Western Pennsylvania Power No. 7

Built by H.K. Porter in Pittsburgh, PA in 1924 under works number 7211, this locomotive began life as an 0-4-0T working for the American Viscose Co.'s Marcus Hook, Pa, plant. It was later sold to Western Pennsylvania Power and was assigned No. 2 for use at the utility's Connellsville, Pa-area plant.
A railfan and factory worker known as Hal Harkness found the engine rusting away in Gas City, IN. In 1992 he purchased and restored it for tourist passenger use on the Buckeye Central Railroad, OH. He added a pony truck and a pilot to make it more closely resemble a typical passenger locomotive. At some point it also acquired a tender, was converted to a 2-4-0, and had its number once again changed to 7.
Harkness moved the engine east to inaugurate service on the Laurel Highlands Railroad, a tourist line operating over former Pennsylvania Railroad and Baltimore & Ohio branches in southwestern PA. An economic development authority affiliated with Westmoreland County had bought the 39 miles of trackage to prevent the scrapping of rolling stock and to preserve freight service.
Laurel Highlands operated from 1996 to the end of 2000, when the county declined to renew Harkness's lease. He had previously placed the engine up for sale, and Henry County, GA acquired it in 2003.
Georgia county wanted a locomotive to display in Heritage Park to represent a tragic 1900 train wreck on the Southern Railway at McDonough, where a Macon, Ga.-to-Atlanta train crashed through a washed-out trestle at Camp Creek. 35 of the 45 people on board, including five crew members, were killed in the crash. The 10 survivors were all in a Pullman sleeper at the rear. The accident stood for decades as the worst train wreck in Georgia history, until it was surpassed by a 1944 Atlantic Coast Line wreck in which 44 people had died.
Apparently, the fact that the Porter's engine number was 7 figured into the county's decision to acquire it, because an interpretive sign board at the park claims that "the locomotive's number is the same as the Camp Creek engine: the Old No. 7." However, there is some confusion on this point, because the South operated a regularly scheduled passenger train No. 7 between those points at about that time, and the wrecked train was identified as such in Atlanta Constitution newspaper coverage. No other connection between the site and the Porter exists.
Recently the staff of Heritage Park, GA have recommended declaring surplus on several items in the park, including the engine, mostly due to the difficulty of upkeep and liability concerns. If the county does decide to declare the locomotive as surplus, it could be either sold, donated, or unfortunately scrapped. 
At this time the locomotive still resides at the park. A consensus on the fate of the locomotive has not been reached yet by the county.
Category:Porter locomotives
Category:Restored locomotives
Category:Preserved locomotives
Category:Rebuilds
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:United States
Category:American locomotives
Category:American steam locomotives
Category:Built in 1924
Category:Excursion locomotives
Category:Passenger locomotives
Category:0-4-0 locomotives
Category:0-4-0 steam locomotives
Category:0-4-0T steam locomotives
Category:0-4-0T locomotives
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:2-4-0 steam locomotives
Category:2-4-0T steam locomotives
Category:2-4-0T locomotives
Category:2-4-0 locomotives
Category:Locomotives featured in media