Many in Columbus still recall the curious sight in 1972. The C&G Railway steam locomotive No. 178 had escaped the scrapper’s torch and, along with the rolling stock accompanying her, made a slow, painstaking journey eastward on Highway 182 to Propst Park. The move was accomplished about 90 feet at a time, as track sections were laid in front of her along the route.
Built in 1900 and retired in 1951, the ten-wheeler locomotive, coaches and 1890s caboose were on their way to become a permanent display at the park, a visual reminder of an era when the city was a busy waypoint, with tracks running in almost every direction. The long-range vision has always been to one day transform the train into a museum. Work done this summer brings the goal closer.
Passersby will notice the whole train boasts a fresh face, a new coat of paint. Finishing touches are underway. What onlookers won’t necessarily see is the work that preceded the painting.
“People don’t really know it, but we’ve been working about seven years just to get it in shape to be able to paint it,” said Paul Swain, who heads the Stovall Railroad Museum committee. He and woodworking millwright Ed Dangerfield walked beside the railroad cars Wednesday afternoon, dwarfed by their size. The cars extend 310 feet, a full city block. The two friends talked of the sweltering summer a few years ago they spent stripping the caboose.
“The wood exterior was so deteriorated you could push a hammer through it,” Swain said. Today, the 19th-century caboose is a vibrant red, in contrast to the glossy black locomotive with its silver nose. It was the last steam engine rebuilt in the Columbus railway shops, in 1948, according to hawkinsrails.net. The caboose is one of the few wood-sided examples still in existence, Swain noted.
This is not a restoration, it’s a preservation, explained Dangerfield. All work has to be done in a manner that complies with state preservation guidelines. In essence, preservation dictates that all actions taken should preserve the authenticity of the object. In the case of the train, that means everything done must adhere to the original structure and materials of the cars or engine as much as possible.
Work has also included replacing, or repairing in a few salvageable cases, the train’s 100 windows. A new product for deterring pigeons from roosting in the rafters of the train’s sheltering canopy will also be installed soon.
Slow, steady progress
Skilled craftsmen including Dangerfield have done much of the work at reduced rates, so that limited funding — most of it from the city — can stretch to as many materials as possible. Like the train’s 1970s trip down the highway to the park, progress has been slow and measured as dollars are available.
There is much work ahead. Funding the repair and preservation of the train’s interiors will be costly. The project’s supporters hope to identify suitable grants to apply for. Extensive train memorabilia is being stored in the meantime. Much of it belonged to Bob Gray of Columbus, who worked for C&G. The committee expects to one day display it inside the cars.
Neither Swain nor Dangerfield ever worked for the railroad, but they commit their time and effort nonetheless.
Dangerfield said, “When you begin to get older, you begin to appreciate some of the stuff that you grew up around and didn’t pay much mind to. And you begin to realize nobody else is paying mind to it … and if I don’t try to save it, who will?”
Swain has been involved on the project for about seven years now and wants to see the museum established.
“We want a place where children can come and learn something about what helped make this country what it is today,” he said. “This was our industrial revolution. Every boy’s dream was to see the big trains.”
For him, it’s been a “labor of love.” He became enamored with trains at an early age and maintained model trains as an adult.
“But I don’t have to play with toy trains anymore, because I’ve got a big one to fool with now,” he said with humor.
For more information about the preservation of the train at Propst Park, or how to assist with the effort, contact Swain at [email protected].
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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