Design changes, revenue service, and retirement as a display No. 1361 was one of 425 K4 class steam locomotives built between 1914 and 1928 for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) as their primary mainline passenger locomotive. Built in May 1918 at PRR's Juniata Shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania, No. 1361 was assigned to haul PRR's
Blue Ribbon passenger train fleet, including the
Broadway Limited, between
New York City and
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, via the
PRR mainline. As initially built, No. 1361 was originally equipped with a square-shaped
oil headlight, a round number plate, a
screw reverser, a long wooden
pilot, and a 70-P-75 type
tender, which held of water and of coal. During the 1920s, No. 1361 was re-equipped with a cylindrical-shaped electric headlight, a steel bar pilot, a power reverser, a
keystone shaped number plate, and a 90-P-75 type tender, which held of water and of coal. By the mid-1930s, PRR's passenger trains grew longer and heavier, which led to No. 1361 and the other K4s required to
double head and even triple head each other. At the same time, when PRR's Eastern Region line between New York and
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was electrified, No. 1361 was relocated to the Central Division, running from Pittsburgh further west to
Chicago, Illinois;
Cincinnati, Ohio; and
St. Louis, Missouri. After the end of
World War II in 1945, No. 1361 was re-equipped with a cast steel pilot and a vertically retractable
coupler while its headlight and
dynamo's positions were switched from the front and top of the
smokebox. During that time, No. 1361 swapped out its original 110-P-75 tender with a 130-P-75 type, which held of water and of coal. In September 1956, No. 1361 was retired from the PRR and was cosmetically refurbished to be on display next to the Horseshoe Curve, where it was dedicated on June 8, 1957. It had traveled over during its revenue service.
Short excursion service On September 16, 1985, PRR's successor
Conrail and Assemblyman
Richard Geist removed No. 1361 from its display site and moved it to the
Railroaders Memorial Museum (RMM) in Altoona for its fifth anniversary. There were originally plans to have the locomotive cosmetically restored again, but the RMM sought to restore it to operating condition for excursion service. No. 1361's former display location at the Horseshoe Curve was taken over by an
EMD GP9 diesel locomotive No. 7048, painted in PRR livery. The restoration work of No. 1361 was performed by Doyle McCormack and his team, who were responsible for restoring
Southern Pacific (SP)
4-8-4 No. 4449 in the 1970s. On April 12, 1987, the locomotive moved under its own power for the first time in 31 years and made its first excursion run from Altoona to
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. On December 18, 1987, the Pennsylvania General Assembly designated Nos. 1361 and 3750 as the official state steam locomotives; the same bill designated the
GG1 No. 4859 as the state
electric locomotive. In August 1988, No. 1361 pulled an excursion on the Conrail mainline from Altoona to
York, Pennsylvania, but during the return run, the locomotive suffered a
catastrophic failure of its
main bearing and
drive axle near
Lewistown. The RMM then planned to sell No. 1361 to a Keystone Restoration and Preservation, Inc., a new group that would operate No. 1361 and raise funds for it, while the museum would retain the rights to display the locomotive on their property. In 1996, the locomotive was moved to the
Steamtown National Historic Site in
Scranton, Pennsylvania, for its rebuild. But the restoration work progressed slowly, since some original parts needed to be replaced with fabricated duplicates. In 2008, the RMM cancelled the effort to rebuild No. 1361 at Steamtown facilities, stopped paying out funds, and began planning to return the locomotive and its parts to Altoona. In 2010, most of No. 1361's parts, including the
cab,
driving wheels,
frame, and tender, returned to the RMM, but the
boiler and some other parts were stored at the
East Broad Top Railroad shops in
Orbisonia, Pennsylvania. In 2015, the museum completed the construction of its Harry Bennett Memorial
Roundhouse to store No. 1361's boiler, tender, frame, and other components.
Third restoration In May 2018, restoration hopes were renewed when a private restoration fund was created by Bennett Levin, a former
Philadelphia commissioner, and
Wick Moorman, a former CEO of
Amtrak. In October 2019, No. 1361's tender was fully repaired, given new
roller-bearing trucks, and had its
water scoop restored for demonstration. In June 2021, the museum hired the contracting firm FMW Solutions to rebuild No. 1361's boiler with a new firebox. The cost of the restoration work was estimated around $2.4 million. In late June 2022, the construction of No. 1361's new firebox began. On October 14, 2022, the RMM and the
Western Maryland Scenic Railroad in
Cumberland, Maryland, held an evening fundraiser: an excursion pulled by WSMR's
No. 1309 steam locomotive; raising more than $13,000 for the restoration. By December 2022, the new firebox was nearing completion. On February 13, 2023, the RMM acquired an ex-PRR B60b baggage car from the Railway Excursion Management Company for use behind the proposed No. 1361 exhibition train. On May 6, 2023, during the 105th anniversary of No. 1361's construction, the RMM sponsored a fundraiser excursion on the
Everett Railroad with
2-6-0 No. 11 pulling it. In July 2023, the construction work for the new firebox was fully funded. The original PRR firebox design increased the cost and complexity of the work. In November 2023, museum officials said the remaining three years of work would cost at least $1.9 million. In January 2025, the
Strasburg Rail Road's mechanical services team in
Strasburg, Pennsylvania, determined that No. 1361's driving wheels had passed FRA inspection with no need for refurbishment. ==See also==