2015 will be Western Maryland Scenic RR No. 734's last operating season (for a while)

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If you been thinking of visiting the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad (WMSR) to see its 2-8-0 steam locomotive in action, you might want to consider scheduling a visit this year, because at the end of the 2015 season, the locomotive known as "Mountain Thunder" will be out of service -- for an indefinite period -- as the locomotive will be due for its 1,472-day/15-year inspection, as mandated by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). This inspection requires an almost complete dis-assembly of the locomotive so that every nut and bolt (literally) can be checked.

While No. 734 is out of service, the WMSR hopes that C&O No. 1309 will be ready to take its place. The WMSR acquired the Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 Mallet in May 2014, from the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum and is currently working on No. 1309's restoration. Once restored, it will be the largest compound articulated steam locomotive in regular operation in the U.S.

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Ex-Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad #734, a 1916 Baldwin-built 2-8-0 steam locomotive, was originally built for the LS&I as #34. The locomotive came to the line from the Illinois Railway Museum in 1991. After an extensive rebuild, it entered service in 1992 on the Western Maryland Scenic Railway, based in Cumberland, Maryland.
 
If anyone wants to know what #1309's whistle will sound like, here's a recording of it. Interestingly, it does have a connection to me, as this video was taken on the Dollywood Express, at the theme park Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The whistle you hear is not the whistle the locomotive regularly wears, as an interesting fact about the engine crew of the Dollywood Express will allow 'whistle collectors' to replace the locomotive's regular whistle with their own whistle so that they can hear their whistle when they will otherwise will never hear it. One of the engines wears a Crosby 3 chime while the other wears a Hancock 3 chime, I'm not certain which one wears which though. You might have heard it if you downloaded a certain locomotive from Subpar Productions' website.

Video:

 
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