I know this has been an “iffy” project in the past, but does anyone actually know what’s going on in Altoona with this iron horse? The last information I could find on her was that Bennett Levin and Wick Moorman started making plans to restore her in May. Has anyone heard or seen anything since May? Was the project cancelled along with the E8s excursions? Any info is greatly appreciated.

Project is very much alive under the extremely capable leadership of Wick Moorman & Bennett Levin. They'll make public announcements/updates when appropriate.

Ross Rowland

agreed. There have been too many "jumping the gun" announcements in the preservation world. Looking forward to seeing 1361 complete.

The Altoona Railroaders Museum hasn’t updated their information regarding #1361 since 2013. I emailed them suggesting an update including the positive news regarding Mr. Moorman & Mr. Levin taking over the project. Weeks later I received a curt reply. “ The information regarding 1361 is current.” Really? A statement beginning with “Now in 2013...” is considered current. They don’t seem to understand public relations very well.

Just look at the sad history of this locomotives travails under the "leadership" of the ARRM and you'll see that PR is not the only thing they're bad at.

I'm confident that now that it is under the professional leadership of Messrs. Moorman & Levin ( and the ARRM has been completely severed from it ) that real progress will result and the locomotive will be restored correctly so as to give many years of reliable service.

I'm also confident that they will make public updates when appropriate.

Ross Rowland

Can't wait to see this one under steam. Best of luck to Levin and Moorman.

I have to agree with steamloco76. It is totally off-putting to see a web site that has not been updated in years. It reflects poorly on the organization. In case of 1361, obviously steamloco76's email touched raw nerve.

Pennsy K4's are the eternal beauties of the steam world. Rebuilt and operating again, this will be on my immediate bucket list. Glad to see her come up in discussion once more, and framed in viability!

I can't wait to hear some real and good news on the pride of PA.
In one of the preceding responses, it was mentioned that Messrs. Moorman & Levin (thankfully) are now completely in charge, and that ARRM is completely severed from the engine.?
I wrongly thought ARRM was the owner. So who does own it, and how has said museum departed, even though the engine is in their "roundhouse"

ARRM maintains ownership of the locomotive. Restoration is subject to an agreement with Bennett Levin & Co. from what I have learned.

I'm assuming this will be a similar setup to how Milwaukee 261 was operated prior to the Friends group purchasing the engine; ARRM owning the engine, and a similar Friends-type group responsible for maintaining it.

But yes, good things come to those who wait. I am anxious to see an official announcement myself!

As much as I respect Mr. Moorman and Mr. Levin, I would advise everyone to be very skeptical about this project until we see some statement from the AARRM. They own the locomotive, unless that changed recently. Their silence doesn't make sense considering their insatiable appetite for publicity on this project for the past 20 years - much of it hype or wishful thinking.

That's probably a very good reason for them to sit quietly and let the new project leaders do their jobs without interference or commentary.

The AARRM is not very savvy when it comes to keeping the public informed. 1361 will probably be under steam before anybody at the AARRM thinks to update their website or put out a news release.

Maybe it's wrong to think this, but I'd be almost as happy with a static restoration as opposed to a running one.
Just get her back to looking like a locomotive. Running or not, politics aside, it's sad that she's sat in many pieces for so long. I'm not that big a PRR fan but clearly a K4 is one of the most famous loco types in US RR history and right now, only one looks like a real locomotive, the one sadly sitting outside at Strasburg (which I find almost as puzzling as the case of 1361)...