# Wilmington and Western 98

Wilmington and Western 98 is a preserved 4-4-0 "American" type steam locomotive built in January 1909 by the American Locomotive Company's Schenectady Works for the Mississippi Central, it is now preserved and operated by the Wilmington and Western Railroad.

## History
### Revenue service

No. 98 was constructed by the American Locomotive Company’s Schenectady, New York plant in January 1909, and its design was based the general 4-4-0 engine designs built from 1837 to the early 1900s. The Mississippi Central purchased No. 98 for use in pulling their shortline passenger runs. No. 98 continued service until December 1944, when it was retired from the Mississippi Central before being left in dead storage. In 1947, it was sold to steam engine collector Paulsen Spence for use on the gravel-hauling Comite Southern, a 1,000-foot industrial spur, in Tangipahoa, Louisiana.
The engine was later shipped to the Illinois Central shops in McComb, Mississippi for repairs. Spence intended to have No. 98 refurbished and used on the Comite Southern that same year, but the engine was unavailable and the acquisition of the ex-ICRR 0-6-0 engines were necessary to fill in the immediate motive power needs on the Comite Southern. No. 98 was moved and stored at the Comite Southern were it was eventually rebuilt there by the Illinois Central Railroad shop employees who were working there on the weekends and placed into service hauling gravel on the line and would later serve on the Louisiana Eastern Railroad for several years until being retired for a second time in January 1960.

### Excursion service

Prior to Spence's death, No. 98 was purchased in January 1960 by Thomas C. Marshall and T. Clarence Marshall. The Marshall brothers planned on using No. 98, along with other steam engines, on a proposed tourist railroad that would run on an abandoned Baltimore and Ohio branch line in Wilmington, Delaware. While the branch was being redeveloped for tourist operations, No. 98 was moved to the Strasburg Rail Road in Pennsylvania for temporary storage in June 1961. There, Strasburg and Historic Red Clay Valley, inc. originally intended to have No. 98 refurbished and operate on their trackage, even though it was temporarily re-lettered as Strasburg Railroad No. 98, the idea never came to fruition and No. 98 never operated on Strasburg's trackage. In April 1964, No. 98 was moved from Strasburg to a shop complex in Wilmington were it was stored at the Wilmington Industry Park from April 1964 to March 1966. Since its arrival, Historic Red Clay Valley Inc. would occasionally bring No. 98 out from storage and place it on display at Yorklyn station and Greenbank station for special events. W&W crews eventually began restoring the engine to working order in the late 1960s. Work was completed on October 7, 1972, as the engine made its first official test run.
It began pulling the W&W's trains on October 8, 1972, between Wilmington and other small towns along the route. However, the run didn't go well as No. 98 suffered several derailments during the forward and return trip due to its driver wheels being 5'8 inches wide. As a result of this incident, No. 98 would be taken out of service as wider tires would be installed on the locomotive's rear drivers to help give it smother traction when operating excursions. On May 3, 1973, No. 98 returned to steam with new driver wheels installed as it successfully made its excursion run from Hockessin and return to Greenbank.
Since its return to steam, No. 98 would serve the W&W as the road's primary motive power. In December 1977, the Marshall brothers outright donated the engine to the Historic Red Clay Valley Inc., and 5 years later, the railroad obtained complete control of the Ex-B&O rail line. In September 1978, No. 98 would be taken out of service for major repairs to its boiler and running gear, but was eventually back in service the following year on December 5, 1979. In 1985, No. 98 was present at the ceremony about Amtrak’s newly-renovated station in Wilmington. On April 6, 1986, No. 98 suffered a massive dry pipe failure during a fire up, in addition, it suffered another derailment during its trip to Hockessin, it was revealed that the pony truck casting had failed and caused damage to the pilot. Crew members onboard No. 98 dropped the fire and had No. 98 re-railed and towed back to the Marshallton engine house using No. 8408, there, it went through a six year rebuild until eventually being return to service again on January 18, 1992. On May 9, 1992, No. 98 participated in the annual Transportation Day at Wilmington's Amtrak Station. On May 13, 1993, No. 98 once again traveled to Wilmington's Amtrak Station, along with No. 4662, for the annual Transportation Day.
In December 1996, No. 98 was briefly repainted into its original Mississippi Central Railroad appearance with a centered headlight and relocation of the bell. No. 98 would later be returned to its Wilmington and Western paint scheme in early 1997. Between 1997 and 2004, No. 98 has undergone two extensive overhauls in order for its condition to comply with FRA standards. In 2009, No. 98 turned 100 years old, and the W&W hosted an event in honor of the occasion. In 2017, No. 98 was removed from service to undergo a federally mandated 1,472-day inspection, and the engine was then disassembled to allow the inspection to take place. As of 2024, overhaul work is still in progress.

## Gallery

* No. 98 taking on water
* No. 98 double-heading with No. 58 in October 2006
* No. 98 in Oxford, PA
* No. 98 hauling an excursion trains in the 1980s
* No. 98's front smokebox