The National Park Service has approved the transfer of a 1923 locomotive from Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton to a museum in the engine’s native area in upstate New York.
The transfer of the historic Norwood & St. Lawrence Railroad Locomotive No. 210 from Steamtown to the St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum in Madrid, New York, marks the successful completion of a complex, multi-year effort to ensure the locomotive’s long-term preservation and interpretation in the region where it spent nearly its entire operating career.
“Returning No. 210 to its place of origin is an excellent example of responsible stewardship strengthening the entire railroad preservation community,” Steamtown NHS Superintendent Jeremy Komasz said in an announcement Thursday. “Successfully transferring the locomotive to an organization dedicated to preserving its local history allows its story to be told where it is most meaningful.”
Built in 1923 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady, New York, No. 210 served the Norwood & St. Lawrence Railroad for decades, becoming an enduring part of the industrial and transportation history of northern New York.
The museum in St. Lawrence County, New York is near the U.S. border with Canada.
Norwood & St. Lawrence Railroad Locomotive No. 210 . (PHOTO PROVIDED/ COURTESY OF STEAMTOWN NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE)
According to the announcement:
• Steamtown National Historic Site connects visitors with the history of American railroading and its profound influence on the nation’s industrial, commercial and social development through the preservation of historic locomotives, rolling stock, railroad infrastructure, museum collections, archives and the continued operation of historic railroad equipment.
• The transfer highlights the collaborative nature of historic preservation throughout the United States. The National Park Service, museums, historical societies, nonprofit organizations, volunteers and local communities each play an essential role in preserving America’s railroad heritage. By working together, these organizations help ensure that historic resources remain accessible, relevant and available to educate and inspire future generations.
• No. 210 moving back to northern New York represents an important milestone but should not be viewed as establishing a routine process. The transfer was the culmination of a lengthy effort with unique historical, legal, operational, and stewardship considerations involving federal law and policy review and extensive coordination between federal and state agencies and the receiving organization.
• The transfer also supports Steamtown’s long-term stewardship strategy to allocate preservation funding, restoration capacity, track space and staff resources on nationally significant locomotives, passenger cars, freight equipment, railroad structures and infrastructure that collectively tell the broad story of American railroading.
Steamtown, which opened in 1995, shattered attendance records in June during a “Big Boy Reunion” featuring a visit by Union Pacific Big Boy 4014, the world’s largest operating steam locomotive, side-by-side with the park’s nonoperational Big Boy 4012.