It's not "anti-steam" to demand an appropriate balance between operation and preservation, or proper management of both. Some pro-passenger-rail advocates can come of as among the harshest Amtrak critics out there; that doesn't make them "anti-passenger-rail."

LS&I 34 could probably do fine on another railroad--the Strasburg, the Colebrookdale Line, the Everett, the GSMR, the TVRM, or any of a bunch of other steam (or would-be steam) operations.

As conceived, the loco and its faux-WMSR rebuild were a perfect fit for the WMSR. But they want to run bigger, longer trains with more amenities now, ones the 734 can't handle by itself--the exact same situation the Grand Canyon Railway found itself in with its lighter sister 2-8-0s. An "old-time look" and five open-window coaches doesn't "cut it" in 21st-century tourist railroading (although GCRY still does "train robberies"!).

I'm not one for "kicking a man while he's down" with regard to WMSR management (seemingly a popular pastime in this forum), but the question of 734's "resurrection" keeps resurfacing in the Northeast, especially among the younger fans who missed out on her in earlier days before they had the chance (see also: EBT). If someone could be instigated into doing something more practical with a potentially moribund loco, more power to them.

With sufficient funding anything is possible.

Without funding nothing is possible.

When I was doing business with the WMSR about ten years ago, I recall there were plans to rebuild the running gear on the 734. The work was contingent on grant funds which failed to materialize.

A mountain railroad takes its toll on equipment. I've always admired the WMSR for their efforts to put on a good show on a modest budget, while navigating state and local politics and fulfilling their mission as a development corporation to promote tourism. I look forward to riding again, regardless which engine is pulling the train.

- Alan Maples
Everett Railroad

I agree strongly with Alan Maples comments. The current management has certainly made its fair share of fumbles but Alan's main point about how demanding running on a mountain grade railroad is speaks the truth.

Let's hope they are able to get the 1309 in service in time to produce some 2021 revenues and start making some new steam enthusiasts.

Ross Rowland

It’s not about making money, it’s about having enough to finance what you already have.

734 had been basically in service for 25 years on a mountain grade. It’s a tired locomotive, it needs an overhaul badly. And honestly, there’s no rush to do it because the power of 734 just isn’t great enough to warrant it. Like everyone else has said here, 734 can only pull so much. No one wants to see 734 go but at some point the service outgrows the locomotive. That’s what happened with locomotives like Southern 722, or S&A 750.

1309 is a good option right now. It has the power and the flair to give more people the opportunity to see steam in Western Maryland. I don’t doubt that 734 will return one day, but a lot would need to be done to make that happen.

Is it me or does 3$ Million sound an awful lot for a 2-8-0 that ended operational service just 5 years ago? I'm pretty sure that NC&STL 576's restoration costs less than that by a little margin and that hasn't ran since the 1950's. Especially considering the fact that WMSR has spent a real good chunk of money on resources for 1309 and none of those can be re-used for 734? to me this just sounds like "whelp if you want it here's your price too bad so sad". If that's really the case it would be more worth it to sell the thing and use it for the required Track maintenance than let it sit out or do light work on it which by the way the latter will STILL cost money. To me it just doesn't add up.

It's called doing a proper rebuild of an engine that had been running constantly since 1993. I don't think the engine ever missed a season from 1993-2016. WMSR is a very demanding mountain railroad, pushing the engine to its limits each day. Bash an engine up a mountain all the time at full throttle, and you'll wear parts out. Never enough money to fix it right, so do what you have to in the offseason so it can continue running next year. Deferred maintenance adds up, and then starts adding up exponentially with worn parts. Eventually, you get to the point where it's slap worn out. That's where we are today.

What parts from 1309 do you see that can be reused on 734? That engine was slap worn out also--which is why it took this much work to make it run again. C&O bashed it within an inch of its life, and 50 years of outside display in Baltimore did the rest.

What you don't want to do is a "make do" rebuild on 734 just to find that you have to do major work halfway through a 15yr boiler cycle. That starts getting really $$$.

It's possible that, as something of a ward of the local government, "government standards" apply to the work, with specs written, bidding, qualification of bidders, minority set-asides, etc.

Did those apply to the rebuild of 1309? They could end up with Draconian specifications and requirements to prevent another such "fiasco"..............

False economy has done damage to a lot of projects, especially the overly optimistic ones we’ve all run into. Some offended museum docent always says “But Mr. Sunshine said all it needed was...” (temporary repairs meant to hold things together for a trip or two.) As so many have said, we’re not patching things together till the diesel order comes in any more. Anytime something gets a major tear-down, it’s cheaper in the long run to fix everything that either is worn out or is likely to wear out before fifteen years are up. It’s entirely possible to spend more money on a patchwork approach through repeated out of service stretches, plus abnormal wear and tear on replaced components and poor general performance.

734 requires a MAJOR rebuild in all of its operating systems. A major rebuild is basically jacking up the 'ash pan' and building a new locomotive around it - after the ash pan itself is rebuilt with new materials. Such rebuilds are not cheap and the expenses cannot be accurately predicted at the start of the process.

If I recall rightly it took a highly skilled, near welding miracle to fix 734 in the mid-90s when the cylinder saddle casting cracked. A failure that in the past would have permanently ended the operation of a locomotive in the steam era when another locomotive would have been put in it's place was repaired with a lot of skill and welding/brazing materials. So, yeah, she was rode hard and put away wet for a lot of years. And yes, I've stood track side and been on-board to enjoy the show, mostly because they were working the last pound of tractive effort out of it just about the entire trip to Frostburg. It takes a toll, and the toll has come due.

As a guy who has written a good number of personal checks paying for steam locomotive restorations I can testify that it is a very costly exercise.

Also, NO ONE can estimate what a thorough rebuild will entail until the subject engine is totally disassembled, ultra sounded and all components inspected and evaluated. At that point a reasonable estimate is feasible.

As for the 734 all indications are that she was indeed " rode hard and put away wet" but that's just wayside observations.

Could it end up costing $ 3 Mn?? Yes. Could it end up costing more than $ 3 Mn. ?, Yes. Could it end up costing a good bit less than $ 3 Mn.? Yes.

NO ONE will know until the above procedures are completed.

Ross Rowland

$3M seems a very high estimate. What have recent locomotive rebuilds cost?

I think another interesting comparison would be: what would it cost to just build a new locomotive? Google says the A1 Tornado in England cost 3 million GB pounds, or about 4 million US dollars.

Say the $3 million overhaul estimate is correct - how many votes for just building a new locomotive?

What would it cost to import an overhauled Chinese QJ 2-20-2 locomotive? Alternatively, there are 2 of them in this country already and I don't think they're being used. One of them should have enough power for hauling the longest passenger train they're likely to run.

https://www.multipowerinternational.com/standard.html