The J&L Narrow Gauge Railroad has a once in a lifetime
opportunity to preserve two identical sisters of our J&L 58 and to
bring them to Youngstown for preservation and restoration. The
locomotives are currently located in Ontario, Canada and have been
offered for sale to us.
Of the seven of this type of locomotive originally built for
Jones & Laughlin Steel for their 23" gauge railroad at the
Pittsburgh Works, miraculously four of them still exists. Six were
purchased by Crown Metal Products in the 1970s and moved to Wyano, PA
and offered for sale. One was scrapped on site. Two were sold to
Canada, one went to Colorado and two more went to Benkart Rigging in
Cranberry, PA. Of the two at Benkart, the 59 was scrapped in the mid
1990s with most of the parts being saved. 58 was the other one.
Acquiring the Canadian Porters will allow us to have three complete locomotives in Youngstown as well as all of the existing parts from the 59 including the boiler, drivers, rods, pistons, heads etc. This would become the largest collection of identical steam locomotives outside of the preserved three foot gauge railways.
Our plan includes restoring one of these two locomotives to
operating condition to join the 58 as a regularly
operating locomotive. The other will be held in reserve and
cosmetically restored to it's appearance when in service at Jones
& Laughlin Steel.
What will the $20,000 be used for? The locomotives are for sale
for $10,000 each Canadian, which currently is approx. $7,000 US. The
remainder will be used for shipping the locomotives to Youngstown.
How long would it take to have a second operating locomotive on
the J&L Narrow Gauge? That depends on how long it takes to get
the locomotives here, but we anticipate being able to start working on
the restoration in 2021.
Sometime during 2020 we will move the two boxcars donated by CSX
to our site and convert them into enginehouses. This will provide
enclosed storage for all three locomotives as well as workshop space
to support restoration and operation activities.
We at the J&L Narrow Gauge Railroad are excited about this
opportunity and ask our supporters to consider helping us in this endeavor.
