In a statement posted to the Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Railway Historical Society (LWVRHS) website and sent out to members, the chapter has announced that Project 3713 “has come to an end”. Project 3713 was a partnership between the chapter and the National Park Service (NPS) to restore Boston and Maine #3713 to operating condition at Steamtown in Scranton, PA.
Boston and Maine 3713 is a 4-6-2 “Heavy Pacific” steam locomotive built in 1934 at the Lima Locomotive Works. The locomotive gained the name “The Constitution” in 1937. In 1958 the locomotive was purchased by Nelson Blount to be part of the Steamtown collection, but briefly traveled to the Museum of Science in Boston to be displayed in the early 1970s.
Restoration of the locomotive started in 1995 with hundreds of thousands of dollars raised and many hours of work put in by both volunteers and Steamtown staff. Appliances, drivers, and more were all repaired with a new firebox being constructed.
The statement cites “changes in priority by our partners at Steamtown” as some of the challenges facing the restoration over the years before it was mothballed. The partnership was formally ended when it was not renewed by the NPS. The Project 3713 website has been taken down, however the Project 3713 Facebook page that details the restoration progress is still available at the time of this writing.
The exact future of the restoration of #3713 is not known. Any funds or donations that were held by the chapter for the project have been given to the NPS, with an agreement that the use of any of the money will be reported to the chapter.
Photo from the Project 3713 Facebook page
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