Before a locomotive was lifted it was important to remember to first remove the whistle or it would be knocked off by a roof beam as it was moved along the floor. To unwheel a locomotive, it would be jacked and blocked. To move a locomotive in the shop, a series of pulleys, chains, and fixed floor anchors would be used with a transfer table arrangement. The shop engine served as the motive power. New main rods for WM s class 800 H-9 Consolidations were fashioned there.
Mt. Savage is remembered, if at all, as the site of manufacturing of the first iron rail in America.
This was acknowledged with a plaque presented by the Western Maryland Chapter, NRHS, Inc. in 1994. But, more than just the rails, Mt. Savage started with coal, iron ore, and fireclay dug from the earth, built a railroad, and shipped locomotives and rolling stock across the country. They operated their line with motive power and rolling stock they themselves built and maintained. Not many lines can make that claim. Today, there are no known surviving examples of the output of the Mt. Savage Shops.