Western Maryland Scenic Railroad No. 1309
Specifications
| Number | 1309 |
| Original Railroad | Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (not the historic Western Maryland Railway — built for C&O) |
| Builder | Baldwin Locomotive Works |
| Build Date | November 1949 |
| Wheel Arrangement | 2-6-6-2 compound articulated (Mallet, Class H-6) |
| Gauge | Standard gauge (4 ft 8½ in) |
| Weight | 643,100 lb total; 366,700 lb adhesive weight |
| Tractive Effort | 98,300 lbf simple mode |
| Boiler Pressure | 210 psi |
| Driver Diameter | 56 in |
| Years Operated | 1949–1956 |
| Current Status | Operational — last steam locomotive built by Baldwin for domestic mainline service |
| Current Location | Cumberland, Maryland |
| Current Owner | Western Maryland Scenic Railroad |
No. 1309 is a 2-6-6-2 compound articulated “Mallet”-type steam locomotive built by Baldwin in November 1949 for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway — the last steam locomotive built by Baldwin for domestic mainline service in the United States. It spent its entire original career hauling heavy coal trains over the mountain lines of West Virginia and Kentucky before retirement in 1956.
Stored for roughly sixteen years, it went on static display at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore from 1975, remaining a cold exhibit for nearly four decades. In 2014 the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad acquired the locomotive and began a lengthy overhaul, budgeted at roughly $2.4 million, to return it to operating condition.
On December 31, 2020, No. 1309 moved under its own steam power for the first time in 64 years, entering excursion service in December 2021. It is one of only a small number of operating articulated Mallet-type steam locomotives surviving anywhere in the United States, marking the first time an articulated locomotive had operated in the eastern US since 1991. Note: despite its “Western Maryland” branding today, it was historically a C&O locomotive, not built for the original Western Maryland Railway.