Volunteers in Michigan have cosmetically restored a 2-8-0 Baldwin narrow gauge steam locomotive.
No. 6 of the Quincy & Torch Lake Railroad ran on a six-mile line hauling copper from the underground mine to a processing mill.
The railroad closed in 1945 and its locomotives were locked inside a roundhouse where they sat for several years until the formation of the Quincy Mine Hoist Association to preserve and interpret the history of copper mining in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
No. 6, which was built in 1912, was only new locomotive purchased by the railroad and was the largest and heaviest in the fleet.
The restoration began after No. 6 returned to Michigan in 2009 following a stint in New Jersey where an expected restoration failed to occur.
Chuck Pomazal, a model builder from Illinois, led a group of volunteers who restored No. 6, largely with hand tools.
The locomotive was placed on public display on Aug. 25. The volunteers are now turning their efforts to restoring Q&TL No. 5, a smaller 2-6-0.
akronrrclub.wordpress.com 