Motive Power

ig train engines seem to bring out the little boy in many men. Maybe it’s the power that seems to rumble through men’s souls when they spot the engine idling at the station; or maybe it’s just the enormity of the locomotives.

But for whatever reason, railroad locomotives are certainly memorable. The Potomac Eagle #722 locomotive has a long and storied past. While looking for a door to fit a former CSX 116 as part of a grant project to restore a locomotive for the C&O Historical Society, David Corbitt, then-president of the Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad, and Charlie Sayre, retired CSX locomotive engineer, discovered an F-7 locomotive in a Youngstown, Ohio salvage yard. Corbitt was in one part of the salvage yard looking for a door while Sayre was looking in another area. Sayre spotted the 1952 locomotive and urged Corbitt to take a look.

A short time later a deal was struck for the locomotive with LTE Rail Services, owners of the F-7. Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad employees worked with LTE’s staff to make the repairs. Lettering for the Potomac Eagle’s name was performed and a target date of September 1, 2002, was set for the locomotive to arrive at Wappocomo Station in Romney. On August 30 Potomac Eagle’s restored #722 arrived at the CSX yards in Cumberland, Md. and on August 31 it was turned around and moved to Green Spring, W. Va. Potomac Eagle engineer Craig Yokum moved the locomotive to Wappocomo Station on September 1. #722 remained in the Potomac Eagle paint scheme until 2010 when it was repainted into B&O prior to the South Branch Valley Railroad’s 100th anniversary event in Petersburg.

The F-7 was built new in 1952 for the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad. It was part of the first wave of new diesel locomotives to replace steam engines. The 722 was built by Electro Motive Division of General Motors Corporation in La Grange, Illinois. After approximately 25 years of general service hauling coal, coke and iron ore between the Great Lakes and Pittsburgh, the unit became part of a small program that would extend the unit’s useful life on a Class 1 carrier. The unit was retrofitted for special remote control operation involving the B&LE’s dock facility in Conneaut, Ohio. Only a freak accident in August 2000 kept the unit from being one of the few to reach 50 years of service with the original owner.

Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad