Byesville Scenic Railway

October 2006 Steam Excursions
on the Byesville Scenic Railway
with Ohio Central 4-6-2 Pacific #1293

The year was 1956 and it was the last year the Pennsylvania Railroad would operate a steam locomotive through the village of Byesville. Thousands of steam locomotives, some old and some relatively new, were being scrapped all over the country. They were being replaced by efficient diesel locomotives with low-maintenance internal combustion engines. These diesel locomotives would dominate all freight and excursion trains through Byesville for the next 50 years. That was until Ohio Central steam locomotive #1293 arrived for a weekend of steam excursions in October 2006.

The Byesville Scenic Railway, in cooperation with the Ohio Central Railroad, operated eight excursions with steam locomotive #1293 on the weekend of October 21 & 22, 2006. The steam locomotive arrived in downtown Byesville on the afternoon Friday October 20^th amid much fanfare, old & young alike. After engine #1293 crossed the main street crossing, it coupled onto the rear of our excursion train, facing northward. The engine was not placed on the front of our train because there is currently no siding for the steam locomotive to "run around" our locomotive and passenger cars.

Ohio Central #1293, a 4-6-2 "Pacific type", was originally built in 1948 for the Canadian Pacific Railway. It was sold in 1964 to F. Nelson Blount, and was eventually sold in 1973 to the Steamtown Foundation at Bellows Falls, VT. While operating for the Steamtown Foundation in the 1970’s, the engine operated in excursion service in Vermont up through 1980. In September 1984 the engine was moved to Scranton, PA and there it sat idle until the Ohio Central Railroad purchased it in 1996. Soon after the engine was being rebuilt by the Ohio Central Steam Department at their Morgan Run locomotive shop. By September 1997 the OHCR steam department had completely refurbished the locomotive to full operating condition. Locomotive #1293 hauled the Ohio Central's daily tourist train from Sugarcreek to Baltic until the train was discontinued in May of 2003. After that, the locomotive has been used only for occasional weekend steam fan trips, such as the Steam Weekend on the Byesville Scenic Railway.

The excursions started as usual with the BSRW diesel locomotive #386 on the south end of the train. While the diesel pulled the train south to Derwent, the steam locomotive was towed along behind the passenger cars. However, once the train stopped in Derwent, the diesel was put in idle. The steam engine (now at the front /north end of the train) took over and pulled the train back north to Byesville. Along the way the #1293 put on a show of smoke and steam that no modern diesel could match. On board, riders were treated to sounds like the "chuff" of the locomotive exhaust, the ring of the bell, and the sweet sounds of the steam whistle. It was reported that the steam whistle was heard as far away as Seneca Lake, 10 miles from Byesville. In addition to the live steam locomotive, an antique power engine show was held at the Byesville station, giving spectators a chance to view old 2-cycle "hit and miss" engines, and even a 1940’s Fairmont railroad motorcar with a 2-cycle engine.

Click here for pictures from our 2006 steam weekend