Any news on the Pennsylvania K-4 Steam Engine.
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@jim sutter posted:Any news on the Pennsylvania K-4 Steam Engine.
No. It will be finished when it's finished.
Here is a picture from the Railroaders Museum in July. The tender is in another building but I didn't get there to take any pictures.
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Is this 1362, formerly seeing occasional excursion use, and on long-term display at Horseshoe Curve before that?
Mike
Yes, this engine I'm asking about is #1362.
Guys; you are one digit off. The number is 1361.
Curt
A fairly recent update on the seemingly eternal restoration of K4s #1361:
Chugging along: New firebox is latest restoration to K4 train | News, Sports, Jobs - Altoona Mirror
However, there is promise. I follow a few organizations on LinkedIn that have shown real progress on putting this locomotive back together correctly for once.
I rode behind it from York to Menges Mills, PA in late August, 1988 with my late mom who passed in the hospital last year on June 14 before we went to Ocean City, MD for the first time. I'm glad I did because who knows if I will ever get the opportunity again. At least there is some progress toward getting it running again. And apparently NS will let it run on their tracks to tour the state and get to other railroads where it can operate excursions for the public. Nittany and Bald Eagle and Everett Railroad are nearby.
This is a long haul project. I would not expect this to be done in any time, maybe 20 years if it's lucky? Heck, I don't know nor what all is involved as I haven't ready anything on it save just one blurb from a couple of years ago.
This restoration project has an ability to evoke emotions, due to controversies associated with previous attempts. However, it would be nice to see the project proceed at a reasonable pace, with quality workmanship, to completion. Negative emotions rob us of the ability to fully enjoy our lives, including our affinity to trains.
The Pennsylvania RR K-4 Pacific was an iconic steam locomotive for those from the Northeast (who are the largest population of railroad enthusiasts and modelers), and was the power for many legendary Pennsy Limiteds. It seems worthy of being remembered by returning an example to running condition.
@amflyer336 posted:Here is a picture from the Railroaders Museum in July. The tender is in another building but I didn't get there to take any pictures.
Hmm... looks a long way from completion! 
Trains Magazine posted this update over the summer:
https://www.trains.com/trn/new...-on-prr-k4s-no-1361/
This is a link to an interesting video on the restoration from 2021:
https://www.fmwsolutions.com/n...-railroad-k4-no-1361
Because of the original Pennsylvania Railroad design, restoration of this locomotive requires completely redesigning/rebuilding the firebox.
To think, hasn't it been torn up in "restoration" longer than it sat on Horseshoe Curve? I look forward to her return and all, but geez.
It will be finished on Thursday. They just don’t know which Thursday.
It really doesn’t look any further along than when I saw it on the floor at Steamtown maybe 15 years ago.
I think Times Square might be right.
@Danr posted:It really doesn’t look any further along than when I saw it on the floor at Steamtown maybe 15 years ago.
I think Times Square might be right.FRA
If you haven't, watch the video which details out what all had to be accomplished before any work could be performed - the museum was in a bad financial state, a new museum board was needed, some previous repair work and parts used weren't adequate/acceptable, and the boiler folks have had to make some modifications to make the boiler safe to use per current FRA standards. Going by pictures is deceiving because so much of the work has been spent making the boiler as safe as possible and rebuilt to modern specs - not very glamorous like having the boiler resting on its chassis with rods in place, but it has to be done to make 1361 a viable, long term restoration that can run for years.
@Hot Water posted:No. It will be finished when it's finished.
Really???
Thanks for posting the link to that video. It finally explains what the heck IS going on...and gently what had been so...screwed up before. All that redesign really must've put the kabosh on the previous effort, and these guys seem to be approaching it right. Before it's just to late to get it all back together. I wonder how many components were simply lost over the past 40 years. Amazing there was enough morale to "relight" the fire to restart the project.
It took 30 years for the 2102 at Reading and Northern to run again. I rode behind it for the third time last year on Oct 1 from Reading to Jim Thorpe with my younger brother and my late mom's man friend who lived with us since early 1994. He grew up west of Kempton near Hawk Mountain. #1361 hasn't run since August 1988 I believe when it ran excursions from York, PA on two different lines. I was on one from York to Menges Mills, PA and return with my younger brother and our late mom who passed away last year on June 14 in the hospital because her lungs were weak. She wore oxygen for several years and even went on two 765 excursions in PA, a 611 excursion from Manassas, VA on June 4, 2016, and 611 again at Strasburg in Sept 2019 while wearing oxygen. She had battery units and several batteries for traveling. After the York train ride we went to Ocean City, MD for the first time for a few days. The second time was in July 2000. I lost my father on March 8, 1986 because a car hit him while walking at night 2 miles from our house. We went out to a movie several miles away that day and he stayed home. He took us to Wildwood, NJ in Aug 1982 and Aug 1983 and Strasburg in 1981, 1983, 1985 and our mom took us in 1986, we stayed at the Red Caboose Motel a few times. We rode the WK&S a few times with our father and mother.
@MTN posted:If you haven't, watch the video which details out what all had to be accomplished before any work could be performed - the museum was in a bad financial state, a new museum board was needed, some previous repair work and parts used weren't adequate/acceptable, and the boiler folks have had to make some modifications to make the boiler safe to use per current FRA standards. Going by pictures is deceiving because so much of the work has been spent making the boiler as safe as possible and rebuilt to modern specs - not very glamorous like having the boiler resting on its chassis with rods in place, but it has to be done to make 1361 a viable, long term restoration that can run for years.
All well and good but, the reality is that I will not live long enough to ever see it run. Good thing I saw it back in the 80’s.
