Cosmetic restoration completed on Wabash E8 No. 1009 NEWSWIRE

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Norfolk Southern has completed the cosmetic restoration of the Virginia Museum of Transportation’s Wabash E8 No. 1009. The unit was the 10,000^th diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division, commemorated on June 14, 1951, at its La Grange, Ill., facility.

The locomotive saw service pulling streamliners such as the Blue Bird and Banner Blue. In 1964 the Norfolk & Western acquired the Wabash, and upon retirement, No. 1009 was donated to the Roanoke, Va., museum. After falling victim to a flood in 1985, the unit fell into a state of disrepair for many years, with its side sheets missing. In 2012, it was sent to Norfolk Southern’s East End Shop in Roanoke for a cosmetic rebuild. At the end of 2013 it was moved to the NS paint shop in Chattanooga where it was painted into its as-delivered Wabash scheme. The final touches were applied on March 3.

The locomotive will return to display at the VMT, but will be on the move again in May. It will celebrate its 63^rd birthday during the Streamliners at Spencer event at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, N.C., from May 29 through June 1.