B&O Locomotive #25 - "William Mason." On display in the roundhouse gallery of Baltimore's B&O Railroad Museum is one of the oldest examples of a classic, 4-4-0 "American Standard" locomotive, B&O Locomotive #25. Built in 1856 by the Mason Machine Works in Taunton, MA, this engine became the second B&O Locomotive to carry the number 25. She incorporated a number of innovative features which would later become "standard" equipment on engines of this type. Among these were the design of the smokebox, the pilot truck and the use of Stephenson Valve Gear. This locomotive's history is replete with significant events, including hauling the train carrying President-elect Abraham Lincoln to his inauguration in Washington, DC. This engine also participated heavily in the US Civil War, hauling troops and supplies to strategic locations throughout the 4 year conflict. She served the B&O until her retirement in 1892.
As one look around the current B&O museum will tell you, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad did a great job preserving numerous examples of its classic locomotives, which is why she survives to this day. Restored a number of times both during her service and in her retirement as a traveling exhibit, this engine has been kept operational for most of her history. She was exhibited at a number of rail events and Worlds Fairs. In 1927, the railroad gave her the name "William Mason" in honor of her builder.
In the 1950s, she enjoyed a brief period as a movie locomotive, participating in several productions, most notably as a stand-in for the Western & Atlantic "General" in the 1956 Disney production "The Great Locomotive Chase." Her last operating restoration took place in 1998 at the Strasburg Railroad, where she received her one and only 1,472 Service Day Inspection before participating in the filming of the movie "The Wild Wild West." Since then, she's been confined to the museum in Baltimore, where she made demonstration runs for several years.
During her most recent inspection in 2014 however, it was discovered that her crown sheet had worn too thin for safe operation and the cost of replacing it exceeded the museum's restoration budget. It was decided that for the foreseeable future she would become a static display, so she was cosmetically restored as you see her now. This decision ended her reign as the oldest operating steam locomotive in the US....at least for now. As I understand it, the issue is really funding. There is not much concern about destruction of historic fabric, because as noted previously, she's been rebuilt a number of times and the boiler is not original. Although her current paint scheme is shockingly different from anything she's worn for at least 120 years, a forensic analysis of the many layers of paint on her led the museum to conclude that this scheme is probably authentic for the mid-1800s period.
