HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp. has added a C30-7 diesel to its collection, a gif from the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society.
The locomotive is one of 44 of the road-switchers ordered by the Louisville & Nashville from General Electric in 1979-80, and spent most of its operating life with CSX Transportation. Retired by CSX in 1999, the locomotive was painted in Marshall University colors by the railroad’s Huntington Shop and used at university functions for years. It was eventually given to the historical society in 2017.
“This is an exciting and unique addition to our collection,” Chris Campbell, Kentucky Steam founder and president, said in a press release. “[No.] 7067 represents a quickly-vanishing era in railroading that is in many ways being forgotten, and this locomotive has historical relevance to our region as it and many others like it were once based at our facility in Estill County, Ky.”
Kentucky Steam plans to repaint the non-operable locomotive into its original L&N Family Lines paint scheme and make it an interactive display at the group’s developing campus in Ravenna, Ky., where it is restoring former C&O steam locomotive No. 2716.
Kentucky Steam plans to work on moving the engine this summer, and will be hosting a fundraiser to pay for prep costs. Campbell said Kentucky Steam is happy to accept the donation of the 7067, although the acquisition was not foreseen before this spring.
“As we develop our railroad campus, it’s important to pay homage to the various eras of railroading that have been important to the Appalachian Region,” Campbell said. “This locomotive will honor a more recent era, one in which several of our members actually participated.”
Nice glad to see that a C30-7 has found a preservation home although kinda sad that it’s just a shell and all the air vents have been removed and welded over with sheet metal but is it possible to reinstall some radiator vents and air intake grills to at least make it look like an actual engine on the outside again? I hope so.