Age of Steam Acquires C&O 2-6-6-2 1308 From Huntington, WV

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Mon Sep 29, 2025 11:40 am

https://ageofsteamroundhouse.org/news/t ... ocomotive/

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SUGARCREEK, Ohio — The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum is excited to announce the acquisition of former Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) 2-6-6-2 steam locomotive #1308 from the Collins P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society (CPH) in Huntington, West Virginia.

“The #1308 has been displayed unprotected outdoors in a Huntington city park since October 9, 1962,” said Nathan Vance, Executive Director of Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum (AoSRM). “While CPH members regularly repainted their steamer, paint protected only #1308’s exterior surfaces, and rusting of the locomotive’s boiler and all the other steel parts has continued unabated from the inside out for 63 years. The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum can end all of that.” Added Vance.

The AoSRM, which is a heated and dry environment that was constructed by our founder, Jerry Joe Jacobson, to restore, operate, maintain, and exhibit his personal collection of steam locomotives, the 18-stall AoSRM is a great home for any railroad relic to keep it from the elements of rain, snow, and ice.

“The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum always wanted an articulated locomotive having dual sets of driving wheels underneath one long boiler, with the forward set of drivers having the ability to swing from side to side as needed to navigate curved tracks.” Added Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum, Chief Mechanical Officer, Tim Sposato. “Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum management inquired with CPH officials if they would consider relinquishing ownership of the #1308, and we were pleasantly surprised to learn that the CPH Board of Directors liked the idea of possible new ownership for their locomotive,” Sposato added.

The AoSRM’s ability to transport, rebuild, restore, and display locomotives inside the Roundhouse helped the CPH board unanimously voted to release #1308 to the AoSRM.

The #1308 is one of ten such 2-6-6-2 articulated locomotives built in November 1949 to pull C&O coal trains from several privately-owned coal loading tipples to the railroad’s large assembly yard in the unincorporated community of Peach Creek, located in Logan County, West Virginia. There are fewer than 30 such articulated steam locomotives remaining today, and the AoSRM is fortunate to acquire one of these rarities, especially because it is Baldwin Locomotive Works ‘ next-to-last locomotive constructed for use in the United States. #1308 is the AoSRM’s 25th steam locomotive in the collection.

“Now begins the gargantuan task of moving the 99-foot long, 500-ton #1308 from Huntington, West Virginia, to Sugarcreek, Ohio.” Said Vance. “The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum has accomplished such feats in the past, and we are well prepared to do so once again.” Commented Vance.

For more information about the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum and to stay updated on #1308, visit ageofsteamroundhouse.org, and also keep up to date with the latest news on Facebook.

Dave Lewandoski · **Joined:** Sun Aug 22, 2004 5:58 pm **Posts:** 1084

Great to see another park engine out of the weather. AOS will do a great job on it.

philip.marshall · **Posted:** Tue Sep 30, 2025 1:24 pm

This is good news, and will ensure the 1308's long-term preservation.

However, I'm concerned to see that the NRHS website lists the Collis P. Huntington Chapter (CPH) as "inactive":
https://nrhs.com/chapters/west-virginia/collis-p-huntington/
Are they yet another organization in trouble? What is happening with their other rolling stock, not to mention their library and archives?

-Philip Marshall

PaulWWoodring · **Posted:** Wed Oct 01, 2025 6:11 am

They really hit the skids when they lost the New River train excursions. That was largely their major reason for being in later years, much like many NRHS chapters went out of business after the original NS excursion program ended in 1994.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Thu Oct 02, 2025 12:30 am

philip.marshall wrote:

However, I'm concerned to see that the NRHS website lists the Collis P. Huntington Chapter (CPH) as "inactive":
https://nrhs.com/chapters/west-virginia/collis-p-huntington/
Are they yet another organization in trouble? What is happening with their other rolling stock, not to mention their library and archives?

The National NRHS has been listing as "inactive" many chapters that have not abided by certain parameters dictated by "National." Typically it can be something as not filing an annual update of Chapter officers and activities, or there not being a current newsletter editor or treasurer to maintain contact with National. I understand there are efforts being undertaken by National to ascertain "activity" by some other Chapters.

In some cases, the rift that started a while back between the National NRHS and certain Chapters seems to have continued, with former Chapters spinning off as independent organizations. And in a few cases, the surviving core membership of some Chapters may be down to a scant few geriatric members.

In one case, the Grand Canyon Chapter [Disclaimer: I'm the Vice President of the Chapter, somehow] was formed around the time of the founding of the Grand Canyon Railway, at a time when it was a "mom and pop" operation and relationships could be casual and semi-official. It was under this era that AT&SF 3751 operated to Williams to star in one of the more spectacular National NRHS Conventions in 2002. But in 2006 the Biegerts sold their railroad and associated operations to Xanterra, concessionaire for the Grand Canyon and other National Parks, and the railroad changed from a "family operation" to a professional corporation with associated bureaucracy. In addition, a proposed "Arizona State RR Museum" project to be built in Williams has repeatedly stalled for a number of purely bureaucratic reasons.

So what had been a "support group" for the GCRY has yet to get a chance to morph into a support group for a rail museum, much as many other Chapters found their roles becoming after the cessation of annual SR/NS steam excursions or other mainline excursion operations (CP Huntington and New River Gorge, several chapters and Chessie/CSX, etc.). Many other Chapters that used to have somewhat active excursion programs decades ago have now been shut out of that revenue stream by the current combination of insurance unaffordability, unwilling host railroads, and lack of available rolling stock. In another case, the Delmarva Chapter, they were stymied by the removal of the local rail line and yards, leaving what is left (a museum in Parksley, Va.) landlocked miles from even a remote " end of a branch" connection.

Tim Moriarty · **Joined:** Thu Jun 22, 2006 4:25 pm **Posts:** 373

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In another case, the Delmarva Chapter, they were stymied by the removal of the local rail line and yards, leaving what is left (a museum in Parksley, Va.) landlocked miles from even a remote " end of a branch" connection.

A number of years ago the fellow who had been the Delmarva Chapter's newsletter editor told me the chapter had turned over the Diplomat Pullman car to the Eastern Shore Railway Museum because the chapter's membership numbers and ages precluded the chapter from being able to do much of anything with it. In the past the chapter had also provided car hosts for the annual Hurlock Fall Festival train rides (taking place tomorrow, by the way) but had to give that up for the same reason -- too few of them left and too old to continue. He described how the chapter fizzled out of existence without any fanfare. Since then he too passed away and now the Diplomat is on the Colebrookdale Railroad in PA.

Long after the chapter disappeared, the national NRHS website listed it as an active organization and included very outdated information about its activities, such as providing car hosts for an annual Santa train on the Bay Coast Railroad -- years after the line had been shut down and pulled up. It took some doing to convince the national organization that the chapter was truly gone. This also made me wonder how current was the information on other chapters?

Richard Glueck · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2025 11:14 am

I'm not surprised and think this is a great outcome. Honestly, I'd have thought she'd have wound up at WMSR. Probably the best outcome is AOS.