see the debut of the massive 2-6-6-2; my interest was captured. My friends and I half-joked that we should make the pilgrimage from Utah to the Western Maryland Scenic Railway just to see the massive engine... at the very least the thought of seeing such a large engine on a tourist railroad captured our imaginations.
Then... 1309 missed its supposed debut date. A planned celebration was scrapped, and there was some sort of kerfuffle about people asking for their tickets to be refunded. It was a mess, but not one uncommon to the steam restoration world. How often had we seen projects like this missing their deadlines? I figured that the engine would likely see a 2018 or 2019 debut, and again forgot about the matter until a few days ago. In a Facebook message I got a copy of a leaked document showing that the Western Maryland Scenic Railway had begun to fire the crew working on the 1309. The next day, a new ominous article showed up on Trains Magazine's online website: Railroad out of money for 2-6-6-2 restoration, stops work.
Oh boy... within the span of a few hours I was on a crash course of every rumor around the 1309 that had been ever conceived. Names I had never heard before, such as John Garner, Len Shaner (who does not run a C&O 1309 Facebook page according to said page), etc. were all thrown at me in news reports and Facebook feeds. Speculation of in-shop corruption, to simple poor financial management all broke loose, and the railfan world had the biggest controversy since E. Hunter Harrison was appointed to run CSX.
I was also completely blind-sided. The who, what, were, when, why, and how were all foreign to me. This wasn't like my western US steam locomotive rumors I had kept up on but all new to me. Who is Len Shaner? I have no clue. Why is the WMSR comparing the 1309 project to landscaping of all things? Why did the county have to publicly announce they still support the railroad? Why had the news come out of the blue with no fore-warning other than the missed summer premiere for the engine? Along with it came the railfans, asking that we join up as a community and donate money to the ailing 1309 project.
As someone who is highly ill informed and somewhat ignorant to all the rumors... let me say this... breath... relax... and lets as a community before we throw funds at this, take a step back.
This is not the first steam controversy of the 21st century (speaking as someone from Utah, lets just say our own UP 618 and the speculation surrounding that could fill tomes of books full of rumors, bad blood, and conjecture). Like those other controversies 1309 will either do one of two things, come together and be finished after some changes are made to the plan... or dragged on until the end of time with no end in sight. Just the way things are, and will always be in the steam preservation community.
I will also say this... As somebody who doesn't know the workings of the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, I am not ready to throw money at them just to get 1309 back and running. Now I am sure their defenders could explain it better to me, and argue a case as to how our funds could save the project. But from the outside looking in, I just see way to much internal finger pointing to justify trying to bolster the project and the railroad.
However, I wish those who truly desire to 1309 in steam well in their efforts. I don't know if the railroad is to blame. I don't know if it is the lack of state funds, problems with the contractors, or a paranoid railfan environment being lead by allegation pages more busy trying to assert who they aren't rather than why they are making their accusations in the first place. Hopefully once the dust of the moment settles, 1309 can once again move forward. Until then, I say lets hold a bit of patience. I hope for good news here and a day this C&O steamer can once again ride the mountain high iron... but if 1309 does flounder in the end... then hopefully its failures can stand as a warning for future preservation projects.
-Jacob Lyman