After 60 years, a piece of locomotive history is returning to Lexington

A 75-year old steam-powered engine will roll into Lexington this weekend, complete with a 50-year old caboose and led by an electronic locomotive that was built in 1948.

And yes, there will be craft beer to celebrate the occasion.

In fact, there will be a special brew made just for the train’s stop in Lexington. The Back on Track Steam Beer will be served starting at the locomotive’s arrival, according to Chris Campbell, the president of the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation.

The C&O 2716 engine and accompanying locomotive will be on display in Lexington’s Pepper Distillery District on Manchester Street from 3-6 p.m. Saturday. Although Campbell said the locomotive would not be boardable, Lexington residents are encouraged to get up close and personal with the steam engine.

Lexington’s Fire Department will also contribute to the historical gathering by displaying the city’s first motorized fire truck — purchased in 1911 — as well as a truck from 1948 and a modern fire engine.

The Lexington Recycling Center’s lot off Manchester Street will be open to the public to provide additional parking for the event, which is just one in a series of the engine’s exhibitions across the Bluegrass state.

The engine’s statewide journey has been affectionately named the Heritage Highball. According to Greg Mathews, executive director of the Kentucky Railway Museum, the name references the highball signal, which at one time indicated to conductors whether it was safe to continue at railroad crossings.

The Heritage Highball tour is the first time in about 60 years that the C&O 2716 has been in motion. Since about 1960 the engine sat unused at the Kentucky Railway Museum.

For its 13 years of service during the ‘40s and ‘50s, the C&O 2716 moved supplies as well as passengers, including troops serving in World War II. The engine operated mainly out of Russell, a suburb of Ashland. It was commissioned by the Virginia-based Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (C&O) Company in 1943 and completed in December of that same year.

The C&O 2716 was heavily trafficked thanks to the war effort, which necessitated fast movement of families and war materials. In the mid-1900s, travel via train was not only commonplace but “the primary method of transportation,” according to Mathews.

“At the turn of the century in 1900, one job in every four in the U.S. was either on the railroad or associated with the railroad,” Mathews said. “They built this country. The got us from the East Coast to the West Coast… They moved produce. They moved cattle. They moved everything.”

But in the ‘50s, steam engines were rapidly replaced by electric-diesel engines, which required significantly less maintenance. And in the years to come, other forms of transportation overtook trains entirely. As a result, engines like the C&O 2716 were phased out of service. According to Mathews, many steam engine parts were re-distributed to build more modern forms of transportation in the late 1900s.

Even so, many Americans have a familial link to — and as a result, a keen interest in — the railroad, according to Mathews. That link is activated by pieces of locomotive history like the C&O 2716 — the engine’s departure from New Haven on Friday was attended by over 100 visitors from Kentucky and beyond.

“All of this (excitement) has coalesced around this project,” Mathews said.

The C&O 2716’s Lexington stop is one of several as the engine re-locates from the Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven to its new home in Ravenna. There, the train’s steam engine will be completely restored under the guidance of the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation.

Once restored, the C&O 2716 will serve a number of ceremonial purposes for the Kentucky Railway Museum, according to Mathews.

Mathews hopes to see the engine restored and running by December 2020, at which time it may return to New Haven.

Of course, Kentuckians don’t have to wait until 2020 to see the C&O 2716 in action. The engine was publicly displayed in Frankfort on Friday and on Saturday morning, before the Lexington stop, it will make its way to Midway. On Sunday the engine will reach Ravenna where the arrival will be commemorated by live music starting at 2 p.m. and a dedication at 4 p.m.

Mathews anticipates the engine’s final stop in Ravenna to be attended by up to 1,000 people. To Mathews, visiting an engine like the C&O 2716 in-person is certainly worth it.

“If you’ve never stood next to a working steam engine — it’s almost like it’s alive,” Mathews said. “It huffs and it puffs. It squeaks. It hisses. It’s like it’s a living thing sitting there. You can feel the heat coming off it, you can feel the energy associated with it… And once you push that throttle and it starts to roll... It’s magical.”

This story was originally published July 26, 2019 at 6:47 PM.