According to the Steam Railroading Institute's Facebook page - a photo album was posted today with a caption indicating that 2-8-0 Mississippian/Gettysburg RR #76 was moved into the shops today. Once work on #1225 is finished, the SRI's "Explorer" group of volunteers will begin operational restoration on the engine. According to the SRI, it will be worked on primarily on the weekends, and no deadline is set for it's completion to service.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 067&type=1

(hoping the link above works)

While in service in Gettysburg - http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 174&nseq=1

In service in Mississippi - http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 360&nseq=1

This is good news.

Always thought these 2 were hearty engines, and with the 77 in service in Alberta (renumbered to its original number: 41) having one a bit closer in operation, will be a nice treat... throaty exhaust and nice lines.

Mississippian 76 (Restoration Tour), 06-26-2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb9DJX17_yk

I got to see MISS 76 up close last spring. Enjoy! ^_^

FINALLY!!- The engine which is the inspiration for my handle here and on other forums gets in form the cold.

76 arrived in my old hometown, Blairsville PA just three months after I was born. My dad was one of Sloan Cornell's best friends and did publicity work for his Penn View Mountain RR. and later Gettysburg RR. I road behind #76 many times. got a couple cab rides and rode the tender doghouse on her first trip from Gettysburg to Mt. Holly Springs. She blew the steam line to the air compressor on that trip.

#76 is more well traveled than may realize. After her career on the Mississippian RR in Armory MS. ended she was moved by rail to Blairsville, then to Strangford PA where she was trucked about a mile to the Penn View Mountain RR. She made her first runs on the Penn View during October 1967.

When Sloan Cornell negotiated a deal with Penn Central to operate the former Indiana Branch of the PRR, 16 miles from Blairsville to Indiana #76 and all the other PVMRR stock made the truck trip to Blairsville in 1974. 76 only ran once- Easter Sunday 1976- before the railroad moved to Gettysburg due to Conrail re-activation of the Black Lick secondary to haul coal form the Dias Mine at Dilltown.

Cornell packed up his entire RR- engine 76, Baldwin S-12 #407 and moved as my dad wrote in TRAINS Magazine "How to Move a Railroad, Lock, Stock & Enginehouse" to Gettysburg via Conrail in July 1976. The old Southern Belle #76 got to descend Horseshoe Curve under steam- with two SD-45's as an escort!

The last time I road behind #76 was in 1983, after that she was normally just a back-up to #38 and #1278. I really miss her load, clear exhaust and melodious whistle.
I'm just glad Jerry Jacobsen saved her then sold her to the fine folks in Michigan who are now inching her back to life.

Had 76 been 'derated' to a lower operating pressure while at Gettysburg? One of my early 80's visits down there was on a two-car excursion (the gondola with the fiberglass roof and the heavyweight combine) and it was all she could do to lift those two cars up to Biglerville and almost stalled on the hill getting there, with the Johnson bar in full stroke. I have vague memories of the crew using that as the excuse. Was the only time I ever saw her move.

What kind of work will need to be completed before she returns?

I enjoyed the history above of the 76 in tourist service for Sloan. I rode behind her many times while she was on the Gettysburg.

Here a just a few photos from my late father's vast archive-most of which I have yet to digitize.

#76 takes a slow, one mile truck ride from the PRR tracks at Toms Run interlocking to the Cornell Farm and Penn-View Mountain RR.


By the next weekend, #76 was in service on the Penn-View still lettered for her former owner. Sloan Cornell, left and his uncle, Hall examine here running gear before backing out of the small Strangford station.


After the move from Strangford four miles into downtown Blairsville, #76 gets prepped for her only run on the Blairsville & Indiana. Beside her is one of two former Pennsy N6b Cabin Cars used on the PVMRR, and then Gettysburg.

A star for one Sunday. Conrail never permitted the Blairsville and Indiana to run an actual passenger hauling train-however on Easter Sunday 1976, a special move to bring The Easter Bunny to Market Street Station in Blairsville was authorized. A large crowd was on hand.


The well-traveled 1920 Baldwin descends the grade around Horseshoe Curve behind Cornell's S12 #407(EX-Monongahela RR) and two behemoth SD-45's which are cropped out. After the mountain section, the pair of old Baldwins chuffed and burbled the rest of the way to Gettysburg un-escorted.

Will be interesting to see if the take her back to the true livery which is a Frisco locomotive.

Either way this locomotive will have to have a full overhaul to bring everything into compliance to today's standards. This in the end would make a more economical locomotive to operate if you want to run short excursion train or weekend train rides from SRI. I could see this happening in the future and thus it would save the wear on 1225 and offer a option they do not have right now.

Best Regards,

Steven M Harvey
President
American Steam Railroad
Frisco Mike #1352

No. 76 is a sweet little engine, but it was rode hard and put up wet by the Gettysburg RR. The rear drivers were so loose in their boxes that they actually rubbed against the firebox wrapper sheet, and on the first attempt to lift the engine to load it on the truck that took it from Gettysburg to the Ohio Central, the sling under the smokebox simply crushed the rotted steel. The crew rearranged the sling beneath the front frame for a successful lift. Various parts had been taken off the engine to keep the other Gettysburg engines going, too. Good luck to the Owosso folks!

Yes, old #76 was indeed fully used by the end of her days on the Gettysburg RR. Most of the driver-box, bearing and spring hanger wear probably happened during her days on the Penn-View Mountain from 1967-73. The track was terrible, the double switch back grades steep and the curves tight! At least the Penn-View had good, low mineral content water. Gettysburg has terrible water for boilers. Very hard, lots of minerals. The shoe-string budget Gettysburg almost never treated their boiler water. I'm sure #76 is scaled and plugged, along with worn and rusted.

Even though it was only a mile, that trailer looks a little light for that type of move! The tires on the trailer though don't look like they're too strained though. I can't imagine this type of move would be made today that way.

These little 2-8-0s, 76 and 77 along with the ex-Frisco wood cupola caboose were part of a sweet little operation in Amory, MS.
Wife and I visited the Mississippian twice, once when I was en route to Ft. Rucker, AL for aviation training in the Army. Wife was late into pregnant with our first child and we rode the cab of 76 around while she did the local switching at Amory. The fireman was scared my wife was going to go into labor. Funny.
Second time was almost three years later in Dec of 65 after I had done a tour in Europe and returned to Ft. Rucker to be discharged from there. We were returning back to St. Louis and enjoyed our visit. Our daughter enjoyed it too!
Two brothers were engineers on the MSRY, the Carlisles. Each had his own engine and it ran for a month, then went down for a month while the other one ran. Such a neat little operation.
I too would like to see her return to her Frisco livery, or at least Mississippian with the coonskin and doghouse.

[color=#800040]No Rumors Mississippian #76 has been moved inside and Explorer Post 1225 has started her restoration. Do you wish to follow along with us you can on your facebook page.

www.facebook.com/explorerpost1225?ref=hl

The official fundraising campaign for the restoration of #76 to operation has started.
Please visit:https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/76-engine-rebuild-project#home