A little late to the party this year, but this 2-8-2 is now back in steam after an annual inspection that showed a lot of leaky tubes. All 160 were replaced in April, and she passed FRA inspection last week. She ran four trips on the Scranton Limited on Wednesday.

A minor situation in the smokebox took her out of service for today, but she is back again under steam. Friday and the rest of the weekend will give her a chance to break in properly.

She is 92 years old, ran for the Canadian Government railways for about 18 months before they merged into the Canadian National. She was restored 25 years ago and has run all but seven of those years.

Thanks for the update.

Yup - good news! Thanks for the detailed update.

What type of runs will #3254 be doing this weekend?
Shuttles or to Moscow?

/Mitch

Mitch, the next excursion is on June 26th, to the Delaware water Gap.

It will be on the NRHS Convention trip to the Water Gap on June 24th, then the Founders Day trip to the Water Gap station on June 26th (the NRHS trip is supposed to go all the way to Slateford Jct).

No steam at Steamtown till June 24th?

Will anything be running till then?

/Mitch

Oh, okay. Thanks Eld. Their site didn't list the Convention trip on the 24th, lol.

It sounds like just the Scranton Limited will be going until the end of June.

Just curious, what is the long term fate awaiting Steamtown's other CNR Mikado, the one being used as a parts resource? Am I to assume that when she's gutted, the remaining locomotive will be scrapped? I had a similar thought about U.P.'s 838.

Rich, right now the plan is to use 3254 old tender and then restore her to a cosmetic display. One plan that has been talked about is, when 3254 goes in for her 15 year they are going to swap the running gear, chassis, with her. 3254 chassis is tweaked and they are wearing the rear driver wheels faster than normal. Steamtown does not want to scrap her.

Thanks for sharing that info. I, too, was also wondering the same thing.

Just a note to confirm - CN #3254 was running shuttles over Memorial Day weekend!

/Mitch

Here is a recent shot I took of 3377:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=326102

Here's one of 3254:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=301563

I spoke to an original fireman of both 3377 and 3254 recently. His experience was that '77 was a dream to fire where as '54 was a challenge.

Question: would it make more practical sense to restore '77 instead of '54? '77's boiler/firebox was great back in the day and the running gear is in good shape now. Supposedly it received class 5 repairs, was used a few hundred miles and laid up. I know 3254 had class 3 repairs at Stratford February 1958 and was laid up "in tallow" at Foleyet then Allendale before being sold to a private party.

In retrospect, it perhaps would have been better to use '77 from the start but like so much in the preservation movement, fate had other plans.

Maybe Mark, the Supervisory Exhibit Specialist Steamtown National Historic Site, who posted here a few times might be able to tell us more.

Dennis,

Fate has a way with things. Since Steamtown acquired #3254 in working order, there was never a choice made between restoring it or the #3377. The fact that '54 made it into the operational ranks at all is quire something. Who would have guessed after languishing for so long, then working in brief service on the GETTY that she would end up in a museum with a sister?

Given that during the Vermont years Steamtown focused almost solely on Pacifics, I wonder if any consideration had ever been given to running '77.

Rob

Intersting how the '77 lost both trucks. If she isn't going to be run or moved around, why not put 54's old trucks under her. And what happened to 77's tender?