CUMBERLAND, Md. — Public TV series Great Scenic Railway Journeys has joined with the restoration effort for Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 2-8-0 No. 734, launching a $10,000 donation-match program for the restoration project.
The program is offering a dollar-for-dollar match up to $10,000 for the effort to return the locomotive to operating condition. The 2-8-0, built by Baldwin in 1916 for the Lake Superior & Ishpeming, was acquired from the Illinois Railway Museum in 1992. Renumbered to No. 734 from LS&I No. 34, and restored to resemble a Western Maryland Railway H-7, H-8, and H-9 classes of 2-8-0, and returned to running condition on the Western Maryland Scenic beginning in 1993. It has been idle since reaching the need for its Federal Railroad Adminstration 1,472-day inspection and rebuild in 2016.
The railroad’s latest update says the locomotive is now in the shop for running gear evaluation, ultrasound mapping, and removal of accessories and plumbing.
For more information or to donate, visit the “Mountain Thunder” website.
