By William “Skip” Deegans
So long No. 614.
The final piece of the ill-fated Greenbrier Resort’s private train is about the leave our area. The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad 614 is the last mainline steam locomotive built in the United States, and has been on display at the C&O Railway Heritage Center in Clifton Forge, Virginia. Built in 1948 by the Lima-Hamilton Corporation, the 5,000-horsepower locomotive was designed to haul C&O’s flagship passenger trains through the Allegheny Mountains. The locomotive was retired from active service in 1952 and donated to the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore in 1976. Ross Rowland, a former New York commodities broker and railroad preservationist, acquired the locomotive in 1979 and undertook a $1.5 million restoration.
In 2009, Jim Justice, owner of The Greenbrier, invested $15 million and together with Rowland, Paul Nichini, Pennsylvania railroad owner, and John Hankins, Huntington, WV lawyer and grandson of a C&O engineer, organized the Greenbrier Express Company to develop a private train that would carry passengers from Washington, D.C. to The Greenbrier. To kick off the project, the group held a press conference and cocktail party at the exclusive Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington. The company purchased 15 railroad passenger cars that were decorated by Carlton Varney, interior decorator with the Dorothy Draper & Co. Varney said, “My goal is to make this train very regal and royal.” Rowland’s C&O 614 was selected to pull the cars to and from West Virginia’s resort.
For various reasons, the plan for the private train proved to be unfeasible, and the project was canceled in May 2012. The newly renovated and decorated cars were auctioned. The C&O 614 locomotive was sold last year by Rowland to RJD American and will soon be moved to Strasburg, Pennsylvania, for further restoration. The new owner plans to operate the locomotive for historical and educational purposes. Someday, perhaps, it will be seen again in Greenbrier County as it chugs it way through the Alleghanies.
Sources: Railfan & Railroad Magazine, American-Rails.com, Washington Life, Thousand Island Life.
Photo from Wikipedia.
