W.Va. Steam Locomotive to Get New Boiler

Restoration is set to begin on former Buffalo Creek & Gauley 2-8-0 No. 4.

West Virginia tourist railroad Durbin & Greenbrier Valley said it will hire Sisterville Tank Works to build a new boiler for the locomotive.

Once the work is completed No. 4 will run between Cass and Durbin, West Virginia.

The cost of the project has been put at $675,000 with $135,000 already having been raised.

The contractor selected for the work was involved in building a boiler for Cass Scene Railroad’s Heisler No. 6 in the early 2000s.

No. 4 was built by Baldwin in 1926 for the National Railway of Mexico but never delivered.

It last operated for the BC&G in 1965 before going on to operate for tourist railroads in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The locomotive has been out of service since 2001 by which time it was owned by the North Carolina Transportation Museum. DGVR acquired No. 4 in 2015.

BC&G No. 4 on its Way Back to West Virginia

As one steam locomotive prepares to leave the North Carolina Transportation Museum to go home to Virginia, another is already on the road, albeit by highway, back to West Virginia.

Buffalo Creek & Gauley No. 4 hit the road with a convoy of four tractor-trailers en route to the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad.

The Baldwin-built steamer spent most of its working career in the Mountain State. It last ran in 2001 and has been at the North Carolina museum for several years.

The D&G plans to restore No. 4 to operating condition at the Cass Scenic Railroad and begin operating it in 2016.

The return home began when a crane hoisted the boiler, running gear, flues, cab and miscellaneous parts of the locomotive onto flat-bed trucks.

No. 4 entered tourist train and excursion service after the BC&G halted operations in 1965.

It worked for the Quakertown & Eastern tourist railroad in Pennsylvania and the Southwest Virginia Scenic in Hiltons, Virginia, and the North Carolina museum.

Date Set to Move BC&G No. 4 to West Virginia

May 19 has been set as the date that Buffalo Creek & Gauley No. 4 will move to the Cass Scenic Railroad from the North Carolina Transportation Museum.

The 2-8-0 will be delivered the Cass Scenic Railroad, now operated by the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad, on May 20. Nos 4’s tender arrived in Cass on April 8.

After restoration, No. 4 will appear as it did in operation on the BC&G in the 1960s. No. 4 has been recognized as having been one of the last steam locomotives in regular service in the nation.

Because it was a saturated steam locomotive, it often showed signs of leakage on its front, which earned it the moniker “Old Slobberface.”

The Cass Shops hopes to have the locomotive in operating condition for its 90th birthday in 2016. The Cass Scenic Railroad is owned by the state of West Virginia.

Built by Baldwin in 1926, No. 4 was restored in 1986 by the North Carolina museum, which lettered and numbered it as a replica of Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 604.

As No. 604, it pulled pulled three-mile excursions before its making its last trips in November 2001.

Steamer Making Way by Highway to Cass Scenic

A truck has delivered the tender for Buffalo Creek & Gauley 2-8-0 No. 4 to the Cass Scenic Railroad as part of a plan to return the 1926 Baldwin-built steam locomotive to its home state for restoration.

The tender made a 275-mile journey by highway from Pocahontas County to the Cass Scenic.

During the next 30 days the locomotive’s cab, boiler, wheels and other components will also travel by highway to Cass from Spencer, N.C.

The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad, which operates the Cass Scenic, expects to have No. 4 operating in 2016.

“Durbin & Greenbrier Valley is privileged to bring BC&G No. 4 back ‘home’ to West Virginia with the goal of finishing the project begun by the North Carolina Museum of Transportation,” said owner John Smith.

Restored in 1986, No. 4 was lettered and numbered as a replica for Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 604.

It was used to pull 3-mile passenger excursions at the North Carolina museum through November 2001.

After the current restoration project is completed, No. 4 will appear as it did when it operated on the Buffalo Creek & Gauley Railroad.

Steamer Returning to its West Virginia Roots

The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad will acquire Buffalo Creek & Gauley 2-8-0 No. 4, a 1926 Baldwin-built steam locomotive with deep West Virginia roots.

The locomotive is now owned by the North Carolina Transportation Museum. The locomotive will move this spring to the D&B shop in Cass, W.Va., at the Cass Scenic Railroad

The D&B will then perform boiler work and other repairs

The railroad hopes to complete the restoration in time for the locomotive’s 90th birthday in 2016.

No. 4 will be given an appearance to approximate what it looked like in the early 1960s when it was one of the last steam locomotives in regular service in the U.S.

A saturated steam locomotive, it often showed signs of leakage on its smokebox front, thus earning it the nickname “Old Slobberface.”

“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.”

No. 4 was built in Philadelphia by Baldwin Locomotive Works for use in Mexico.

However, it was sold to the Buffalo Creek & Gauley in Clay County, W.Va., where it became one of the most photographed steam locomotives in the East. It last ran in West Virginia 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 nonprofit 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 own 3-mile 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.

No. 4 was the first piece of rolling stock that a group of Southern Railway retirees restored at Spencer in 1986, a move that is regarded as the turning point for the North Carolina museum that is the home to the largest preserved roundhouse in the nation.