Buffalo Creek and Gauley 4
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![]() No. 4 pulling an excursion train for the Quakertown and Eastern Railroad in 1969 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad No. 4 is a preserved 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive. It was constructed by Baldwin in 1926 as the only locomotive to be bought-new by the Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad. It served the railroad by pulling coal and lumber trains throughout Clay County, West Virginia until it was retired in 1965. No. 4 was restored to operating condition by the Quakertown and Eastern Railroad for excursion service, and it made its way to the North Carolina Transportation Museum in 1978. No. 4 was subsequently used to pull tourist trains across the museum's property in Spencer, North Carolina from when its multi-year overhaul was completed in 1986 to when its flue time expired in 2001. The locomotive spent fourteen years in storage, waiting for a rebuild that never came to fruition. In 2015, No. 4 was purchased by the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad, who moved it to their shops with the hopes of restoring it to run it on their trackage between Durbin and Cass, West Virginia.
History[]
Revenue service (1926-1965)[]
In the mid 1920s, the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (the National Railways of Mexico) ordered a new type of steam locomotive from the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This new steam locomotive was an oil-fired 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type, and it was planned to numbered 200. However, by the time the locomotive rolled out of the factory in September 1926, J.G. Bradley made a deal with Baldwin, and the locomotive was instead sold to the Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad (BC&G).[1]
It would become the only locomotive to ever be purchased-new by the BC&G, as every other locomotive they had rostored were purchased-used. After arriving in Clay County, West Virginia, the locomotive was modified with the BC&G's own features; it was renumbered to 4, it was converted to burn coal, the headlight was moved from the top to the center of the smokebox door, and a cylindrical air tank was installed on the pilot. The cowcatcher was also changed within later years.[2]
No. 4 was first assigned to haul coal and lumber between Widen, Swandale, and Dundon, where the trains it pulled would often interchange with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Sometimes, it would also pull passenger cars to carry coal miners and railroad men between their homes and the mines.[3] During revenue service, the locomotive became one of the most photographed steam locomotives in the Eastern United States.[4] No. 4 made its last run for the BC&G on February 27, 1965, as the railroad ended operations altogether that same day.[5] The locomotive would subsequently be stored cold for the next two years.
Early preservation (1967-1977)[]
In 1967, No. 4 was sold to Francis Ede, who moved it to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for use on his Quakertown and Eastern Railroad (Q&E). Repairs were made to the locomotive, and it subsequently pulled several mainline excursion trains across the state of Pennsylvania on the Lehigh Valley, the Reading, and the Penn Central. In 1970, William Young began calling No. 4 "Ol' Slobber Face", since moisture was constantly falling from the smokestack, resulting in most of the smokebox area to be continuously wet while operational. Many other crews also began to call No. 4 by this nickname as a result. However, 1970 was also the year Francis ceased all operations on the Q&E, and No. 4 was stored out of service again.
In February 1972, No. 4 was sold again to the Southwest Virginia Scenic Railroad (SVSR). The SVSR was formerly used as part of the Southern Railway's Bristol branch line that lied between Mendota and Bristol before it became a tourist railroad that was shortened to lie between Mendota and Hiltons. Upon arrival in Mendota, No. 4 was fired up again, and it began pulling tourist trains over the SVSR's trackage, but this operation only lasted three years. By the end of 1975, the SVSR filed for bankruptcy as a result of low ridership.
North Carolina Transportation Museum (1978-2015)[]
In 1978, the North Carolina Transportation Museum (NCTM) purchased No. 4 along with the SVSR's Ex-Reading passenger cars, and they moved them to their museum grounds in Spencer, North Carolina with the hopes of using them for their own tourist operations. The NCTM decided to give No. 4 a multi-year overhaul to ensure that the locomotive would be in good mechanical condition while operational on their trackage. They also decided to repaint the locomotive and renumber it to 604, in order to masquerade it as a Southern Railway KS-1 class similar to existing locomotives Nos 630 and 722. The overhaul had an estimated cost of $500,000. In 1986, No. 604 was steamed up once again, and the NCTM began using it to pull their three-mile on-site tourist trains alongside Graham County Railroad Shay No. 1925.[6][7]
As time flew by, No. 604 became one of the NCTM's star attractons.[8] Some further modifications were also made to it during the early 1990s; the number font on the tender was changed, the color of the smokebox was darkened, and the centered headlight was lowered by a few inches.[9] In 1995, during the 30th anniversary of the locomotive's first run on the BC&G, it was repainted to its original identity as BC&G No. 4 for a "BC&G Reunion Day". Six replicas of the original circular numberplate were made, and one of them was given to the locomotive, whereas the rest of them were given away to participants of the occasion. By the end of 1995, the locomotive became Southern No. 604 again while it resumed tourist service for the NCTM.[10] Its last run for the museum occurred in November 2001 before it was sidelined to receive an overhaul as required by new regulations by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
No. 604 was moved inside the NCTM's Spencer shops for some flue replacing, but the locomotive ended up being further torn down, as several parts needed to be replaced, including the smokebox. Meanwhile, its tender was put on static display behind Southern 2-8-0 No. 542, which would also be renumbered to 604 during that time. By 2014, the rebuild on No. 604 was cancelled in favor of the NCTM's higher priorities, including the rebuild of Norfolk and Western 4-8-4 No. 611.[11] The locomotive would remain stored, disassembled for one more year.
Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad (2015-present)[]
In 2015, the Durbin Greenbrier Valley Railroad (D&GVR) announced that they would purchase No. 604 for $150,000 from the NCTM's foundation with the goal of restoring it for operational purposes on their own trackage in West Virginia in its original BC&G livery.[12] During the summer of that year, the locomotive's boiler was separated from the frame and running gear, and they were each loaded onto separate trucks with oversized load banners.[13] The cab and the tender were also loaded onto separate trucks. By the end of the year, No. 604 has arrived in the Cass Scenic Railroad's trackage, and it has touched West Virginia soil for the first time since it was retired from the BC&G in 1965. Volunteers have made thickness measurements on the area of the boiler that needed repair work, and they were beginning to come up with a plan of action to complete the restoration. In the summer of 2016, No. 604 was moved inside the D&GVR's locomotive shops in Cass, so that restoration work would begin. Restoration was planned to be completed in September 2016 during the locomotive's 90th birthday, but due to their efforts being concentrated on their geared shay locomotives, work on No. 604 has been postponed as time flew by. Although they have inspected the running gear, the frame, the tender, and the boiler, which were all deemed to be in good condition, the firebox and both flue sheets needed to either be repaired or be replaced, in order to meet FRA standards. In February 2022, the D&GVR reached an agreement with the Sistersville Tank Works Incorporated of Sistersville, West Virginia to construct a brand new boiler for the locomotive, since the original boiler is in poor condition as a result of being used for several decades.[14] After construction of the new boiler is completed, restoration work on the locomotive is estimated to take one year to complete. Once the locomotive is operational again, it will be renumbered back to 4, and it will pull fifteen-mile excursion trains between Cass and Durbin, West Virginia.[15]
Other preserved 2-8-0s[]
- Lake Superior and Ishpeming 18
- Grand Canyon Railway 29
- Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 734
- Southern Railway 385
- Southern Railway 542
- Southern Railway 630
- Tennessee Valley Railroad 610
- Illinois Central Railroad No. 790
- Great Western 60
External links[]
References[]
- ^ "Buffalo Creek & Gauley 2-8-0 "Consolidation" Locomotives in the USA". www.steamlocomotive.com. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
- ^ Hanson, Robert H. (1993). "Review of Buffalo Creek & Gauley". Railroad History (168): 93–94. ISSN 0090-7847.
- ^ "Buffalo Creek & Gauley Railroad: Map, Roster, Photos". American-Rails.com. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
- ^ "Loco14". www.buffalocreekandgauley.com. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
- ^ "TERRI". www.buffalocreekandgauley.com. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
- ^ Southern 2-8-0 #604 at Spencer NC (April, 1988), retrieved 2021-12-30
- ^ "Sires Photography: Trains: USA: South Carolina". www.angelfire.com. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
- ^ "HawkinsRails - North Carolina Transportation Museum". hawkinsrails.net. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
- ^ SPENCER 604 @ NC Transportation Museum, retrieved 2021-12-30
- ^ "West Virginia Short Lines and Industrial Railroads". donsdepot.donrossgroup.net. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ "VIDEO: Norfolk & Western 611 steam test: All systems go | Trains Magazine". Trains. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
- ^ "Charleston Daily Mail – "Slobberface" Rides Again". Mountain Rail WV. 2015-08-10. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ "You never give up on a good locomotive - Trains Magazine - Trains News Wire, Railroad News, Railroad Industry News, Web Cams, and Forms". cs.trains.com. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ says, Leo Ames. "New boiler will allow Buffalo Creek & Gauley No. 4 to run again". Trains. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
- ^ "BC&G #4 returning to W.Va. for restoration/operation [Archive] - Trainz Discussion Forums". forums.auran.com. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- 2-8-0 locomotives
- Baldwin locomotives
- Preserved steam locomotives of the United States
- Individual locomotives of the United States
- Preserved steam locomotives of West Virginia
- Railway locomotives introduced in 1926
- Freight locomotives
- Standard gauge steam locomotives
- Standard gauge locomotives of the United States