Appalachian Preservation News: 0-4-0 Finds New Home, GP9 Gets B&O-Inspired Paint Upgrade

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An HK Porter 0-4-0T locomotive will be restored for operation by the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp. in Ravenna, Ky., after being on display for many years at the Kenova Historical Museum Commission in Kenova, W.Va. And in Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley Railroad just finished repainting an EMD GP9 in a Baltimore & Ohio-inspired paint scheme.

0-4-0T in motion

Contractors were on site in the far western West Virginia community of Kenova on Thursday, June 27, to extract the 0-4-0T from its longtime home in Kenova.

“KSHC is home to the locomotive and is in the process of working out an agreement with the owners to make (the locomotive) a permanent part of our yard attraction,” said Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp. President Chris Campbell.

“Kentucky Steam is pleased to once again partner with an individual and help showcase their equipment. A pending agreement will allow the locomotive to be restored and used on our property, providing us with a much-needed and agile steam locomotive to be part of our growing appeal of regionally relevant railroad equipment.”

According to the National Railway Historical Society Baltimore Chapter Facebook page, the 0-4-0T is Vulcan Iron Works locomotive No. 2886 and was built between December 1918 and January 1919 as W.E. Callihan Construction No. 1 in Columbus, Ohio, before moving to Williamsport, Maryland, as Potomac Edison Co. No. 1. The locomotive remained in service until the early 1960s before passing through a number of private owners and eventually being put on display in Kenova.

B&O Shortline Legacy Plan

In Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley Railroad repainted the original B&O EMD GP9 No. 6512 in the Baltimore & Ohio dark blue and yellow colors, now with a single yellow stripe on the top of the hood. The 62-year-old Geep was acquired by the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad in 2015 and shortly thereafter restored to its original scheme (see “B&O GP9 Restored to Original Colors,” The trains (News Wire, October 1, 2015) The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad, which also operates the Shenandoah Valley, purchased the geep locomotive from the Kanawha River Terminal coal transloading facility in Ceredo, West Virginia, where it wore the company’s green and orange livery. The switching railroad acquired the locomotive directly from the Class I railroad.

No. 6512 will continue to be used for freight service between Staunton and Pleasant Valley in north central Virginia. The short line, which connects with CSX and Norfolk Southern, also operates Alco RS-11 No. 367 in a Norfolk & Western-inspired livery and EMD GP9 No. 5940, sporting a Chesapeake & Ohio-inspired paint scheme.