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C&O 2-8-4 Kanawah Berkshire Steam Engine

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C&O 2-8-4 Kanawah Berkshire Steam Engine
Posted by quizshow904 on Saturday, March 22, 2014 9:01 AM

Anyone know where I might find some nice pictures of a C&O 284 Kanawah Berkshire steam locomotive pulling a coal train? They used to run the tracks behind my Grandmother's house in Huntington, WV and I used to watch for hours. I am working on my Lionel O guage layout and I have 2 C&O kanawah engines. I would like to put something nice on the wall.

Thanks

Paul ( retired in Birmingham)

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Posted by Firelock76 on Saturday, March 22, 2014 9:25 AM

Paul, try www.railpictures.net, you'll find some Kanawah shots there.

Also, search for C&O Kanawah on the 'net for other possibilities.

Lucky guy, I wish my Grandma's house had a steam railroad in the backyard!  No matter, her coal furnace was fascinating enough! 

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Saturday, March 22, 2014 10:12 AM

Grandma's house had the PRR Bernice Cutoff running right acrosse the street.  Not a whole lot of traffic but such interesting things as the "South Wind" with Atlantic Coast Line power, the earliest permutations of the Interlake Steel bottle train, and various IHB industry jobs to Republic Steel and Allied Chemical.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by Overmod on Saturday, March 22, 2014 11:07 AM

Firelock76
Also, search for C&O Kanawah on the 'net for other possibilities.

You'll get a lot more hits of the right kind, btw, if you search for "Kanawha" which is how C&O spelled it. 

I'm rather partial to 2716 -- see what happens when you enter "CO 2716" at railpictures.net.  Coal trains it isn't... but I think you'll agree the effect was remarkably good.

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Posted by Deggesty on Saturday, March 22, 2014 1:09 PM

True--and that is the way the name of the river (source of the name for the locomotive) is spelled. The pronunciation (ka-NAH-wa) can be misleading--the first "a" is very short, almost a schwah.

Johnny

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Posted by quizshow904 on Wednesday, April 2, 2014 8:18 PM

Thanks, guys. Some really neat pics. I am hopeful to get to ride the 765 in Ft Wayne one of these days soon.

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Posted by Firelock76 on Thursday, April 3, 2014 7:27 PM

You're welcome!  Enjoy the 765 ride, "when and if."

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Posted by Fred Boyer on Sunday, April 6, 2014 5:50 PM

If you are coming to Fort Wayne, drop down to North Judson.  The 2789 is sitting in our workshop.  Unfortunately, we are only open on Saturdays, but can find some people around at other days.  website: www.hoosiervalley,org.

Fred Boyer
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Posted by Firelock76 on Sunday, April 6, 2014 7:32 PM

Try www.hoosiervalley.org.

Looks like a FUN place!

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Posted by NorthWest on Sunday, April 6, 2014 10:48 PM

Also, look here: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/default.aspx

I recently had the privilege to visit C&O 2727. I stood for a moment and imagined her speeding past with a massive plume, followed by endless black hoppers. What a beautiful sight.  

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Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 28, 2014 5:54 PM

NorthWest

Also, look here: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/default.aspx

I recently had the privilege to visit C&O 2727. I stood for a moment and imagined her speeding past with a massive plume, followed by endless black hoppers. What a beautiful sight.  

     Yes, 2727 is an amazing locomotive, If you can find it, one engineer wrote the museum a letter about running her. Apparently he ran her on almost all of her runs from the time she was delivered to the time she had her fires dropped. I would put it here, but I don't want to commit plagiarism. The letter is in their "Collection Highlights" book, available on their website. Unfortunately, it seems to be over-priced. I go to the museum at least once a month and have pictures if you would like them.

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Posted by quizshow904 on Monday, August 4, 2014 7:22 AM

Which museum? Do they have a web site?

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Posted by ACY Tom on Monday, August 4, 2014 9:57 AM

Might as well just put the list of C&O 2-8-4's out there.

2700  Dennison, Ohio, at former PRR depot (formerly Charleston, WV)

2705  Baltimore, Maryland, B&O Museum

2707  Union, Illinois, Illinois Railway Museum, (formerly Cleveland, Ohio)

2716  New Haven, Kentucky, Kentucky Railway Museum

2727  Kirkwood, Missouri, National Museum of Transport

2732  Richmond, Virginia

2736  Green Bay Wisconsin, National Railroad Museum

2755  Logan, West Virginia, Chief Logan State Park

2756  Newport News, Virginia

2760 Lynchburg, Virginia, Riverside Park 

2776  Washington Court House, Ohio

2789  Peru, Indiana

Numbers 2770 and 2781 were also set aside for preservation, but I have no information on their disposition.  Number 2701 was donated to Buffalo, New York, but was scrapped due to damage.

In addition, two former Pere Marquette 2-8-4's have been preserved:

1223  Grand Haven, Michigan

1225  Steam Railroading Institute, Owosso, Michigan

It is possible that there could be some errors in this list.  If so, please submit corrections.

Tom

 

 

Tags: C&O Kanawha
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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Tuesday, August 5, 2014 7:03 AM

After seeing the above list, I'm slightly astounded by the number of Van Sweringen 2-8-4's (NKP, PM, C&O) that have been preserved.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by ACY Tom on Tuesday, August 5, 2014 7:52 AM

Might as well add the NKP Berkshires:

755  Conneaut, Ohio,  NYC Railroad station on Depot Street

757  Strasburg, Pennsylvania, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

759  Scranton, Pennsylvania, Steamtown

763  (near) Sugarcreek, Ohio, Age of Steam Roundhouse

765  New Haven, Indiana, Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society (operable)

779  Lima, Ohio, Lincoln Park

I was also reminded that the location for C&O 2789 is now North Judson, Indiana, at the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum.

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Posted by NorthWest on Tuesday, August 5, 2014 11:55 AM

Wow, that's a lot. Thanks!

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Posted by vbeach on Tuesday, August 12, 2014 2:09 AM
The one in Richmond, Va. was removed from its long time display near the interstate and Byrd Field a while back. Last I heard it was getting a badly needed cosmetic do over and would go on display next to the Broad Street Station.
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Posted by Firelock76 on Tuesday, August 12, 2014 5:53 PM

Vbeach, the Richmond Kanawha has been cosmetically restored and is now displayed at the Science Museum of Virginia, the old RF&P Broad Street Station. 

The downside is it's behind fences on the musum property to you have to pay admission to get near it.  Maybe that's not such a downside, at least it keeps vandals away.

Aside from the sheet metal that would have covered the asbestos boiler lagging being missing it's pretty complete.  A restoration wouldn't be an impossibility but it would be costly, considering it's been on outdoor display for 50-plus years.  And being buried in CSX territory I don't know where you'd run it either.

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Posted by Leo_Ames on Wednesday, August 13, 2014 5:41 AM

ACY
Numbers 2770 and 2781 were also set aside for preservation, but I have no information on their disposition.  Number 2701 was donated to Buffalo, New York, but was scrapped due to damage.

What's particularly unfortunate with these two was that they didn't meet their demise until the 1970's. A date where it was all but shameful that such a fate was allowed to happen. K-2 2-8-2 1189 met a similar fate. 

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Posted by ACY Tom on Friday, August 15, 2014 4:40 PM

Yes, I had heard that these locos had been scrapped; but I had no documentation, so I included them in the list, hoping someone would provide the info.

The loss of the last C&O K-2 Mikado was particularly sad because there are no others in existence, and the K-2 and K-3 Mikes had a particular C&O look that we won't see again.

Tom

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Posted by JOSEPH the steam buff on Monday, September 22, 2014 6:20 PM
Red. Are you guy,s still trying to make her operational?
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Posted by PM Railfan on Monday, December 8, 2014 2:28 AM

For further info you may want to talk to the folks at the C&OHS. They put out a catalog with all kinds of C&O stuff for your walls. 

Kanawhas (pron: Canna - wha [2 sylabels, not 3]) seemed to fair the best of any steam loco type. There are 12 of them. NKP Berkshires are second. True testament to the Van Sweringen design (AMC/Lima)!

I miss seeing the one in Richmond Va. I made sure everytime i headed south on I95 i was in the slow lane so as to get the best view of her. Havent seen her since they moved her to the science museum.

Took some time last year to poke around the one in Newport News Va.. Oh my, she is looking bad. Stuck out by herself in the park, far away from the main office, she is constantly riddled with trash and "poor mans art" (you folks call it grafitti).

I sometimes wonder what our other memorials to society would look like if left in this situation. Can you imagine Miss Liberty in a rust color? Or Abrahams nose falling off Mt Rushmore? Poor mans artwork all over the original Declaration of Independence?

 

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Posted by BigJim on Monday, December 8, 2014 5:34 AM

.

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Monday, December 8, 2014 7:22 AM

PM Railfan

I sometimes wonder what our other memorials to society would look like if left in this situation. Can you imagine Miss Liberty in a rust color? Or Abrahams nose falling off Mt Rushmore? Poor mans artwork all over the original Declaration of Independence?

Let's get serious here.  I would hardly consider a Van Sweringen 2-8-4 to be in the same league as the aforementioned national treasures.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by Deggesty on Monday, December 8, 2014 10:35 AM

I think the Statue of Liberty looks good in her oxide coat. Of course, I have never had objections to the color of cupric oxide; I do not like the looks of iron oxide, though.

Johnny

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Posted by PM Railfan on Monday, December 8, 2014 11:54 AM

CSSHEGEWISCH

 

Let's get serious here.  I would hardly consider a Van Sweringen 2-8-4 to be in the same league as the aforementioned national treasures. 

 

Im being very serious. Statue of liberty didnt build this country. Rairoads did. Mt Rushmore just sits there, a locomotive brings everything you ever needed to your table, home, or work. Railroads brought our soldiers and troops to where they were needed to fight for freedom. The Declaration is only a document proclaiming it.

If they arent treasures, then why did we save them. Place them in museums? Railroads gave us everything from fast food to time zones to the stock market. All major facets of life today. No national monument ever did that.

I have no problem calling a locomotive a national treaure. Without them, this country would still be on dirt roads, living in log cabins.

Some might not see it as i do (understandable), but they are indeed - treasures. And since the whole country can appreciate them... that makes them 'national' treasures.

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Posted by Firelock76 on Monday, December 8, 2014 7:01 PM

You make some good points PM, VERY good points indeed. 

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Posted by PM Railfan on Tuesday, December 9, 2014 2:13 AM

Firelock76

You make some good points PM, VERY good points indeed. 

 

Thumbs Up Thank you Firelock! I tend to get a little overly passionate about trains, huh?  It's in the blood. Laugh

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Posted by basementdweller on Sunday, March 8, 2015 8:15 PM

Here is the one located in Washington Court House where I live. Desperately in need of a coat of paint, it also has parts missing.

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Posted by BaltACD on Sunday, March 8, 2015 8:41 PM

Why would a NKP locomotive end up in Washington Court House, OH when the road didn't operate there?

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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