It's the beginning of a new year and it's a tradition for The Last Word to take a visit to Corry. I’ve returned to an old warehouse off Mead Street. This is the place where a transformation has been happening. A group of volunteers has a collection of parts from a now extinct locomotive originally built in Corry in 1902. They are putting that locomotive back together again.

The group doing the work is called Corry Rails. A couple of members found the old Climax-A locomotive in Alaska in the year 2020. It was the only Climax-A left in the world that had all its original parts. It was hoped that 2024 would be the year when a majority of the locomotive would be reconstructed. That did not happen.

"A lot of our volunteers come from outside of the area and unfortunately our work schedule didn't quite coordinate with everybody else's schedule," says Carl Wassink, Vice Chairman of Corry Rails.

Some important phases of the project did move forward in 2024. The iconic boiler from the 1902 locomotive has been shipped to a factory in Maine. Only a few parts from that boiler will be placed on the restored locomotive. The old boiler is being used as a template to manufacture a new boiler. Reaching a contract for that new boiler is a major accomplishment for the project.

"If all goes well, we might have that boiler back in September of October of this year,” says Carl. “About a year to do the work on it."

The new boiler is the most expensive part of the reconstruction project. It costs $163,000. The wooden frame of the original 1902 locomotive is deteriorated. It is hoped in 2025 that fresh white oak lumber, stacked inside the warehouse, will be assembled into a new frame for the locomotive. The wheels, axles, and brakes would be attached to the frame. The original engine, which is up and running, would also be attached, as would the new boiler. The steam pipes and water pipes are in house and ready to be attached with the boiler. Then, the volunteers can move on to building the cab of the locomotive.

"Hopefully this year that happens, and then we'll have another project to work on,” declares Carl.

That project would be the building of flatcars that would be pulled behind the restored locomotive. The wheels and axles for those flatcars have been donated to Corry Rails and should arrive in town this year. It should be an exciting 2025.

Once finished, the restored locomotive would be transported to various communities to teach people about Corry's manufacturing history.  A museum is also planned that would include the original boiler. A major fundraiser is being planned for this spring. Details will be announced at a later date but we're told it will be event that all railroad buffs would not want to miss.