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LOCOMOTIVE NUMBER FOUR

WAYNESBURG and WASHINGTON RAILROAD

W&W #4, wearing PRR number 9664
shortly after the 1920 reorganization
(Roach Collection)

The Second #4!

In May of 1916, the W&W Railroad received second Number 4 to replace first Number 4. It was built by the American Locomotive Company at their Cooke Works and was essentially identical to six other locomotives which came to be the W&W motive power standard. Used primarily for freight service it was renumbered 9684, and relettered "PENNSYLVANIA" in March, 1920. After faithfully serving the Waynie for years, Number 4 was retired in 1934. The Pennsy stored her at their Canton shops and eventually at their Northumberland, PA enginehouse. Number 4 was put on display in 1936 for the Wheeling, West Virginia Centennial celebration. In 1939 Number 4 was on display at Wellsville, Ohio as part of the Wellsville Centennial. In 1958 Number 4 was refurbished at the Pennsy's Juniata shops then donated to Greene County. On open display for several years at the Greene County Fairgrounds, a weather beaten Number 4 was then relocated to the Greene County Museum grounds in 1974.

Steaming Again

From the autumn of 1977 to the summer of 1978, Tim Sposato, Brad Lester, and a host of other volunteers restored Number 4 for the second time. On August 1, 1978, Number 4 raised steam for a test run. With Tim at the throttle, she merrily chugged down the short track. This was the first time since 1936 that a fire glowed in her grates. In the fall of 1978, she debuted at the Greene County Historical Society's Harvest Festival. Unfortunately, time again took its toll, Tim and Brad moved on, and Number 4 was last steamed in the mid-1980s. The locomotive now sits in a makeshift "enginehouse" on the museum grounds waiting for the next group of enthusiastic railbuffs to bring her back to life.

In the Summer of 2000, Jim Weinschenker lead a project to cosmetically restore locomotive number 4. The objective was to clean and paint the locomotive to be presentable for the annual Greene County Historical Society Fall Harvest Festival - the only time the locomotive is pulled out of the enginehouse for viewing. To read about the restoration click on Restoring #4.  Now that the cosmetic restoration is complete, Jim is hopeful that the locomotive can be restored to operating condition.  You to can help!  Contact Jim Weinschenker to learn more.

Donations are being accepted by the Greene County Historical Society, a 501(c) organization sponsoring the restoration project. If you would like to contribute to the restoration project, send donations to:

Locomotive #4 Restoration
Jim Weinschenker
775 Race Street
Waynesburg, PA  15370

Make checks out to: