Western Maryland Railroad No. 6 is a C-150-3 class 3-truck Shay type steam locomotive that was built by the Lima Locomotive Works of Lima, OH in 1945 for the Western Maryland Railroad (WM).
The locomotive was shipped to Elkins, WV, in May 1945 to work on the railroad's coal mining Chaffee Branch, with a maximum grade in places of 9%.
In 1953, the locomotive was retired and it eventually donated to the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, MD and ran under steam there in August of that year, then it remained on static display in the B&O Museum roundhouse for the next 26 years until being traded to the Cass Scenic Railroad in Pocahontas County, WV in exchange for Greenbrier Cheat & Elk 3-truck Shay No. 1.
It entered excursion service on May 17, 1981 on the former C&O Greenbrier Division to Durbin, but clearance restrictions and its 324,000 lb. weight meant the locomotive was rarely used on the CSRR.
As of today, the locomotive is operational at the CSRR. In October 2018, it was temporarily taken out of service for its Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) federally mandated 1,472-day boiler inspection and overhaul. It eventually returned to service just recently on September 3, 2023.
Trivia[]
- This was the last Shay that was operated by the Western Maryland Railroad.
- The locomotive had a service life of only four years and was then stored at Vindex, Maryland Junction and then Hagerstown, MD.
- At the B&O Railroad Museum, No. 6 was later traded for Greenbrier Cheat & Elk No. 1.
- In 2008, the Mountain State Railroad and Logging Historical Association brought steam back to Elkins with Western Maryland Shay No. 6. This event marked the first time in several years that one of the Cass geared locomotives made the trip to Elkins for a weekend of excursions.
- No. 6 was featured in the video, "Kids Love Trains".
- This locomotive briefly appeared in the 2015 DW Documentary "A train ride through American history – New Orleans to New York".
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