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Restored Chesapeake Western Railway Baldwin to debut tomorrow
Museum listed at goodsearch.com & isearchigive.com
Museum listed at goodsearch.com & isearchigive.com
Museum listed at goodsearch.com & isearchigive.com
Museum listed at goodsearch.com & isearchigive.com
As a long time Baldwin diesel fan, I was very pleased by the excellant restoration of Chesapeake Western DS4-4-660 #662. After having seen the photos of the rusted out hulks of the Lost Engines of Roanoke, I can appreciate all the hard work that went into restoring this locomotive even more. I suspect N&W steam fans will be having similar thoughts in the future.
I remember stumbling across the Baldwins in 1972. They were so rusted and so overgrown with trees and vines that I would have bet against even moving the units, much less restoring them. Bravo to the Roanoke Chapter and the individuals who worked on this and got it done!
Beautiful job! As a kid growing up in Staunton in the 50’s / 60’s I recall these units pushing loaded piggyback flats up the steep CW / C&O interchange track in Staunton. I remember that they had 4 stacks on top of the hood that were spitting flames in sequence as the engine strained to make it. I assume that the stacks have been lost /deteriorated or are a later restoration project.
It would be great to hear them run again. Keep up the good work!
With the Chesapeake Western still legally being a separate legal entity as an operating subsidiary of Norfolk Southern, it would be really nice if NS would make a CHW heritage unit to operate on it.
Add me to the other Baldwin diesels fans who think she looks topnotch great. Note that she (like a few other early DS-series units) was built on leftover stock VO cast steel frames rather than the welded frames more typical after late 1949 and the early '50s.
I like the “inside” handrail, rather than the outside handrail…
I like the “inside” handrail, rather than the outside handrail…
I really enjoyed Mr Estes’s description of watching these units working, and seeing the individual stacks shooting flames as each cylinder fired. I have similar memories of Santa Fe four stack VO1000’s swiching at El Paso, Texas, with puffs of smoke jumping from stack to stack.
The stacks are probably still there on that Chesapeake Western Baldwin. They are located on the left side of the locomotive (from the cab forward), and the photo was taken from the right side.
B the way there is atypo on the locomotive model, 662 ia a DS4-4-660, not a DS4-4-600.