(The following story by Alicia Greenleigh appeared on The Salt Lake Tribune website on July 6.)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — So she needs a little work. Who wouldn’t after 100 years?
Heber Valley Railroad is holding a “Celebration for Restoration” Saturday to help raise money to restore its 100-year-old steam locomotive, No. 618. The train is one of three steam and two diesel engines the railroad operates for special events and regularly scheduled excursions.
“Our purpose for having steam locomotives at Heber Valley Railroad is to connect generations. As the people who remember steam locomotives disappear, so do the memories of what [the trains] used to represent in this country,” said Craig Lacey, executive director of Heber Valley Railroad.
No. 618 was built in 1907 by Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. It carried freight in Utah, Idaho and Montana until 1957, when Union Pacific donated it to Utah and it was put on display at the state fairgrounds. “She was a big attraction there, but kids began to climb all over her and damage her, so a group of railway historians and businessmen decided to save her,” Lacey said.
But, because Union Pacific’s donation was based on the condition that No. 618 could not be sold or scrapped, the group’s original idea was to dig a huge hole and bury the engine, Lacey said.
“I don’t know what their thought process was, but I’m thinking it was because [the group] didn’t know what else to do with her.”
In 1971, Utah lawmakers created what is now the Heber Valley Railroad and appropriated $1 million to restore and start the line. Since then, HVRR has been financially independent.
Now, good ol’ No. 618 is due for major work at an estimated cost of $725,000.
The railway received a grant to fund half of the project with the stipulation that HVRR must raise all the money 30 months after the restoration work begins. The Heber Valley Railroad currently has $500,000, and hopes to begin work this winter. And it is looking for help from railroad buffs.
In addition to outright donations, people can buy a stay bolt (a component that goes into the boiler for) $500, or a locomotive wheel made of cast iron in the center with a tire shrunk onto the outside, for $10,000. The donors’ names will then be put on a plaque.
All aboard!