SPENCER, N.C. – The North Carolina Transportation Museum Foundation has reached an agreement to sell Buffalo Creek & Gauley 2-8-0 No. 4, a 1926 Baldwin-built steam locomotive with deep West Virginia roots, to the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad for restoration and operation in the Mountain State.
The locomotive will be moved this spring to the shop in Cass, W.Va., at the Cass Scenic Railroad, now operated by the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley, for the completion of boiler work and other repairs. The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley hopes to complete the restoration in time for the locomotive’s 90th birthday in 2016. When completed, the locomotive will appear as it did in the early 1960s when it gained fame as one of the last steam locomotives in regular service in the United States. Because it was a saturated steam locomotive, it often showed signs of leakage on its smokebox front, thus earning it the nickname “Old Slobberface.”
Click to view more pics and info on BC&G #4.
The Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pa., built the locomotive for use in Mexico, but instead it was sold to the Buffalo Creek & Gauley in Clay County, W.Va. It became one of the most photographed steam locomotives in the Eastern U.S., making its last run in 1965. The locomotive was sold to the Pennsylvania-based Quakertown & Eastern excursion operation in 1967, the Southwest Virginia Scenic Railroad in Hiltons, Va., in 1972, and the non-profit support organization for the North Carolina Transportation Museum in 1978. It was restored in 1986 and lettered and numbered as a replica of Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 604, which had been based at Spencer. The locomotive pulled the museum’s 3-mile on-site train ride for years. It last operated in November 2001 and was partially restored in the 2000s before other priorities at the museum resulted in the restoration being stopped.
"We are looking forward to returning this historic West Virginia steam locomotive to service not far from where she once operated. We are truly thankful to the North Carolina Transportation Museum Foundation for entrusting us to carry on the legacy of the Buffalo Creek and Gauley No. 4 steam locomotive,” said Durbin & Greenbrier Valley President John Smith. “We know it’s been the dream of many who have contributed to the preservation of this engine over the years to see it under a full head of steam and on the tracks again. The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad is proud to be a part of making this happen."
Following its restoration, BC&G No. 4 will hopefully be operated on some sections of a yet to be fully developed 90-mile excursion train loop through the rugged highlands east of Elkins. The proposed Highland Adventure of Mountain & Rail would make use of the existing track of the state-owned West Virginia Central Railroad, on which the Durbin Rocket, Cheat Mountain Salamander and Tygart Flyer excursion trains now operate, and the Cass Scenic Railroad.
Track from a stretch of West Virginia Central rail bed between Spruce in Pocahontas County and Bergoo in Webster County that was rendered unusable following the 1985 flood would be recycled and used to connect Durbin in Pocahontas County to Glady, Bemis and Elkins in Randolph County to the north and Cass to the south.
With the additional track in place, it would be possible to travel by excursion train southeast from Elkins to Bemis, Glady, Durbin and Cass, and then travel west to the town site of Spruce, loop north to Cheat Bridge, High Falls and Bemis and return to Elkins. Much of the route travels through the Monongahela National Forest along Shavers Fork and the West Fork of the Greenbrier River.
Above: Trains magazine reported that the tender to Buffalo Creek & Gauley 2-8-0 No. 4 arrived at the Cass Scenic Railroad on April 8th. This completes the first of four-to-five planned trips that will successfully move the 1926 Baldwin-built steam locomotive to the Cass shops for restoration.
The locomotive will be moved this spring to the shop in Cass, W.Va., at the Cass Scenic Railroad, now operated by the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley, for the completion of boiler work and other repairs. The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley hopes to complete the restoration in time for the locomotive’s 90th birthday in 2016. When completed, the locomotive will appear as it did in the early 1960s when it gained fame as one of the last steam locomotives in regular service in the United States. Because it was a saturated steam locomotive, it often showed signs of leakage on its smokebox front, thus earning it the nickname “Old Slobberface.”
The Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pa., built the locomotive for use in Mexico, but instead it was sold to the Buffalo Creek & Gauley in Clay County, W.Va. It became one of the most photographed steam locomotives in the Eastern U.S., making its last run in 1965. The locomotive was sold to the Pennsylvania-based Quakertown & Eastern excursion operation in 1967, the Southwest Virginia Scenic Railroad in Hiltons, Va., in 1972, and the non-profit support organization for the North Carolina Transportation Museum in 1978. It was restored in 1986 and lettered and numbered as a replica of Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 604, which had been based at Spencer. The locomotive pulled the museum’s 3-mile on-site train ride for years. It last operated in November 2001 and was partially restored in the 2000s before other priorities at the museum resulted in the restoration being stopped.
"We are looking forward to returning this historic West Virginia steam locomotive to service not far from where she once operated. We are truly thankful to the North Carolina Transportation Museum Foundation for entrusting us to carry on the legacy of the Buffalo Creek and Gauley No. 4 steam locomotive,” said Durbin & Greenbrier Valley President John Smith. “We know it’s been the dream of many who have contributed to the preservation of this engine over the years to see it under a full head of steam and on the tracks again. The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad is proud to be a part of making this happen."
Following its restoration, BC&G No. 4 will hopefully be operated on some sections of a yet to be fully developed 90-mile excursion train loop through the rugged highlands east of Elkins. The proposed Highland Adventure of Mountain & Rail would make use of the existing track of the state-owned West Virginia Central Railroad, on which the Durbin Rocket, Cheat Mountain Salamander and Tygart Flyer excursion trains now operate, and the Cass Scenic Railroad.
Track from a stretch of West Virginia Central rail bed between Spruce in Pocahontas County and Bergoo in Webster County that was rendered unusable following the 1985 flood would be recycled and used to connect Durbin in Pocahontas County to Glady, Bemis and Elkins in Randolph County to the north and Cass to the south.
With the additional track in place, it would be possible to travel by excursion train southeast from Elkins to Bemis, Glady, Durbin and Cass, and then travel west to the town site of Spruce, loop north to Cheat Bridge, High Falls and Bemis and return to Elkins. Much of the route travels through the Monongahela National Forest along Shavers Fork and the West Fork of the Greenbrier River.
Above: Trains magazine reported that the tender to Buffalo Creek & Gauley 2-8-0 No. 4 arrived at the Cass Scenic Railroad on April 8th. This completes the first of four-to-five planned trips that will successfully move the 1926 Baldwin-built steam locomotive to the Cass shops for restoration.
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