2025 UPDATE: 4. No. 614 is now under the ownership of RJD America LLC and is slated for operational restoration with Strasburg Rail Road Mechanical Services. 3. Efforts have restarted in earnest on No. 1361 under renewed leadership at the Railroaders Memorial Museum and contractor FMW Solutions. Work will include a replacement firebox, and frame, roller bearing and running gear work. While you're here, SUBSCRIBE for the most riveting stories in railroading!
Thank you for putting these videos out. I loved steam locomotives since I rode on a train from New York City to Cleveland, Ohio where my parents moved to in 1957 when I was three years old. I still remember seeing a steam locomotive up close as the memory is still in my head. I love that many are still being restored and brought back to life.
In 1998, I was lucky enough to obtain a ticket through a New Jersey state representative for the C&O 614 round trip fall excursion from Hoboken, NJ to Port Jervis, NY and back. It was a trip of a lifetime for me. I was born in 1950 and remember seeing steam powered trains as a kid.
DISCLAIMER: This video was my first documentary video, worked on from late May to late July 2018. As such, it does not meet the current Pennsy Productions quality standard. This is not the quality you should come to expect from Pennsy Productions, and my future videos will be much higher quality than what you see here.
Great to see a retired steam excursion star vid with Cn 3254 and I hope she will steam again one day again just like cp 2317 and 3713 and also I hope 1361 will steam again one day too as well
@@PennsyProyou serious she may need a new boiler why? Is it because of the catastrophic failure of the main bearing and driving axle? but besides needing a new boiler maybe what else needs to be done to bring back to service after be non operational for over the past 3 decades
@@atsfevan0242 The crew figured that no matter how carefully the old boiler was restored, lawyers and insurance underwriters would find it to be a liability risk. They want to make sure that no matter where the 1361 runs, no one will bring up the issue of noncompliance. The catastrophic failure has nothing to do with the boiler. Most of the other grunt work of the restoration was done when the locomotive was at Steamtown. The K4 project is now moving at a good pace, led by private car owner Bennett Levin, best known for owning and operating a pair of vintage PRR E8 diesels.
I really hope 1361 returns to service. I owned this one movie as a child that featured 1361 as "The Pride Of Altoona" I believe, and I loved it. That engine holds so much sentimental value to me, along with many other people I'm sure of. One can hope that she'll come back soon.
That whistle will always ring though the Scranton valley, being a long reminder of the greatest loco, someday we will see here again, but not now as 3254, if only they can get rid of her, if they could, I’d like to see here go to Conway scenic and get reunited with CNR/GTW 7470
I'll donate money to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania to restore the 6755 back to operation so it can triplehead with 1361 and 5550. And a quntupleheader with NYC 3001, SLSF 1522, GTW 6039 and Illinois Central 2500.
2317 is sitting in the roundhouse at Steamtown as of today. Park Rangers state that 3713 won’t operate for at least 5 years because restoration solely rely’s on public donations. So, Steamtown only has the 26 doing yard excursions and a NP GP9 doing excursions to Moscow, Pa.
You never did a segment on ex-CP/Steamtown 1278/127. You briefly mentioned her in 3254's segment, but never gave her a spot in the line up when she is perhaps the most influential of all former excursion engines in the US, and has the story of a true fallen star. From being Nelson Blount's Favorite Engine, being the one he chose to give "The Steamtown Beauty Treatment" by changing the ugly coil-style elesco feedwater heater to the much better looking bundle style elesco, giving her a smokebox mounted swing bell, a Pyle National visored headlight with winged number boards, jet black paint and whitewall drivers and shortening her number to 127, shortly after which she pretty much jumpstarted the whole trend of mainline Steam Excursions in the diesel era by being the first locomotive on Ross Rowland's High Iron Company touring most of the northeast, doubleheading with Strasburg 90, working briefly in michigan on a shortline, then returning to vermont until the move to Scranton where she was traded to that horrid Gettysburg line. There, a once proud Star and founding engine of mainline excursions fell from grace by being used, abused, and neglected by a redneck railroad and it's incompetent owners and crew, in blatant violation of the FRA's safety and maintenance guidelines, until that fateful day when her crownsheet failed because of said crew's incompetence which resulted in her sightglass getting plugged solid with scale and the substandard operational ability of essential boiler feedwater systems among other numerous mechanical deficiencies. The only benefit that came from her suffering was the increased attention given to the development of 49 CFR part 230. But of all engines that Steamtown had to trade for 3254, they had to chose the Founder's favorite engine, which is completely idiotic. The poor engine languished in shame and pain until Jerry Jacobsen bought her and at least made her somewhat comfortable in AOS roundhouse, being reunited with one of her CP and Steamtown Sisters, 1293. But still, today 1278 is largely forgotten about, and when she's brought up in forums, the only thing that's ever mentioned is "Oh that's the engine that blew up at Gettysburg, what a piece of junk." Most of these guys that are no better than foamers have not read the NTSB report and take into consideration that the accident was NOT the engine's fault, nor do they research far back into her very rich history to see what an important role she played in the development of Mainline Steam Excursions and Steam Preservation as a whole in this country. She's a very important engine that deserves to be remembered, more specifically for all the good she's done, not the bad.
Thank you very much for your feedback. I understand that the 1278 was a very influential locomotive in the steam excursion industry; in both good ways and bad ways. And I realize that the crew was to blame for the terrible accident, and the Gettysburg Railroad is a textbook case of improper steam locomotive maintenance. Looking back, I think I should have given no. 1278 the number 5 spot, maybe even higher. I might make a fourth video of honorable mentions and ones I overlooked, and if I do, 1278 will certainly be on that list. Thanks again for your feedback.
@@andywalton5719 Your comment makes no sense. 3254 hasn't run for 8 years and is unlikely to ever run again. She was already a tired horse on the Gettysburg before the trade since her bent frame dates back to her CN days, Steamtown just kept her held together with spit, shit, and bailing wire until she was just plain mechanically unsafe to operate anymore. She had tube time left when they stopped running her, but her boiler had horrible knuckle grooving and stress crack formation, and her running gear in general is just plain shot on top of the frame issues she's been limping along with for decades, so she's clapped out.
I know the tender for 1361 is close to completion if not already completed, but the second part I would have to research and confirm. I have my hands full at the moment so I don't have much time to do that.
1361 to me is the saddest. She did do well after the fall of PRR. She had to be broken apart after her poor crippled state when doing her excursions. Although, I do hope that she is getting her work complete by the next few years Edit: 1361 is getting all her bolts and hinges via from scratch. Up to date, they also fixed up her tender.
To put it simply, there were many, many issues with the locomotive's boiler and firebox, and these issues led to the overwhelming cost that Steamtown had to take on. Because of these issues, it has been decided that a brand-new welded boiler will be built. The restoration is now being led by private car owner Bennett Levin and former Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman, two very well-established names in the railroad preservation industry.
@@PennsyPro I am aware of that. The real issue is that they should never let it go so far from being FRA coded. it is a sitting pile of rust now. The Pennsy and Norfolk Southern has always been very frugal in its system running. When I was working at the West End car shop in Elkhart we worked to very specific tolerences for the freight car repair work and air brake protection. The K4 should have been ONLY stored in that fashion and funded by both the state of Pennsylvania and the railroad itself period as a lasting legacy of Our railroad's legacy.
2025 UPDATE:
4. No. 614 is now under the ownership of RJD America LLC and is slated for operational restoration with Strasburg Rail Road Mechanical Services.
3. Efforts have restarted in earnest on No. 1361 under renewed leadership at the Railroaders Memorial Museum and contractor FMW Solutions. Work will include a replacement firebox, and frame, roller bearing and running gear work.
While you're here, SUBSCRIBE for the most riveting stories in railroading!
Thank you for putting these videos out. I loved steam locomotives since I rode on a train from New York City to Cleveland, Ohio where my parents moved to in 1957 when I was three years old. I still remember seeing a steam locomotive up close as the memory is still in my head. I love that many are still being restored and brought back to life.
In 1998, I was lucky enough to obtain a ticket through a New Jersey state representative for the C&O 614 round trip fall excursion from Hoboken, NJ to Port Jervis, NY and back. It was a trip of a lifetime for me. I was born in 1950 and remember seeing steam powered trains as a kid.
My Uncle did too
DISCLAIMER: This video was my first documentary video, worked on from late May to late July 2018. As such, it does not meet the current Pennsy Productions quality standard. This is not the quality you should come to expect from Pennsy Productions, and my future videos will be much higher quality than what you see here.
Great to see a retired steam excursion star vid with Cn 3254 and I hope she will steam again one day again just like cp 2317 and 3713 and also I hope 1361 will steam again one day too as well
From what I heard, the 1361 will need a new boiler built before she can run again. There's just too many problems with the current one.
@@PennsyProyou serious she may need a new boiler why? Is it because of the catastrophic failure of the main bearing and driving axle? but besides needing a new boiler maybe what else needs to be done to bring back to service after be non operational for over the past 3 decades
@@atsfevan0242 The crew figured that no matter how carefully the old boiler was restored, lawyers and insurance underwriters would find it to be a liability risk. They want to make sure that no matter where the 1361 runs, no one will bring up the issue of noncompliance. The catastrophic failure has nothing to do with the boiler. Most of the other grunt work of the restoration was done when the locomotive was at Steamtown. The K4 project is now moving at a good pace, led by private car owner Bennett Levin, best known for owning and operating a pair of vintage PRR E8 diesels.
I see well thanks though and I hope she's be under steam again in under a few years plus I wish your channel good luck in the near future to come
I wish that they had the money to finish 1361
These two videos are fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing.
I really hope 1361 returns to service. I owned this one movie as a child that featured 1361 as "The Pride Of Altoona" I believe, and I loved it. That engine holds so much sentimental value to me, along with many other people I'm sure of. One can hope that she'll come back soon.
update: it is
Also Update from November of 2024, #4 C&O 614 is not done yet. It has been sold to RJD America for restoration.
That whistle will always ring though the Scranton valley, being a long reminder of the greatest loco, someday we will see here again, but not now as 3254, if only they can get rid of her, if they could, I’d like to see here go to Conway scenic and get reunited with CNR/GTW 7470
Along with MEC 501 which is currently undergoing a restoration.
That's si tru
God, if 1361 ever runs again, along with m1b 6755, I will be happy, as the k4s’s and M1A & M1B’s are some of my favorites.
I'll donate money to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania to restore the 6755 back to operation so it can triplehead with 1361 and 5550. And a quntupleheader with NYC 3001, SLSF 1522, GTW 6039 and Illinois Central 2500.
1361 will see steam some time through 2022-2025 (maybe)
As of now, no. I would say 2025 or later, all though it could be sooner than once thought depending on funding.
2317 is sitting in the roundhouse at Steamtown as of today. Park Rangers state that 3713 won’t operate for at least 5 years because restoration solely rely’s on public donations. So, Steamtown only has the 26 doing yard excursions and a NP GP9 doing excursions to Moscow, Pa.
i hope to see 614 return to operating condition someday, and hopefully soon. :D
I still believe that CN 3254 will be restored and returned to service within this decade.
I wish 3254 was back in service because it was my favorite locomotive
Interestingly enough:
1361 was the first ever prr excursion star i ever saw
1361 was the only PRR locomotive to ever be restored to operation so it makes sense
The one GPE passenger you showed Crater Lake is now owned by NH&I and is used there
I love 1361's whistle 😍 💕 ♥️ ❤️ 💓 💗
You never did a segment on ex-CP/Steamtown 1278/127. You briefly mentioned her in 3254's segment, but never gave her a spot in the line up when she is perhaps the most influential of all former excursion engines in the US, and has the story of a true fallen star. From being Nelson Blount's Favorite Engine, being the one he chose to give "The Steamtown Beauty Treatment" by changing the ugly coil-style elesco feedwater heater to the much better looking bundle style elesco, giving her a smokebox mounted swing bell, a Pyle National visored headlight with winged number boards, jet black paint and whitewall drivers and shortening her number to 127, shortly after which she pretty much jumpstarted the whole trend of mainline Steam Excursions in the diesel era by being the first locomotive on Ross Rowland's High Iron Company touring most of the northeast, doubleheading with Strasburg 90, working briefly in michigan on a shortline, then returning to vermont until the move to Scranton where she was traded to that horrid Gettysburg line. There, a once proud Star and founding engine of mainline excursions fell from grace by being used, abused, and neglected by a redneck railroad and it's incompetent owners and crew, in blatant violation of the FRA's safety and maintenance guidelines, until that fateful day when her crownsheet failed because of said crew's incompetence which resulted in her sightglass getting plugged solid with scale and the substandard operational ability of essential boiler feedwater systems among other numerous mechanical deficiencies. The only benefit that came from her suffering was the increased attention given to the development of 49 CFR part 230. But of all engines that Steamtown had to trade for 3254, they had to chose the Founder's favorite engine, which is completely idiotic. The poor engine languished in shame and pain until Jerry Jacobsen bought her and at least made her somewhat comfortable in AOS roundhouse, being reunited with one of her CP and Steamtown Sisters, 1293. But still, today 1278 is largely forgotten about, and when she's brought up in forums, the only thing that's ever mentioned is "Oh that's the engine that blew up at Gettysburg, what a piece of junk." Most of these guys that are no better than foamers have not read the NTSB report and take into consideration that the accident was NOT the engine's fault, nor do they research far back into her very rich history to see what an important role she played in the development of Mainline Steam Excursions and Steam Preservation as a whole in this country. She's a very important engine that deserves to be remembered, more specifically for all the good she's done, not the bad.
Thank you very much for your feedback. I understand that the 1278 was a very influential locomotive in the steam excursion industry; in both good ways and bad ways. And I realize that the crew was to blame for the terrible accident, and the Gettysburg Railroad is a textbook case of improper steam locomotive maintenance. Looking back, I think I should have given no. 1278 the number 5 spot, maybe even higher. I might make a fourth video of honorable mentions and ones I overlooked, and if I do, 1278 will certainly be on that list. Thanks again for your feedback.
Let's Sideline C.N. 3254 For Repairs to Make it The Most Famous Steamer Ever.
@@andywalton5719 Your comment makes no sense. 3254 hasn't run for 8 years and is unlikely to ever run again. She was already a tired horse on the Gettysburg before the trade since her bent frame dates back to her CN days, Steamtown just kept her held together with spit, shit, and bailing wire until she was just plain mechanically unsafe to operate anymore. She had tube time left when they stopped running her, but her boiler had horrible knuckle grooving and stress crack formation, and her running gear in general is just plain shot on top of the frame issues she's been limping along with for decades, so she's clapped out.
The music bed is way way too loud in the first 4 minutes, it really is pretty well redundant.
1:33 that's a older pic of #26 because its black then they found out it was supposed be olive green
Louisville and Nashville M-1 1992.
One quescion, is B&M 3717 still around today
No.
I think the 3254 has been forgotten ever since it was pulled for service and it seems like only a few people talk about it still talk about it
as a jersey resident we really need mainline steam excursions again
I know alot of train people where pissed off at steam town for a bit of time from what I was told as a kid
I dont know if C&O has more operational engines. And that one engine was also called 611 just like N&W had
where did you get the music, and Amazing Quality. what editing software do you use?
It's Minecraft music
I heard a few months ago that the tender for 1361 was completed and money is coming from the Horsehoe Curve chapter of the NRHS.
I know the tender for 1361 is close to completion if not already completed, but the second part I would have to research and confirm. I have my hands full at the moment so I don't have much time to do that.
As of 2024 the tender is completed and painted and the new firebox is completed
How much would it cost to repair 3245s frames anyway
Depends on how badly the frame is bent. If it’s bent bad enough to take the locomotive out of service, then probably quite a bit.
don't you mean 3254 you put 3245
1361 to me is the saddest. She did do well after the fall of PRR. She had to be broken apart after her poor crippled state when doing her excursions. Although, I do hope that she is getting her work complete by the next few years
Edit: 1361 is getting all her bolts and hinges via from scratch. Up to date, they also fixed up her tender.
Don't be sad 1361 will be fine there will be a chance that the locomotive will run once again
And 1361 will be on steam once again and i hope more volunteers will help to restore the locomotive
Okay they need to put all Canadien and American railroads just say railroad cause that isn’t England
Ask trainguy 4449 and he will tell that 614 is done, stuck there
If Only PRR 1361,Dan(PRR 6755),and PRR 3750 were Restored in Operating Condition
I'm scared that 3254 will be scrapped it might never run again
Would never happen, Steamtown is a museum, they would probably just leave it on display like it is now.
Why should it take so much to rebuild a K4?
To put it simply, there were many, many issues with the locomotive's boiler and firebox, and these issues led to the overwhelming cost that Steamtown had to take on. Because of these issues, it has been decided that a brand-new welded boiler will be built. The restoration is now being led by private car owner Bennett Levin and former Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman, two very well-established names in the railroad preservation industry.
@@PennsyPro I am aware of that. The real issue is that they should never let it go so far from being FRA coded. it is a sitting pile of rust now. The Pennsy and Norfolk Southern has always been very frugal in its system running. When I was working at the West End car shop in Elkhart we worked to very specific tolerences for the freight car repair work and air brake protection. The K4 should have been ONLY stored in that fashion and funded by both the state of Pennsylvania and the railroad itself period as a lasting legacy of Our railroad's legacy.
779 has 111 sisters.
I liked how he was using some Minecraft music
Dude, the music--- does not need to crescendo to forte fortissimo, way too loud, annoying and distracting
Minecraft music