ALTOONA, Pa. – With the inspection, cleaning and conditioning of the drivers of former Pennsylvania Railroad Class K4s 4-6-2 steam engine No. 1361 by Strasburg Rail Road’s mechanical department, the locomotive’s $2.4 million restoration has moved symbolically past the halfway point, according to the engine’s owner, the Railroaders Memorial Museum.
The six 80-inch drivers made the 170-mile trip from Altoona to Strasburg, Pa., in December, according to Joseph DeFrancesco, museum executive director. Strasburg’s crew, he said, found that previous work on them was within both general mechanical specs and compliant with Federal Railroad Administration tolerances. They are expected to return to Altoona in February or March, at which time they’ll be cocooned until the frame, boiler, firebox, and cab are ready for reassembly.
“They had sat for some 20 years,” noted DeFrancesco, adding that Strasburg’s inspection means that no turning or reprofiling will be needed. “They’re good the way they are.”
Brendan Zeigler, Strasburg’s vice president and chief mechanical officer, said the company is proud to play a role in the work. “This project means a lot to many people and it’s an honor assisting with its restoration,” he said.
DeFrancesco noted that phasing the work was an important consideration. Hiring Strasburg to do the work now was crucial, he said, because within a few months, the shop will be occupied with a combination of the short line’s own work and the restoration of Chesapeake & Ohio 4-8-4 engine No. 614 [see “New group buys C&O 4-8-4 …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 8, 2024].
No. 1361, built in Altoona’s PRR Juniata Shops in 1918, was retired in 1957 and placed on display in the trackside park at the nearby railroad landmark Horseshoe Curve. In 1985, Conrail moved it to the same shops for restoration, and it ran briefly in excursion service in 1987-88. After a series of management and mechanical issues sidelined the engine, several efforts to restart the work — including a stint at Steamtown National Historic Park’s shop — went nowhere. The engine sat in pieces until 2021, when a reconstituted museum board, with industry leaders Wick Moorman and Bennett Levin in charge, announced a revival of the restoration [see “PRR K4s engine No. 1361 to be restored …,” News Wire, June 25, 2021].
Since then, FMW Solutions, widely known in the steam-locomotive restoration field, has served as prime contractor for the work, with the museum supplying skilled volunteers, many of them with training as employees at Norfolk Southern’s Juniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona.
$900,000 needed
Between funds already raised and pledged over the next three years, DeFrancesco said the project has amassed $1.5 million, with about $900,000 still needed to put the engine under steam. For 2025, the museum hopes to raise $500,000.
Welding and riveting is done on No. 1361’s outer firebox sheets, with fitting and drilling of the inner sheets scheduled next, DeFrancesco said, followed by installation of about 2,000 staybolts.
Once the firebox is completed and reattached to the boiler, the superstructure can be mated with the frame and running gear. The pace of work – and thus the museum’s ability to forecast a completion date – depends on the speed of contributions, DeFrancesco said.
“We’re looking at the next $300,000 for boiler work,” he said. That will mean driving of the staybolts. The challenge, he said, is to “keep production at a rate to match donations.”
“This is an exciting phase of the project because the goal line is within sight,” he said. “We’re past the 50-yard line in support. It can be done, it’s attainable. We welcome folks who have watched the project and haven’t [yet] donated, to support it. It’s an American icon coming back to life, one piece at a time.
Retired NS execs helping
Donald D. Graab, retired NS vice president-mechanical at the railroad’s Atlanta headquarters who now sits on the museum board and co-chairs the K4s restoration committee, told News Wire, “I think the firebox has always been a big hurdle to clear. Putting it back together is complex, and then we’ll be moving on to other complex things, like the running gear. As the day approaches when we’re putting in the flues, things could come together pretty nicely.” The dozens upon dozens of already-purchased flues and superheater tubes are already on hand, in storage at the museum.
“The addition of Strasburg Mechanical Services is a very positive development,” Graab said. “Bringing these resources together is more collaborative than otherwise possible.”
He noted that “The tender is done, from trucks to body work, stoker; it’s even painted. I don’t foresee the cab as being a big hurdle.”
One task lying ahead, he said, is “converting to [modern] 26L air brake [system]. Our lead volunteer, Mike Reindl, is a machinist who’s acquainted with these things.”
Other work includes frame, shoe, and wedge machining; spring rigging repair; trailing- truck equalization; and steam chest repairs.
DeFrancesco added that the cab is currently at Curry Rail Services in nearby Hollidaysburg for reconditioning, work he said is being sponsored by another board member, Curry President Mark Ritchey.
Graab voiced the question everyone asks: “One unanswered question is, what’s the prospects of running it on a Class 1? Are we going to find a way to install positive train control? That’s more of a bridge that we cross when we get there, and we’d welcome that. There’s chatter in the industry about ideally setting up a collaborative effort” to bring PTC technology within the financial reach of steam operators by spreading the costs among multiple engines.
In a related development to the fundraising announcement, the museum has named Ernie McClellan, retired general superintendent of the Juniata Locomotive Shop, as a part-time consultant to oversee the project. In his NS role, McClellan once reported to Graab.
“Ernie’s a wealth of knowledge,” said Graab. “Like me, he wasn’t really a steam guy, but is a welding guy [and] that’s important in the world of fireboxes and boilers. He’s widely respected in Norfolk Southern.”
DeFrancesco added that the appointment also means “a morale boost [for the] volunteers. These were his workers at the shops.”
Donations for the 1361’s restoration can be made at railroadcity.org/k4restoration.
