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No. 5332 rests with the rest of the Hoosier Valley collection at North Judson. Photo by Fred Boyer 
The truck carrying No. 5332 navigates the grade crossing onto the museum grounds. Photo by Fred Boyer 
The heavy-duty truck waits to pick up the locomotive in South Bend on Tuesday. Photo by Fred Boyer NORTH JUDSON, Ind. – The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum has taken delivery of its new 65-ton centercab Porter switcher, No. 5332, donated by the University of Notre Dame. The locomotive once served the university's coal-fired power plant.
Museum volunteer Fred Boyer tells Trains News Wire that the locomotive was transported on a 46-wheel truck and trailer from the university to the museum grounds in North Judson on Tuesday afternoon. The truck departed from the university campus in South Bend with police officers escorting the oversized load at 8 a.m. It arrived at the museum at noon after its 65-mile highway journey. However, a clearance problem at the grade crossing entry to the museum grounds delayed unload until 4 p.m.
Boyer says the museum expects a full mechanical restoration will take up to two years. He adds that the locomotive will be used by the museum in excursion service once it is restored. It has been stored at the university for at least three years.
The museum plans to restore the locomotive to a previous paint scheme, per the university's request. However, the museum has not chosen which paint scheme it will use.
According Dennis Brown at the University of Notre Dame, the school decided to donate the locomotive after the rail spur was removed in 2012. He adds that moving coal by rail from the university's stockpile no longer made sense, either.
The university approached two other local museums, but settled on the Hoosier Valley group because it was best-suited to restore, operate, and maintain the locomotive.
For the donation, the museum has agreed restore the locomotive to its active service appearance and provide reasonable access for Notre Dame Utilities Department personnel that previously operated the locomotive, and allow the university the right to have a number of guest engineer program slots annually, according to Brown.
The university spur, widely known as the Notre Dame & Western, was named by Brother Borromeo Malley, the university's director of utilities from 1937 to 1978, and never incorporated as a common carrier. In the 1970s the plant received about 1,000 cars of coal annually.
Abandonment was instituted by the city of South Bend and the university, which coveted the unused right-of-way for a recreation trail. The Surface Transportation Board approved the abandonment in April 2012 and the following October the rails were removed.
According to Boyer, the museum has not finalized fundraising plans for the restoration. For more information on the museum or to make a donation, go to www.hoosiervalley.org. |
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