After years of restoration, the Lewes Junction Railroad and Bridge Association welcomed its 1913 vintage locomotive in Stango Park May 5. The historic engine joins the coal tender and red caboose in the LJRBA's display next to the Lewes Public Library. Engine 60 will be formally dedicated Saturday, May 9, which is National Train Day. BILL SHULL PHOTOS
Rail fans watch the historic moment that the boiler is attached to the running gear.
Two large rotators from Betts Towing in Newark lift the boiler and running gear into place.
The boiler is lowered onto a pin on the saddle.
An employee from FMW Solutions, the contractor that restored the locomotive, looks inside the boiler.
A worker checks to make sure the engine's wheels are lined up with the rails, as the running gear is lowered.
The rotators lift and swing the running gear into place on the rails, the final resting place for Engine 60.
Lewes Mayor Amy Marasco, left, and Councilman Joe Elder watch as the running gear is lowered into place.
The place where the boiler is attached to the running gear is called the saddle. It had to be sanded down before the main section was lowered into place.
Randy Voith of LJRBA gets some video of the running gear as crews carefully lower it onto the rails.
Jerry Virden leans over to get a closer look at the big steel wheels on Engine 60. Virden grew up about 100 yards from the display. He said he remembers when the trains were still rolling in and out of Lewes on the real tracks nearby.
Randy Voith, left, and David Ludlow of LJRBA, check out the running gear, the first of three sections of Engine 60.
A member of the team from Betts Towing checks the cables before a large rotator lifted the boiler.
The back end of the boiler that will be facing the Pennsylvania Railroad coal tender that was placed on the rails in 2025.
After years of restoration, the Lewes Junction Railroad and Bridge Association welcomed its 1913 vintage locomotive in Stango Park May 5. The historic engine joins the coal tender and red caboose in the LJRBA's display next to the Lewes Public Library. Engine 60 will be formally dedicated Saturday, May 9, which is National Train Day. BILL SHULL PHOTOS
Rail fans watch the historic moment that the boiler is attached to the running gear.
Two large rotators from Betts Towing in Newark lift the boiler and running gear into place.
The boiler is lowered onto a pin on the saddle.
An employee from FMW Solutions, the contractor that restored the locomotive, looks inside the boiler.
A worker checks to make sure the engine's wheels are lined up with the rails, as the running gear is lowered.
The rotators lift and swing the running gear into place on the rails, the final resting place for Engine 60.
Lewes Mayor Amy Marasco, left, and Councilman Joe Elder watch as the running gear is lowered into place.
The place where the boiler is attached to the running gear is called the saddle. It had to be sanded down before the main section was lowered into place.
Randy Voith of LJRBA gets some video of the running gear as crews carefully lower it onto the rails.
Jerry Virden leans over to get a closer look at the big steel wheels on Engine 60. Virden grew up about 100 yards from the display. He said he remembers when the trains were still rolling in and out of Lewes on the real tracks nearby.
Randy Voith, left, and David Ludlow of LJRBA, check out the running gear, the first of three sections of Engine 60.
A member of the team from Betts Towing checks the cables before a large rotator lifted the boiler.
The back end of the boiler that will be facing the Pennsylvania Railroad coal tender that was placed on the rails in 2025.
Jerry Virden came to Stango Park May 5 to watch Engine 60 get lifted onto the track.
For the Lewes Junction Railroad and Bridge Association, it was the last stop for the historic locomotive and the end of the line for a project that had been coming down the tracks for years.
Virden grew up about 100 yards away and remembers when the train rolled past for real.
"You just took the railroad for granted. I used to count the cars. I'd see 10, 15, 20, mostly for the fish factory. Just growing up and watching them go by, and talking to the people. I was always talking to the people," Virden said.
Virden was among the railfans who gathered for the big day.
Engine 60 arrived early in the morning from Wilmington on two flatbed trucks.
Two large rotators from Betts Towing in Newark carefully raised the engine in two sections: first, the wheels, or running gear, was placed on the track. Then, the boiler was slowly lowered onto a pin, attached to a spot at the front called a saddle.
"I didn't sleep at all last night," said David Ludlow of LJRBA. "This is the last one in the world, this particular style. Even the guys who worked on it said this is pretty cool that you guys saved it, because it was rusting to the ground."
The cab is being built in Tennessee and is scheduled to arrive in about a week.
A new wooden pilot beam, which is being made in Ohio, will be attached to the front of the locomotive.
Ludlow said LJRBA will attach some other cosmetic pieces to complete the engine.
Engine 60 was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in Altoona, Pa., in 1913. It was primarly used as a switcher engine in railyards.
It will now serve as an anchor for the LJRBA display, which also includes a coal tender and a red caboose.
Engine 60 will be dedicated during a ceremony at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 9, which is National Train Day.
The train will be christened with a can of Lewes Junction Lager, brewed for the occasion by the Lewes Brewing Company.
Even though the locomotive is now firmly planted on the rails, Ludlow said the sky is the limit for LJRBA.
"I'm really hoping this draws a lot of attention to us," he said. "I'm anxious to see what other programs we can get going with the library and the history center next door."
After years of restoration, the Lewes Junction Railroad and Bridge Association welcomed its 1913 vintage locomotive in Stango Park May 5. The historic engine joins the coal tender and red caboose in the LJRBA's display next to the Lewes Public Library. Engine 60 will be formally dedicated Saturday, May 9, which is National Train Day. BILL SHULL PHOTOS
Rail fans watch the historic moment that the boiler is attached to the running gear.
Two large rotators from Betts Towing in Newark lift the boiler and running gear into place.
The boiler is lowered onto a pin on the saddle.
An employee from FMW Solutions, the contractor that restored the locomotive, looks inside the boiler.
A worker checks to make sure the engine's wheels are lined up with the rails, as the running gear is lowered.
The rotators lift and swing the running gear into place on the rails, the final resting place for Engine 60.
Lewes Mayor Amy Marasco, left, and Councilman Joe Elder watch as the running gear is lowered into place.
The place where the boiler is attached to the running gear is called the saddle. It had to be sanded down before the main section was lowered into place.
Randy Voith of LJRBA gets some video of the running gear as crews carefully lower it onto the rails.
Jerry Virden leans over to get a closer look at the big steel wheels on Engine 60. Virden grew up about 100 yards from the display. He said he remembers when the trains were still rolling in and out of Lewes on the real tracks nearby.
Randy Voith, left, and David Ludlow of LJRBA, check out the running gear, the first of three sections of Engine 60.
A member of the team from Betts Towing checks the cables before a large rotator lifted the boiler.
The back end of the boiler that will be facing the Pennsylvania Railroad coal tender that was placed on the rails in 2025.
