LEWES, Del. - A new piece of railroad history arrived Thursday morning along Lewes' popular rail exhibit on Adams Avenue. A truck hauling a steam locomotive tender on flatbed pulled up to the site shortly after 6 a.m. It is set to join the 1917 Pennsylvania Railroad red caboose which was installed in December 2022.
The tender—an essential component of steam-era railroads that housed both water and coal—marks the first step in the Lewes Junction & Railroad Association's latest preservation project: the restoration and display of a rare 1913 Pennsylvania Railroad steam engine.
Known as Engine #60, the locomotive is one of only two surviving examples of the once-common PRR 0-6-0 switcher model. LJRBA is currently in the planning and fundraising phases to cosmetically restore the engine. Once complete, it will be placed alongside its tender at the Lewes Junction exhibit.