News & Reviews News Wire Whitewater Valley Railroad debuts restored Lima switcher

Whitewater Valley Railroad debuts restored Lima switcher

By Trains Staff | August 7, 2024

Armco Steel unit had not run since 1989

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Black end-cab switcher with yellow stripes and lettering
The Whitewater Valley Railroad has restored Lima-Hamilton LS1000 No. 709 to operation about 35 years after it last ran. Whitewater Valley Railroad

CONNERSVILLE, Ind. — The Whitewater Valley Railroad, a museum and heritage railway in Connersville, has debuted restored 1949 Lima-Hamilton LS1000 switcher in excursion service.

The locomotive spent its career at Armco Steel Corp.’s Middletown and Miami Works before being donated to the museum by Armco in 1987. It operated at the Whitewater Valley until 1989, when it was determined it would need significant restoration work. With that work complete, the locomotive made its operating debut on a July 31 private charter, then made its public debut last weekend, Aug. 3-4, in an all-Lima weekend that also featured the museum’s former Cincinnati Union Terminal LS750 No. 25.

The museum runs a full schedule, mostly on weekends, the remainder of the year. More information is available in this Trains.com profile and at the Whitewater Valley website.

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