Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad and Coal Co. 38 is a preserved 37 class 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive.
It was built by Baldwin in April 1927 for use on the Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad and Coal Company in south central Pennsylvania in the United States, which commonly used the locomotive to pull short-distance freight trains, as well as occasional passenger trains, until the railroad shut down operations in 1954.
The locomotive was subsequently acquired by the Rail City Historical Museum in Sandy Creek, New York for static display.
38 fell victim to an arson-related roundhouse fire in 2008, it was sold at an auction to Alan Maples for the Everett Railroad.
38 was assigned to pull coal trains from the coal fields of Broad Top, as well as mixed freight trains between various small towns, including Saxton (where the railroad’s roundhouse was located), Riddlesburg, Hopewell, Bedford, and Huntingdon, and some of the towns saw the H&BT interchange with the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR).
Soon after the H&BT shut down, scrapping commenced on the railroad's locomotives, rolling stock, and most of the trackage.
[3] On April 10, 1954, Stanley A. Groman visited the abandoned H&BT in Huntingdon while searching for railroad equipment to acquire and preserve.
38 began moving to Dr. Groman's newly constructed Rail City Historical Museum in Sandy Creek, New York under its own power with the remaining H&BT rolling stock coupled behind it.
[1] En route to Sandy Creek, Dr. Groman obtained permission from the New York Central Railroad (NYC) to use No.
[1][4] However, upon arrival in Sandy Creek, the locomotive's driving wheelbase, which has a length of 15.25 feet, was found to be too long to negotiate with the 1.5-mile loop track.
11 (a locomotive with a shorter wheelbase) from the Bath and Hammondsport Railroad (B&H) for use to pull their tourist trains, instead.
38 began pulling excursion trains between Lakeville and Livonia, New York on the LA&L's mainline.
The locomotive subsequently began pulling tourist trains over the former Reading Company branchline between Gettysburg, Mount Holly Springs, and Biglerville.
In 1985, Numbers 38 and 3254 participated in that year's National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) convention, which was being held at the Gettysburg Railroad, as well as the Strasburg Rail Road.
38 to another tourist operation he was developing, the Knox and Kane Railroad (K&K), in the Allegheny National Forest.
38 was removed from service once more, since it was due for another overhaul, but shortly afterwards, Cornell imported Chinese-built SY 2-8-2 locomotive SY-1658M (renumbered 58 on the K&K), which was found to be more powerful and efficient for the railroad's needs.
With this factor, as well as the decline in the K&K's revenue shortline freight runs, Cornell decided to cease all operations on the K&K in the spring of 2006.
[8] This further decreased any chance of the K&K bringing back operations, and on October 10 and 11, Cornell began auctioning off his remaining equipment as part of a liquidation process.
38 was purchased by Alan Maples, the president of the Everett Railroad, which is the same company that declined the idea of acquiring the locomotive fifty-four years prior.
38's boiler was separated from the frame and transported to the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad's (WMSR) shop complex in Ridgeley, West Virginia for repairs while the frame, running gear, and tender were shipped to the Everett Railroad's shops in Claysburg, Pennsylvania.
On February 25, 2016, the boiler was removed from the WMSR's property and moved with the rest of the locomotive's components in Claysburg.