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NAVIGATE BELOW!
470's Story - Phase One - Perks - The Ultimate Reward - Meet the Board
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The largest remaining steam locomotive in New England.
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Maine Central Railroad 470 is the last remaining passenger locomotive of the Maine Central Railroad.
She was the last steam locomotive to operate on the Maine Central in 1954. After the run she was put on display in Waterville, Maine. In 2012 the City of Waterville put out an RFP to restore/remove 470. There were six proposals, all but one wanted to remove 470 from Maine. New England Steam Corporation was the only organization wanting to keep 470 in her home state. New England Steam's goal is to restore 470 to full operation
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New England Steam Corporation is a 501(c)(3) organization formed specifically to purchase and restore Maine Central Railroad 470 to operation.
In February, 2013 New England Steam Corporation (NESCo) inspected 470 to determine if she could be restored to operation. They opened her smokebox to inspect the interior and found it to be in remarkable condition.
- The boiler is in relatively sound condition
- The frame is intact with no discernible defects.
- The wheels meet operational measurement and hold their profile
- The rods and running gear are intact with no missing parts.
Sheet metal and tubing has suffered the most corrosion but is easily replaced.![]()
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"What we didn't find was more surprising than what we did"
-Jason Lamontagne Locomotive builder & project engineer
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Maine Central Railroad #470 was built by the American Locomotive Company to join the millions of steam locomotives in operation in the United States. She was built to pull Maine Central's fastest, most luxurious passenger trains
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470 had a very successful career. She received many modifications to keep her a state of the art locomotive. Her efficiency increased, but not enough to prevent the inevitable. By the 1940's Maine Central started replacing their steam locomotive fleet with more efficient diesel locomotives.
June 13, 1954
470 pulled the last steam powered train on the Maine Central. The run went from Portland, Maine to Bangor, Maine and back. After the run she was put on a display track on College Avenue in Waterville, Maine, where she sits there to this day.
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The restoration of 470 is broken into four phases: purchase and movement, disassembly and repair, reassembly, and break in.
Phase one entails:
- Complete purchase of 470
- Abatement of remaining hazardous materials
- Removal of major components
- Lifting and placement of locomotive for movement to restoration site
- Unloading and stabilization at restoration site
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