Full Steam Ahead: Denton FarmPark Locomotive No. 9 Restoration
Photo Credit: Denton FarmPark
Denton FarmPark Crew Tackles Nearly 400 Staybolts in Locomotive No. 9 Restoration
Restoration of Denton FarmPark's 1942 steam Locomotive No. 9 has reached the heart of the engine: its boiler.
"Our crew has been hard at work and we have a new update on the Locomotive No. 9 Restoration Project!" the FarmPark announced in its Handy Dandy News newsletter.
After a boiler engineering analysis, the crew compiled a list of needed repairs. According to the newsletter, the next step was "removing the cab and appliances, such as the air compressor, to gain access to the side sheets and wrapper sheet."
The inspection brought mostly good news. "The boiler sheets themselves were in good condition, minus a few small areas of localized fire-side thinning that will also be addressed," the newsletter reports.
The staybolts, which tie the firebox to the boiler's outer shell, did not fare as well. "The boiler's staybolts were badly worn, and a decision was made to renew all of the crown staybolts along with both side sheets, totaling nearly 400 staybolts," according to the newsletter.
A wartime engine with a long road to Denton
No. 9 is a 50-ton, 0-4-0 locomotive built in 1942 by the H.K. Porter Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. She first worked at a Baltimore shipyard before the Navy put her to work at the Norfolk Naval Base during World War II.
After the war she passed through Richmond, Greenville and Blacksburg, South Carolina, before landing in Burnsville in 1972 for a planned mountain excursion line. Floods in 1972 and 1976 washed out that railroad, and the engine sat idle.
In April 1979, the late Brown Loflin bought No. 9 for what was then the Denton Airport. His partner Howard Latham took out a second mortgage on his house to help haul the engine to Denton. Latham later spent his Threshers' Reunion vacations at the throttle. He called the hot, hard job "fun when I see how much it's enjoyed by kids from 2 to 92."
FarmPark staff and volunteers restored the engine and laid the track by hand. No. 9 first ran at the 1980 Threshers' Reunion. In 1982 she was converted from oil to coal and given a tender, three passenger cars and a caboose. The Handy Dandy Railroad officially opened that year on its 1.5-mile loop around the park.
The engine ran at every Reunion until a routine inspection after the 2019 event found she needed major boiler and firebox work. Since then, the park's 1948 diesel, No. 202, has kept the Handy Dandy running, including on the Country Christmas Train.
How to help
The FarmPark has set a $500,000 goal for the restoration. "The restoration timeline can only go as quickly as the funds will allow," the park notes on its website.
Donations can be made at dentonfarmpark.com, where supporters can also buy a commemorative brick. For more information, call the FarmPark at (336) 859-2755.
