On Wednesday, Steamtown awarded a $148,600 contract to the Strasburg Rail Road to build a brand new firebox for the big Lima-built Pacific. On Thursday, the locomotive’s cab, which was recently restored by a contractor in the Scranton area, is expected to return to the park and will be on display this weekend during the annual Railfest celebration.
Robert John Davis, a volunteer with Project 3713, the non-profit group raising money to restore the locomotive, said getting the firebox contracted is a major step forward for the restoration that has been slowly progressing since the 1990s. “It’s a big deal,” he says. “We’re on a roll now.”
Park Service officials say the locomotive needs about $1.5 million to run; half of that money will come from the federal government and the other half will be raised by Project 3713. Davis says in the last two years, the group has raised about $350,000. The money for the firebox, which is expected to be completed by August 2019, is coming from the National Park Service.
Project Manager Bruce Mowbray tells Trains News Wire that a lot of work still needs to be done, but now that Baldwin Locomotive Works No. 26 is running again, his team can redouble its efforts on the B&M locomotive. Work is also needed on the running gear, the locomotive and tender frames, the stoker system, lead and trailing trucks, and more. Steamtown is also looking at installing Positive Train Control on the locomotive.
Mowbray says when the locomotive will run again depends entirely on funding and manpower. However, everyone is optimistic that the locomotive will run in the coming years.
“It’s exciting,” he says. “When it rolls out of the shops, It will be a locomotive that all Americans will be proud of.”
Rob Davis- 3713 was never displayed at South Carver. I was a regular visitor at Edaville and I can assure you of that fact. She was way too big and heavy to truck there. I agree that it would be nice to see photos of her during the period 1956 – 1960. I heard that one of the times she was used for snow melter duty was in the late-winter of 1958, out of East Fitchburg. I also heard that she was on stationary steam duty, but that may have been the 600-series 0-8-0 which was also kept after 1956. There are these various stories, but no photos ! I saw her at Pleasure Island Park in the summer of 1959 – There were 2 long straight tracks there with the various locos on display, including the blue B&M E-unit which was not preserved later.
You missed an important part of its history. From 1969 to 1985, 3713 was displayed at the Boston Museum of Science on McGrath Hwy on the Charles River Dam. MoS wanted to put its IMAX where the loco was, and it was moved directly from Boston to Scranton in 1985. D C Daugherty was the contractor for the move.
The B&M 3713 was never on display at Edaville RR – it was far too big and heavy to truck to South Carver. The B&M engine which was displayed at Edaville for many years was the smaller commuter 2-6-0 1455 and a couple of old coaches. The 3713 was displayed at the Pleasure Island Park in Wakefield MA in 1959, then went to the Steamtown collection at North Walpole NH, and then for years on display at the Museum of Science in Boston (shipped there by barge). From 1956 to 1959 it was kept at the B&M roundhouse in East Fitchburg where it was equipped for snow-melter duty. I don’t know how accurate this is but I heard in April 1956 that it had spent the 1955-56 winter at Rigby Yard in Portland ME as standby power for Boston- Portland express trains.
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Its to bad that when a lot of these restorations are complete many of us will be dead .
Ron – The “official” history of #3713 is that she was in South Carver immediately before moving to Pleasure Island. I have wondered about this myself, as I have not seen any photos. It would be interesting if anyone has photos of her to share in 1958/9. – Rob
I remember checking it out at the MoS in Boston in 1980 while at school there. It was fenced in and hard to get a close view, but still, impressive. It will be great to see it running again.