No. 3960 was displayed for 33 years in Canton but was moved in 1991 in an ill-fated attempt to restore it to operation by the Silver Throttle Engine and Museum, known by its acronym, STEAM. By 2006 it was in storage in Minerva, Ohio, as a stripped carcass and tender. In the 12 years since ownership issues and plans for the engine’s future were debated. The Canton offered the engine for sale and Age of Steam won the bid. No. 3960 was loaded onto flatbed truck trailers and moved to the roundhouse Oct. 9.
According to Age of Steam, between 1928 and 1940, the Brewster Shop built 20 0-8-0s and 30 0-6-0s of USRA design. All 50 locomotives had 51-inch driving wheels. No. 3960 was completed at Brewster at a cost of $28,686.56 on June 8, 1935. The coal burner had 41,200 pounds of tractive effort and boiler pressure of 200 pounds.
All 50 Brewster-built switchers became property of Nickel Plate Road when NKP leased W&LE on Dec. 1, 1949; No. 3960 became NKP No. 360. It made its last run Oct. 31, 1957. It was cosmetically restored in the Brewster Shop and placed in Mother Goose Land Park in Canton in 1958. It was re-lettered in 1973 to W&LE No. 3960.
Many appliances and parts were stolen over the decades the engine was displayed in Canton, although the Age of Steam does have some parts that have been stored in boxcars for over a decade. Age of Steam Roundhouse plans to perform a cosmetic restoration including a new cab and replacing rusted, lost, and stolen parts.
For more information go to http://www.ageofsteamroundhouse.com.
An interesting locomotive, I understand it has roller bearings on the main axles. I wonder if it will eventually get a full restoration.