A 2003 National Park Service report requested through the Freedom of Information Act by the Mirror in 2004 and delivered to the Mirror in 2011 illuminates the apparent chaos of the early years of the K-4 restoration project at Steamtown National Historic Site.

The 1995 agreement governing the restoration involved the historic site, the University of Scranton's Steamtown Institute and the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum, although the historic site didn't actually sign it, according to the NPS report, which focuses on findings that supervisory exhibit specialist Chris Ahrens violated NPS policy by receiving pay for work performed on the K-4 project, for awarding contracts without competitive bids and by ignoring an order from his superior regarding procurement procedures.

The agreement called for the museum, represented by Jeff Miller, to take the lead in developing task directives, to do periodic inspections and to prepare all documents.

It called for the institute, represented by Ray Sauvey, to oversee and coordinate task directives, outside contracts and billing.

The historic site, represented by Ahrens, was to provide shop space, equipment, technical advice and contracting services.

In practice, none of the parties followed the agreement, with the museum failing to provide documents or inspections, according to the NPS report.
Fact Box

A look at the K-4 timeline

1956 - K-4 retired.

1957 - K-4 donated to city of Altoona and put on display at Horsehoe Curve.

1985 - K-4 donated to Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum, towed to Juniata Locomotive Shop.

1987 - K-4, after being rehabilitated using paid and volunteer labor, returns to excursion service.

1988 - K-4's main bearing fails near York, limiting operations.

1992 - $450,000 federal grant from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission allows officials to explore options for restoration.

1996 - Museum signs contract with University of Scranton's Steamtown Institute and Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton for K-4 restoration. Restoration budgeted to cost $625,000.

1999 - Ray Sauvey leaves project, replaced by Barry Claar, hired by museum to supervise. Claar discovers technical deficiencies in restoration work. Museum director Cummins McNitt predicts K-4 could be ready in 2000.

2000 - $600,000 state grant allocated by Gov. Tom Ridge administration. Museum seeks volunteers from Altoona to go to Scranton to work.

2001 - Project behind schedule and over budget. Museum unhappy with project, largely blaming Chris Ahrens, according to the NPS report. A Federal Railway Administration inspection discloses welds with slag and voids and rivets so poorly installed they pop out when struck with a hammer.

2002 - Museum claims in letter that mistakes made at Steamtown led to about $750,000 in unnecessary costs. Historic site superintendent blames museum for failing to fulfill its responsibilities. Museum receives $1.6 million grant for K-4 from state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. Bill Frederickson takes over leadership of work at Steamtown under direction of Altoona museum from crew that has been working under supervision of University of Scranton's Steamtown Institute. Frederickson begins by undoing and redoing prior work of a previous crew. Museum officials predict K-4 will be ready that fall.

2003 - Museum receives $1.6 million federal Transportation Enhancement grant, $1.195 million of which is for K-4, the rest for sitework on a quarter-roundhouse, which will be necessary to house K-4, and a turntable, which will be necessary for use of quarter-roundhouse. Museum officials say K-4 will return by fall 2004.

2004 - Museum director Scott Cessna, who replaces Westsylvania, says K-4 will be ready in summer 2005.

2005 - Cessna predicts K-4 will return that fall. Nine years in, there was massive impatience: "The long, sad story of the K-4," said steam enthusiast Ross Rowland of New Jersey, quoted in a Mirror story. "A story of well-meaning people who didn't know what they were doing." The project was lagging for lack of urgency and an overly meticulous approach, said Bill Benson, veteran restorationist of steam locomotives. Cessna defended the museum's thorough approach and suggested it would be irresponsible to take shortcuts.

2007 - Work at Steamtown suspended. Cessna replaced by Larry Salone.

2008 - With K-4 components slated to return to Altoona, Salone predicts K-4 could be done within 18 months, or it could take twice that long.

2010 - Board member Rudy Husband says museum will settle for static display, maybe accentuated with fire and steam enough to blow the whistle. A week later, Salone says no, locomotion is still the plan. A month later, board OKs project completion plan.

2011 - Most K-4 components are back in Altoona.

2015 - Boiler moved from storage at East Broad Top Railroad, controlled by Salone, to quarter-roundhouse at museum.

Ahrens was paid $1,358 for work he did at home, rather than having it done by the historic site staff - a practice he said saved money for the museum, according to the report. Ahrens also awarded $93,000 in contracts without bids, without providing sole-source justification, according to the report. And Ahrens continued to make purchases when told by his supervisor to defer to the museum for those.

But he wasn't the only one at fault, according to the report. "Things began to unravel when Ray Sauvey left the project in 1999, and was not replaced," leaving management almost entirely to Ahrens, the report states. "There was no oversight by (the museum) or (the institute) to make sure Ahrens followed the cooperative agreement, which in fact, they did not follow themselves," the report states. "Ahrens apparently did not have close supervision from (the historic site) either."