Rounding the Bend

The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 1309 at full steam coming into the railroad depot in Cumberland, Maryland! The 1309 is a compound articulated class "H-6" "Mallet" type steam locomotive with a 2-6-6-2 wheel arrangement. As the last steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1949, it was originally operated by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) where it pulled coal trains until its retirement in 1956. In 1975, it was moved to the B&O Railroad Museum for static display until 2014, when it was purchased by the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad (WMSR), who undertook a multi-year effort to restore it to operating condition. The restoration was completed on December 31, 2020, and the locomotive entered tourist excursion service for the WMSR on December 17, 2021. This was the first time an articulated locomotive operated in the eastern United States since the retirement of Norfolk and Western 1218 in 1991. It is the largest steam locomotive in regular operating service in the United States.

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