Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum Debuts a World War II-Era Train

Nestled in the fields of Ohio’s Amish Country, the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum serves as a testament to one man’s love for trains, and its newest addition makes its debut March 29 in the form of a 108-foot-long, 308-ton steam locomotive that dates to World War II.

Once serving the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad, B&LE 2-10-4 #643 — also known as “War Baby” — was a 4,700-horsepower train that was instrumental in the transportation of iron ore to Pittsburgh to create steel used in World War II. When the war was over, these types of trains were almost all scrapped in favor of diesel trains, but #643 was spared.

After spending 30 years in storage outside of Pittsburgh in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, a private owner purchased the 1944 steam engine in the hopes of restoring it. When the project failed, the tracks around the locomotive were removed, leaving #643 on a patch of land in McKees Rocks removed from tracks and with nowhere to go.

In 2019, Sugarcreek’s Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum — an attraction built by the late Jerry Joe Jacobson to house his collection of trains — purchased #643, dismantled it and transported it to Ohio in hundreds of pieces with the final shipment arriving in February 2024. Since then, the museum’s restoration team has been working to prepare the locomotive for its public debut and completed the job in November 2024, placing the train in its new home, the roundhouse’s stall #5.

The unveiling of #643 coincides with the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum’s Member Day on March 29 from 1 to 3 p.m. During this exclusive, member-only event, museum visitors can see #643, as well as the museum’s collection of 22 other old-time steam locomotives. Member Day also includes train rides in the yard and the unveiling of the 2025 Jacobson Gallery, named for the museum’s founder. Nonmembers will have the chance to see #643 beginning April 3 when the museum opens to the public for the season.

To learn more about the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum, visit ageofsteamroundhouse.org.

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