C&O Steam Locomotive To Stay in Dennison

A Tuscarawas County judge has ruled that a former Chesapeake & Ohio steam locomotive will remain where it is in Dennison. Judge Edward O’Farrell determined that the Dennison Railroad Depot Museum has clear title to No. 2700, a Kanawha type locomotive that was built in the 1940s.

The ruling came in a dispute with Nick Kallas, executive director of the Illinois Railway Museum, who purchased No. 2700, but never took possession of it. At the time, the locomotive was located on Timken Company property in Canton. Timken took possession of the locomotive after the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway announced plans to reconfigure its tracks in that area. Timken based its action on the locomotive being abandoned property.

Timken offered the locomotive to the Dennison museum with the stipulation that if the museum refused the offer the locomotive would be scrapped. The museum and Timken sent certified letters to Kallas informing him of their intentions, but he never responded. The C&O steamer has been in Dennison for the past 10 years.

The Dennison museum, which is housed in a former Pennsylvania Railroad passenger depot, has received a grant to fund restoration work on No. 2700, which will remain at the museum on static display. That work is expected to begin next year.

In an interview with the Times-Reporter of New Philadelphia, museum executive director Wendy Zucal said the museum is glad that the locomotive will remain there. “We plan to put it in a place of honor as a showcase at the east end of Dennison,” she said.

Tags: C&O 2700, C&O No. 2700, Dennison Railroad Depot Museum, Kanawha steam locomotive