Was browsing steamlocomotive.com's West Virginia page when I saw that SRYC 36 was in Romney. I did some surface level digging and it is true.

A Facebook post from October 2024 has a comment regarding SRYC 36 at the Jamestown roundhouse on a post from the railroad

It seems that 2-8-2s love migrating east

Steam Loco Info page: https://www.steamlocomotive.info/vlocom ... splay=1207

Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/potomaceagle/p ... 9665/?_rdr

There's NO WAY that loco has reached West Virginia without the railfan grapevine in western Maryland and W.V. documenting its move.

This is the first I've even heard of the Potomac Eagle being mentioned as a future home for it.

As far as I know, that loco has yet to leave Oregon for whatever new home.

There was a report on this forum almost exactly a year ago suggesting that the Valley RR in Connecticut had acquired her. I've heard rumors the Colebrookdale RR in Pa. had purchased her, but I'm certain that's just some random confusion over which loco(s) they had (supposedly) acquired or wishful thinking.

The problem in this type of situation in 2025 is that no one's going to confirm acquisition of a loco until it actually shows up on the property, and even then the odds are they'll say "it's someone else's loco/leased; we're just storing it for them....."

The Colebrookdale's Facebook page hasn't had a steam update in over a year, but plenty of passenger car and station restoration updates - additionally, the "Steam Program" section of their website has been removed - no links or mentions of donations towards it as well. Methinks it will be a long time before steam actually happens there (if at all).

Also - the Facebook link in the original post is to a random photo of a couple in front of the Potomac Eagle's F7A, with no mention of steam in the post.

I always found it odd they seemed to make a rush acquiring 3 steam locomotives without really ever showing progress on any of them in terms of restoration work before getting the next one. 5288 really seems too large to be of much use for them anyway at such low speeds. Whereas operationally the 2-8-0 makes the most sense.

Slight point of distinction: Colebrookdale doesn't own the LS&I engine. It was purchased by the Maguire Foundation, who hammered out a deal with Colebrookdale to operate it over the Colebrookdale once restored. Honestly, I figured the 5288 was purchased in the event the GTW 5030 deal fell through, since the locals in Jackson were protesting the sale of "their engine."

The drive to the Potomac Eagle isn't a long one and I thought about dropping by to see for myself if a steam locomotive has appeared, but instead I let my fingers do the walking. Here's what the PE said about this locomotive:

We can confirm that the Potomac Eagle does not own the Sierra Railroad No. 36. The locomotive is currently stored in Merrill, Oregon, and is owned by a private firm whose identity is confidential at this time.

So here's how the language is being specific, and how the connections are trying to be made. Word somewhere (I don't remember where) was that Robert Franzen bought #36. Robert is the President and owner of Steam Services of America. Robert and his wife also bought the Potomac Eagle a few years ago via his 2018 company, Railroad Investment Corporate Holdings. So it's possible that #36 was purchased by Steam Services of America - and then it would be a true and factual statement that the Potomac Eagle doesn't own #36.

But again - I'm only going off of what I thought I heard from somewhere, that Mr Franzen was the one to buy #36. I can't find where I thought I saw that now, but I don't make this stuff up for squids and giggles.

I visited the PE on Friday (3/21), talked to people there and learned that yes, a steam locomotive is coming to the railroad. It's not certain that it'll be No. 36. Very possibly that's it but the person with whom I spoke couldn't confirm that would be the one. It is expected to arrive by the end of the summer and then there will be three, four or five years of work to make it operational. The locomotive will be at the PE's open-air shop (a roof but no walls) at 27214 Northwestern Turnpike (Route 50) where the railroad crosses Route 50 and connects with Vanderlip Drive. Those interested are encouraged to watch the PE's website for future announcements.

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if the plans for all of the locomotives have completely fallen through. Last update on the LS&I 18 was a youtube video from April of 2022. 5288's last "update" of any sort was Dec 203 when they posted on FB a story of how emotional it was to have it shipped. As for 5030? Well its been nothing but crickets since the original "Hey we bought this" post way back in Jan 2021.