Rock of Ages Corporation No. 6 "Hercules"

In February of 1912, Locomotive Number 37527 rolled out of the Baldwin Locomotive Works shop in Philadelphia. It was painted up in the livery of its new home; The Barre Railroad. It had bass plates of its new number, “6”, mounted on its front, and had Its new name painted on it before it left for vermont. Before it left, however, Baldwin Locomotive Works had a photo of it taken with some of the staff, as was customary. And as it gleamed in the sun, standing as strong and as proud as its namesake: “Hercules”. The Barre Railroad quickly put it to work, as they needed its 28,900 pounds of tractive effort to haul granite trains up and down a steep, 5 percent grade known by locals as; “The Hill.” While the Barre Railroad had three other members of the 062 Class, Hercules was by far the most powerful one, not to mention the more modern upgrades it had over the others. It didn’t work on the Barre Railroad for long however, as on September 15th, 1913, it was merged with the East Barre and Chelsea Railroad to form the Barre & Chelsea Railroad, to which Hercules was transferred to on the 18th. Its job remained the same however, with the air brakes it was built with and the power it had making it a favorite among crews. And more of the B&C’s fleet could be used for the granite industry, as in 1922 the B&C ended passenger services on the line, as it made only $3,400 a year while the granite trains made $118,400 a year. Nothing notable happened to it until Vermont Floods of 1927, when it served as a shelter for Fireman Windell Dudley, who was stranded overnight before being rescued in the morning by a boat. Then, in 1928, it was renamed Franklin H. Smith in honor of Its driver, keeping that name until 1937 upon Smith’s retirement. Nothing happened until late 1952 when things were looking down for B&C, costs getting too much, and the B&C filed for bankruptcy, selling off their assets. Nearby railroads bought the tracks, but the locomotives went to the Rock of Ages Corporation, a granate mining company with mines in the area. The locomotives were run for about 5 years, with locomotives slowly being retired and scrapped until only Hercules was left. When it was announced that it would be retired, RoA Co. was shocked by the level of concern that people felt for the old locomotive. Upon receiving this, RoA Co. made a decision to preserve it. They gave it an overhaul, a new paint job, and polished it. Then they moved it to the RoA Co. visitor center, where it still rests today. In an email I sent back in 2021, I asked if they had any plans to move it from the old visitor center, as it had been abandoned since 2004, when the new one was built. They responded quickly with an email. They have an ongoing project to restore it and move it to the new Rock of Ages visitor center. 
==Gallery==
File:Rock of Ages No. 6(Side).jpg
File:RoA No.6 Builders Photo.jpg
File:RoA No.6 Newly Displayed.jpg
File:RoA No.6 Workshop.jpg
File:RoA No.6 Working.jpg
File:RoA No.6 Lakeside.jpg
File:RoA No.6 Standing.jpg
File:RoA No.6 Final Days.jpg
File:RoA No.6 On "The Hill".jpg
Category:0-6-2ST steam locomotives
Category:American steam locomotives
Category:1910s
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Freight locomotives
Category:Quarry Locomotives
Category:Preserved steam locomotives
Category:Preserved locomotives
Category:0-6-2 locomotives
Category:Baldwin Catalog Locomotives
Category:Saddle tank locomotives