This former Pennsylvania Railroad E8 will soon be looking like an Illinois Central unit at Monticello Railway Museum.
Steve Smedley
MONTICELLO, ILL. — After 13 years of work by one member who made the restoration of an E8 his personal mission, the Monticello Railway Museum is on the verge of a breakthrough: an Illinois Central-painted unit to match its amazing collection of restored IC passenger cars.
Former Pennsylvania Railroad E8 No. 5764, last used by the Tennessee Central Railroad Museum in Nashville, Tenn., was turned earlier this month so that work can focus on the engineer’s side of this classic covered wagon. The unit will be painted in chocolate brown and orange and lettered and numbered IC No. 4044, one unit above the last IC E-unit.
‘’That’s how we came up with 4044 as a road number,’’ says John Downing of White Heath, Ill., who bought the engine in 2002. “I had to install a headlight nose door and handrails and fabricated steel eyelashes for class light hoods — all key to an authentic Illinois Central replica.
Downing, a 71-year-old retired United States Air Force Master Sergeant who spent his career in missile development, says he bought an extra truck from a scrapper in Little Rock, Ark., and three sets of axle motors and wheel sets for insurance. He calls himself a perfectionist, which is why the project began in 2004 and is just now finishing up.
John Sciutto, museum past president, says he hopes to see No. 4044 in service by November 2018 to power the museum’s popular Polar Express Train. Wabash F7 No. 1189 has pulled the train.
Trains will feature classic cab units like No. 4044 in a 10-page feature in its February issue, arriving at subscribers’ homes soon and on sale everywhere Jan. 9.
Former Pennsylvania Railroad E8 No. 5764, last used by the Tennessee Central Railroad Museum in Nashville, Tenn., was turned earlier this month so that work can focus on the engineer’s side of this classic covered wagon. The unit will be painted in chocolate brown and orange and lettered and numbered IC No. 4044, one unit above the last IC E-unit.
‘’That’s how we came up with 4044 as a road number,’’ says John Downing of White Heath, Ill., who bought the engine in 2002. “I had to install a headlight nose door and handrails and fabricated steel eyelashes for class light hoods — all key to an authentic Illinois Central replica.
Downing, a 71-year-old retired United States Air Force Master Sergeant who spent his career in missile development, says he bought an extra truck from a scrapper in Little Rock, Ark., and three sets of axle motors and wheel sets for insurance. He calls himself a perfectionist, which is why the project began in 2004 and is just now finishing up.
John Sciutto, museum past president, says he hopes to see No. 4044 in service by November 2018 to power the museum’s popular Polar Express Train. Wabash F7 No. 1189 has pulled the train.
Trains will feature classic cab units like No. 4044 in a 10-page feature in its February issue, arriving at subscribers’ homes soon and on sale everywhere Jan. 9.
In the classic car world it is known as a clone. Restored but adding details and different paint to represent a different model, something from the past. None the less Beautiful.
Totally Awesome to read this news!!! Maybe one day they can borrow a 2nd E8 from Iowa Pacific & put on a different numberboard like the did on those trips on the Grenada Railway for those fan trips back in January 2016.
#HaraldKrewer, the early 1960’s was the start of a depressing period for American passenger trains. With dwindling revenues, no new fleet of passenger cars and locomotives were ordered for the first time in a generation. Existing rolling stock were becoming worn and neglected. To add insult to injury, many railways adopted bland solid paint schemes on battered locomotives that had already been shorn of skirting that gave them a glamorous appearance in the past.
The idea of restoration and/or attribute to equipment of another railway is to represent a period of its prime rather than decline. This is the principle museums follow in the name of preservation. An art deco trim would not be left on an antebellum mansion under restoration.
Congratulations to Mr John Downing on the near completion of his long tedious project!
As a “perfectionist”, Mr Downing must not overlook restoring full skirting around the fuel tanks for full factory delivered appearance of Illinois Central E8’s. IC E8’s also had hatches over the nose couplers.
Previously, PAUL E VINSON wrote:
“Congratulations to Mr John Downing on the near completion of his long tedious project!
As a “perfectionist”, Mr Downing must not overlook restoring full skirting around the fuel tanks for full factory delivered appearance of Illinois Central E8’s. IC E8’s also had hatches over the nose couplers.”
Who are you to say that a “perfect” restoration must be as it was the day it was delivered? Hell, this isn’t even an IC unit to begin with, so by your standards it has to be in PRR Tuscan and pinstripes.
What sets a “proper” restoration (or in this case, re-creation) job apart is does it accurately represent the artifact AT A PARTICULAR POINT IN ITS HISTORY. Mr. Dowling is doing a fantastic and meticulous job of making this unit appear as an IC E8 would in the early 1960s, which is consistent with the era and appearance of the passenger cars MRM has for it to pull.
Sadly, WAY too many museums and tourist operations would go to this level of effort in creating an accurate replica of a particular prototype and then properly interpret it as a replica. As some would say, “A bucket of paint makes it what it ain’t!”
This unit and the replica Santa Fe F unit in Frisco, TX (made from a CN F9) are two of the very few that can truly be described as “done right.” Kudos to Mr. Downing for this truly remarkable job and I look forward to seeing her pulling IC passengers cars soon…maybe even out of Decatur on the NS Santa Train some December??
It is an E8. It doesn’t have the grill on yet.
DOUG POTTER
“I’m no railroad expert, but that doesn’t look like an E8 to me”
Well Doug, you better get your eyes checked.
Fantastic! Another reason to visit my sister in Champaign and slip in a side trip to Monticello,
I’m glad another E8 is being preserved, in a way. Honestly i’m not quite sure what I think about this practice of modeling in full scale – that is, modifying one historic artifact to represent another. I know the guys in Galveston TX got some grief about painting those old SP f7s like they’re Santa Fe warbonnets, but i’ll admit that the effect is compelling. In the end, I guess railroad museums have enough challenges, they might as well curate exhibits that are locally relevant whenever possible.
Wonderful!
That’s great news! It;s great that the owner and museum are paying so much attention to the details.
Doug, what does it look like then?
I’m no railroad expert, but that doesn’t look like an E8 to me