Preservation
There are only two surviving K4s class locomotives. Number 3750 is on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg. Number 1361 was set to be restored to operation by the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona through the restoration shop at Steamtown National Historic Site. However, due to the difficulty of overseeing the work, Altoona has halted the restoration until their restoration shop is completed. As of 2008, 1361 is sitting in pieces in a corner of Steamtown's roundhouse. In 2010, the Railroaders Memorial Museum announced that the restoration was to be canceled, and the engine, when it arrives at the museum, would be reassembled and receive only a cosmetic restoration. At that time, most of the restoration was completed save for that of the boiler and other components, so it is possible that the museum may resume the restoration to operating condition in the future.
Despite the publication in the paper, museum personnel have stated though the cosmetic restoration idea was discussed, it is still museum intention to restore the engine to operating status. With the announcement of NS restarting its own steam program, there also exists, at least a little hope, of a future with a K4 under steam on the high iron.
Read more about this topic: PRR K4s
Famous quotes containing the word preservation:
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—Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)
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—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)