Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 734
Western Maryland Scenic Railroad No. 734, also known as Mountain Thunder, is an SC-1 class 2-8-0 “Consolidation” type steam locomotive originally built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1916 for the Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad (LS&I) as No. 18. It was renumbered to 34 in 1925. No. 34 was used to pull heavy iron ore trains for the LS&I, until it was retired in 1961. The locomotive was subsequently sold to the Marquette and Huron Mountain Railroad, where it was stored in a sideline alongside other LS&I steam locomotives. In 1971, No. 34 was sold to the Illinois Railway Museum for static display.
WMSR No. 734 at the Cumberland Station, on August 23, 2006
No. 734 crossing the Potomac River with EMD GP30 No. 501, on October 7, 2007
No. 734 being aligned on a Turntable in Frostburg, on September 5, 2010
No. 734 traveling on Helmstetter’s Curve, on September 5, 2010
Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railway locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it moved to nearby Eddystone in the early 20th century. The company was for decades the world's largest producer of steam locomotives, but struggled to compete when demand switched to diesel locomotives. Baldwin produced the last of its 70,000-plus locomotives in 1951, before merging with the Lima-Hamilton Corporation on September 11, 1951, to form the Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation.
Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1875
Baldwin Locomotive Works builder's plate, 1922
Baldwin Locomotive Works c. 1900
Matthias W. Baldwin, the company's founder