Western Maryland 1309: The Return of the Fireball

Since 2014, the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has tirelessly worked to restore former Chesapeake & Ohio Class H-6 2-6-6-2 Mallet number 1309 to operation. With a price tag of 3.5 Million dollars, the restoration of the mighty mallet was not an easy task. With multiple dates of operation being announced and falling through, some began losing faith that steam would be returning to the iconic Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.

In 2020, Train Magazine was involved in multiple fundraisers to help push the project over the finish line. On December 31, 2020, Chesapeake & Ohio 1309 was steamed up and moved under its own power for the first time in 64 years. After a quiet 2021, the Railroad announced in late July that 1309 would be powering the final weekend of Polar Express Trips in Mid-December. Following the announcement, the locomotive began a series of test runs in Late-November and Early-December and emerged as Western Maryland 1309.

Following these test runs, on Friday, December 17, 2021 at 3:30 PM, Western Maryland 1309 pulled its first revenue train for the first time in 65 years.

Over the course of the weekend, the locomotive pulled 10 trains, 5 during the day and 5 during the night from the railroad's headquarters in Cumberland, Maryland to the famous Helmstetter's Curve. The trips were about 10 miles long and 1 hour in length. The locomotive and its crew put on a great show for hundreds of railfans who were trackside to witness this historic event. So sit back, relax, and enjoy mountain railroading at its finest with 1309 at the point of the railroad's first scheduled steam passenger trains in over 6 years.

A very special thank you goes out to Joseph Fusco, Trevor Laber, Jeff Rayner, Mike Roche, and the Allegany Preservation Society Limited for helping light the night scenes that would have been otherwise unattainable!

The whistle worn by 1309 in this video is a Norfolk & Western Hooter from Class A Number 1208.

This video was filmed on Saturday, December 18 and Sunday, December 19, 2021.

Filmed & Edited by Mark Turkovich

This film may not be reproduced or redistributed in any manner.

©MPT Productions 2021