Name: Western Maryland locomotive 1309
Builder: Baldwin Locomotive Works
Wheel arrangement: 2-6-6-2 Mallet (Articulated)
Build date: November 1949
Why it’s important: The 1309 is one of the largest regularly operating steam locomotives in the United States. The big 2-6-6-2 originally belonged to the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, where it was one of 10 class H-6 compound articulated Mallets. It primarily hauled coal trains in Kentucky and West Virginia, but its service life was short. The 1309 was just seven years old when it retired in 1956. It was moved to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Md., in 1972 and remained on static display until 2014, when it moved to the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad to undergo a lengthy restoration to operating condition. The work was funded, in part, by more than $275,000 in donations raised through a Trains Magazine campaign. The 1309 moved under its own power for the first time in 64 years on the last day of 2020.
Fun fact: The 1309 is the last steam engine built for the domestic market by Baldwin Locomotive Works.
Location: Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, Cumberland, Md.
Website: wmsr.com
Video: Watch Western Maryland 1309 in an episode of Trains Trackside…exclusively on Trains.com Video
