This past weekend marked a powerful and emotional milestone in American rail preservation: the legendary Chesapeake & Ohio steam locomotive 614 has officially arrived at the Strasburg Rail Road to begin a complete restoration. The 382-mile journey from Clifton Forge, Virginia, completed June 8, 2025.

With support from C&O Historical Society, CSX Transportation, Buckingham Branch Railroad, and Norfolk Southern Corporation, 614 made her historic journey to Pennsylvania under the protection and precision of railroad professionals who treated the task not just as a move but as a mission. We extend our heartfelt thanks to every individual involved in this extraordinary operation, especially Zach Hall, whose tireless efforts played a crucial role in ensuring the success of this complex move.

With her arrival at the Strasburg Rail Road, the torch now passes to the world-class mechanical team that will undertake her restoration. Under their care, the real work begins, painstaking disassembly, inspections, and eventually, the rebirth of a legend. This is where cold steel meets hot ambition, where silence becomes steam, where history moves once more.

In a striking moment captured on site, members of RJD America LLC and the Strasburg Rail Road stood united before two giants of American steam, C&O #614 and Great Western #90. These machines are more than iron and fire; they are living time machines, carrying the spirit of an era when steam drove a nation forward.

-via Press Release