This larger firebox improved the engine's coal burning efficiency, however the additional weight facility adding the second wheel set to the trailing truck.

At the request of then-Birmingham mayor J. W. Morgan, the locomotive was spared from the scrappers torch and given a full cosmetic overhaul before making its final five-mile (8 km) run to Birmingham on February 29, 1952.

From there a special spur was constructed of panel track to deliver it the selected spot near the "Kiddieland" amusement park.

A later group entered negotiations to secure the locomotive for restoration and possible use on steam excursions, but were also unsuccessful.

The bell and headlight were removed for safe-keeping during the work, which involved sheet-metal patches over rusted areas and repainting.

As the city of Birmingham planned a major redevelopment of the fairgrounds area in 2009, fund-raising began for moving the engine and tender to Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Railroad_class_L2s Also SEE: "Uncle Sam's Locomotives" by Eugene L. Huddleston, Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis, IN, 2002.