West Virginia Northern 2-8-0s #9 and #8

While they have been sitting in the woods for the last 30+ years, our goal is to rebuild them and have them running in the next couple of years. Once in running condition, the plan is to lease them to the nearby West Virginia Central Railroad to allow people to see these pieces of history actually running on the rails making money for other museum projects. Unlike many other musuems, these locos will not just be part of a static exhibit.

Volunteers worked for several weeks to prep the locomotives for the big move. This included clearing and stabilizing track that had been untouched for years. Additional track had to be laid to move the locomotives across a small bridge before the cranes could pick them up. The crew spent many days in PA stripping the locomotives of parts to reduce the weight. Click here for more photos of the preparation in PA.

The steam engines and tenders were transported from Pennsylvania back to West Virginia for restoration on Nov. 17-18, 2005. WVN No. 9, built in 1906, is to be put into running operation while No. 8, built 1904, still needs to be assessed to determine the restoration potential. Click here for more photos of the move.

On November 19, 2005, the two Baldwin locomotives were offloaded from low boy trailers onto the rails of the West Virginia Central Railroad at Belington, WV.

The project has been a major push for several years now for the Museum and funds still must be raised to complete the rebuilding efforts.

On May 22, 2006, the first major step of the restoration started with the boiler inspection. Click here for photos of the results.

Serious volunteer work started on October 14, 2006. As of October 2007 the flues have been removed, the boiler cleaned, all appliances and piping have been removed, and work has started on the tender. The tender tank and cab have been removed to allow easier access. For more information about the work sessions, and how you can help 'get it done,' click here!