Inside the Age of Steam Roundhouse.
(Alvintrusty, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
AGE OF STEAM ROUNDHOUSE MUSEUM
The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum, located in Sugarcreek, Ohio, United States, is a museum roundhouse housing steam and diesel locomotives, passenger cars and other railroad equipment.
History
The roundhouse was built by Jerry Joe Jacobson, former CEO of the Ohio Central Railroad System (OCRS). In October 2008, Jacobson sold his interest in OCRS to Genesee & Wyoming, including the track, modern equipment, and most of the workshops and depots. Jacobson kept a collection of vintage steam and diesel locomotives, other old equipment, and a depot at Sugarcreek, Ohio. He bought 34 acres in Sugarcreek and began constructing a roundhouse to house his collection. The roundhouse building was completed in 2011 and all of the steam locomotives, along with a few other select pieces of rolling stock in Jacobson's collection, were moved inside the roundhouse that same year. It was the "first large roundhouse built in the United States since 1951," with the previous building being Nickel Plate Road's roundhouse in its Calumet Yard. As of 2012, the Age of Steam Roundhouse's website outlines its goals as:
- Preserve the steam locomotives, historic diesels, passenger cars, and other railroad relics in the collection of Jerry Joe Jacobson.
- Build a full-scale, operating, and realistic roundhouse and back shop to overhaul, repair, and maintain Jerry’s rolling stock.
- Operate the steam locomotives on freight trains.
- Display railroad heritage for future generations.
The project was paid for by Jacobson and his wife, Laura. They set up an endowment to support the museum. Architect F. A. Goodman says the building is 48,000 square feet and of "solid masonry walls" and "heavy timber framing". It has 18 stalls, each of which is large enough for a locomotive and its tender. The Goodman company says the roundhouse is one of the largest heavy timber structures in America.
Sadly, Jerry Jacobson passed away in 2017 at the age of 74.
No. 1. (DogsRNice, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
No. 2. (DogsRNice, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
No. 9. (DogsRNice, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
No. 763. (DogsRNice, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
No. 2630. (DogsRNice, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
No. 6325. (DogsRNice, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
Steam locomotives
| Number | Heritage | Wheel Configuration | Builder | Built | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cuban Sugar | 0-4-0CA | H.K. Porter | 1915 | Display | Fireless locomotive Compressed Air locomotive. |
| 2 | Columbus & Southern Ohio Electric Company | 0-4-0F | Heisler Locomotive Works | 1940 | Display | Fireless, from Sharon, Pennsylvania. |
| 3 | Southern Wood Preserving Company | 0-4-0T | American Locomotive Company | 1926 | Display, awaiting a rebuild | |
| 9 | McCloud Railway | 2-6-2 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 1901 | Display, awaiting restoration | From the Kettle Moraine Scenic Railroad, Wisconsin. |
| 12 | Morehead & North Fork | 0-6-0 | American Locomotive Company | 1905 | Operational | Built as Southern Railway No. 1643. |
| 13 | Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal | 0-6-0T | H.K. Porter | 1919 | Display | From the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. |
| 13 | Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad | 2-8-0 | American Locomotives Company | 1920 | Display, awaiting restoration | |
| 19 | McCloud River Railroad | 2-8-2 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 1915 | Under restoration | From the Yreka Western Railroad and the Oregon, Pacific and Eastern Railway (pictured). No. 19 was used as OP&E No. 19 in the 1973 Robert Aldrich film Emperor of the North (Pole). |
| 33 | Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad | 2-8-0 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 1916 | Display, awaiting future overhaul | First from the Munising, Marquette and Southeastern as No. 44, No. 33 operated on the LS&I until 1962. Owned by the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway from 1965 to 2003, when it first arrived at the Ohio Central. |
| 37 | Sugar Pine Lumber Company | 2-8-2T | American Locomotive Company | 1925 | From the Timber Heritage Association. | |
| 96 | Canadian National | 2-6-0 | Canadian Locomotive Company | 1910 | Display | |
| 105 | Sturm & Dillard Co. | 0-6-0 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 1917 | Display | From the Orrville Railroad Heritage Society. |
| 401 | Alabama, Tennessee and Northern Railroad | 2-10-0 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 1928 | Display | From the Mid-Continent Railway Museum. |
| 643 | Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad | 2-10-4 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 1944 | Display | As of January 2024, the engine has been moved from McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. |
| 727 | U.S. Steel | 0-4-0T | H.K. Porter | 1897 | Display | From Sewickley, Pennsylvania |
| 763 | New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad | 2-8-4 | Lima Locomotive Works | 1944 | Display, awaiting possible restoration | From the Virginia Museum of Transportation. |
| 1187 | Reading Company | 0-4-0 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 1903 | Display | From the Strasburg Rail Road, No. 1187 was recently acquired from Strasburg from an auction on July 15, 2020 and left Strasburg on July 31, 2020. |
| 1190 | Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | 0-6-0 | American Locomotive Company | 1904 | Display | |
| 1278 | Canadian Pacific Railway | 4-6-2 | Canadian Locomotive Company | 1948 | Display | From the Gettysburg Railroad, No. 1278 suffered a crown sheet failure in 1995, underwent a partial cosmetic restoration in 2016. |
| 1293 | Canadian Pacific Railway | 4-6-2 | Canadian Locomotive Company | 1948 | Display, awaiting future rebuild | Age of Steam's primary locomotive/locomotive power. |
| 1551 | Canadian National | 4-6-0 | Montreal Locomotive Works | 1912 | Display, awaiting restoration | Traded from Steamtown in exchange for BLW No. 26 in 1986. |
| 2630 | US Army | 2-8-0 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 1943 | Display | From the Southeastern Railway Museum, USATC S160 Class. Cosmetically restored. |
| 3960 | Wheeling and Lake Erie | 0-6-0 | W&LE Brewster Shops | 1935 | Display, awaiting in-depth cosmetic restoration | From Canton, Ohio. |
| 6325 | Grand Trunk Western Railroad | 4-8-4 | American Locomotives Company | 1943 | Display | From Battle Creek, Michigan. |
Diesel locomotives
ALCO
| Number | Heritage | Model | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Newburgh & South Shore Railroad | S2 | |
| 18 | South Buffalo Railway | S4 | |
| 84 | Great Northern | S2 | Painted in fictional Nickel Plate Road livery |
| 100 | Southern Pacific | S2 | |
| 101 | Norfolk & Western | S2 | |
| 102 | Norfolk & Western | S2 | |
| 400 | Monongahela Connecting Railroad | T6 | |
| 1077 | Long Island Rail Road | RS3 | |
| 1663 | South Buffalo Railway | S2 | |
| 1782 | S2 | ||
| 1800 | Erie Mining Co. | RS18 | Named "Chappy" |
| 4099 | Delaware & Hudson | RS3 | From Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad |
| 7230 | Erie Mining Co. | C424 | |
| 9100 | Baltimore & Ohio | S4 |
EMD
| Number | Heritage | Model | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 82 | Montour Railroad | SW9 | |
| 84 | Montour Railroad | SW9 | |
| 211 | Detroit Edison | SW1 | |
| 212 | Detroit Edison | SW1 | |
| 452 | Amtrak | F40M-2C | |
| 460 | Amtrak | F40M-2C | |
| 556 | Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe | SW1200 | |
| 736 | New York Central | SW1 | |
| 1202 | Aliquippa & Southern | SW1200 | |
| 1203 | Wabash | SW1200 | |
| 1205 | Aliquippa & Southern | SW1200 | |
| 1501 | Pittsburgh & Lake Erie | GP7 |
Fairbanks-Morse
| Number | Heritage | Model | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1802 | Yankeetown Dock | H12-44 | |
| 1852 | United States Army | H12-44 | Painted in a Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway inspired scheme. |
General Electric
| Number | Heritage | Model | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Bethlehem Steel Johnstown Works | 25-Ton |
Welcome to the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum
Created by Len Brown, this video is a profile of the Museum itself and how they got to where we are today. Interviews with the Executive Director, Chief Mechanical Officer, and other volunteers and employees help paint a picture of what it's like to be a part of the amazing Museum.
Overview
Location: Sugarcreek, Ohio
Type: Vintage steam and diesel locomotives, and other rail equipment
President: Jerry Joe Jacobson (2011–2017)
Website: www.ageofsteamroundhouse.org
Address: 213 Smokey Lane Road SW, Sugarcreek, OH 44681
Phone: 330-852-4676
Email: info@ageofsteamroundhouse.org
