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Fundraiser launches to aid cosmetic restoration of C&O 2-8-4 No. 2700
How does the cosmetic restoration of a locomotive enhance transportation? Does Ohio have all the commuter and Amtrak services it needs?
Point of fact: The 2700 received a near-perfect cosmetic restoration in C & O Huntington Shops in late 1970’s
and was displayed in St. Albans, WV. The City’s Mayor reportedly sold it to three local rail fans who, in turn, sold it to an Ohio group named S.T.E.A.M. that had ambitions of rebuilding it to operate. That never happened. S.T.E.A.M. group let it sit outdoors, rust, and badly deteriorate, even stripped off key parts they tried to give to the Indianapolis group for their Berkshire. So the miserable condition this engine is in now lays right in the lap of the S.T.E.A.M. organization whose members, incidentally, filed lawsuits attempting to reclaim locomotive ownership from the Dennison museum. A judge ultimately decided in favor of the museum.
I was the person who mounted a historical preservation effort in West Virginia to wrestle the locomotive away from the Kanawha County Parks and Recreation Commission who initially received the locomotive to preserve as a railroad memorial in Coonskin Park, north of Charleston. This commission did nothing to attempt to preserve the 2700 and wanted to scrap it for the roughly $8-$10,000 it was worth. Ultimately the Parks Commission gave the 2700 to the St. Albans Firefighters Union, the Berkshire was towed to Huntington, restored, returned and displayed in St. Albans, WV. Charles E. Arnold Stockbridge, GA
It needs to be restored and returned to the citizens of St. Albans, WV.