Lake Superior & Ishpeming No. 34

Western Maryland Scenic Railroad No. 734, also known as 'Mountain Thunder', is an SC-1 class 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1916 originally for the Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad as their No. 34.
34 had a long career with the LS&I, working out of Marquette, MI. 34 was retired from service in 1961 and stayed on the company's dead line at Marquette until the railroad sold three SC-1s (Nos. 32, 34, and 35) to the Marquette & Huron Mountain tourist railroad in 1963. 34 worked for four years hauling passengers from West Yard to Big Bay, WI and West Yard to Marquette, WI on old LS&I trackage.
In November 1967, 34 was sold to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL where it was put on static display for several years until it was sold to the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad (WMSR) in 1991. The locomotive was converted to make it look more like a Western Maryland H-9 class 2-8-0 type locomotive and renumbered it to WMSR 734. During its restoration process, 734's boiler pressure was increased to 200 psi, the bell and the whistle were reused from a WM I-2 class 2-10-0 type locomotive (Decapod #1114), the bell was from WM H9 class 2-8-0 #816 and its old tender was replaced with what was once New York Central Mohawk type No. 2662’s tender. In 1993, the restoration was complete and 734 was in fully working order.
734 operated passenger excursions and occasional freight trains at the WMSR until being taken out of service indefinitely in April 2016, following a special 100th birthday excursion for the locomotive, for its Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) mandated 15-year boiler inspection and overhaul. Prior to this though, in 2014, the WMSR purchased former Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 from the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, MD. After running a final pair of excursions in April 2016, including the special 100th birthday excursion, 734's fire was dropped for the final time. As of 2021, 734 is placed in storage in Ridgeley, WV and was initially awaiting a future overhaul, although in April, it was later determined that 734 was found to be in poor mechanical condition. As a result of this, according to the WMSR, 734 has been officially retired from excursion service for the foreseeable future and awaited an eventual cosmetic restoration. 734 has been officially replaced by the recently restored 1309, which made its official debut in excursion service for the WMSR on December 17, 2021.
However, in early March 2022, the WMSR announced that they will be accepting funding for 734 to be evaluated for a possible return back to operating condition again in the not-too-distant future. In December 2022, it was announced that the WMSR will have restoration plans in 2023 for their recently acquired former New York Central dining car No. 456, as well as 734. On January 9, 2024, the WMSR launched a fundraiser for both 1309 and 734, with 1309 in need of some new pistons and rods and 734 in need of a complete overhaul. Both locomotives will eventually run again on the WMSR very soon once the work is complete.
==Trivia==
*While operating on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, she has been nicknamed "Mountain Thunder".
*Between October 21 and 22, 2013, the locomotive masqueraded as "sister" engine number 729.
*In May 2011, Jeopardy host Alex Trebek took the throttle of Mountain Thunder for the railroading 101 category on November 25 just 6 months later.
*Due to the restoration of Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 No. 1309, Mountain Thunder ran its final regular trains of the 2015 season, and also some freight specials between February and April 2016 until its ultimate disassembly for a FRA-mandated inspection. It was taken out of service in April 2016 and was originally scheduled to undergo an overhaul after 1309's restoration to operation is completed, but was later officially retired from excursion service in April 2021 due to its poor mechanical condition.
*In early March 2022, the WMSR announced they will be accepting funding for 734 for a possible return to operation in the not-too-distant future.
*Over time operations changed and grew, and 734 was often being pushed far beyond her normal operating capabilities, resulting in extreme wear and tear, or ran with a diesel helper which increased operating cost, so a larger engine was needed.
*In 1998, the consolidation appeared in a television commercial for the Pontiac Montana which was filmed near brush tunnel.
==See also==
*Gallery
Category:2-8-0 steam locomotives
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:American locomotives
Category:Eight-coupled locomotives
Category:Baldwin locomotives
Category:Lake Superior & Ishpeming locomotives
Category:2-8-0 locomotives
Category:Built in 1916
Category:Locomotives
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:Restored locomotives
Category:Rebuilds
Category:Passenger locomotives
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Category:Locomotives featured in media
Category:Excursion locomotives
Category:Western Maryland locomotives
Category:Preserved steam locomotives