A railroad town gets a locomotive of its own [Times-News, Burlington, N.C.]

Nov. 22--BREAK OUT THE BUBBLY -- Burlington's getting its own locomotive.

On Dec. 15, representatives from the N.C. Department of Transportation, Miss North Carolina Hailey Best and Burlington Mayor Ronnie Wall -- also a member of the N.C. Board of Transportation -- will gather at Burlington's train station to christen the "1893 City of Burlington" locomotive.

"This engine is the fourth in a series we've done in the last year and a half," said Allan Paul, director of operations and facilities of the NCDOT rail division. Burlington follows Greensboro, High Point and Durham in having a locomotive named after it. Since 1994, Paul said, "We name our locomotives for cities along the rail corridor," referring to the Piedmont route operating between Raleigh and Charlotte.

The cities of Charlotte and Raleigh also had locomotives named after them at one time, Paul said. But the Charlotte locomotive was sold years ago, and the Raleigh engine was the one destroyed last May in Mebane, when it hit a stalled tractor trailer.

Burlington's engine is replacing the one lost in last year's accident, Paul said. "This is the last locomotive for the time being," he said. "We now have six locomotives (on the Piedmont route) ... We're in good shape probably for the next four to five years," Paul said.

The date in the name of each christened locomotive corresponds to the date of each city's incorporation, said Paul. "The locomotives are painted with a paint scheme that represents the state, the colors used in the state flag ... and they have a huge 'North Carolina' down the side of them," he said. "They're very much a product of North Carolina."

The particular engine that will bear Burlington's name and incorporation date was originally built for GO Transit, a large transit authority in Toronto, Canada, said Paul. He said GO Transit retired the locomotive two years ago, and the NCDOT bought it as surplus property for $342,000. About $900,000 in insurance money from the Mebane locomotive accident was used to rebuild the engine to like-new condition.

"Burlington has had such a long history with the railroads, we felt it would be appropriate that one of our locomotives be named for it," said Paul. He said the new locomotive has had major air emissions upgrades, as well.

"The locomotive now meets what is known at EPA Tier 0 Plus standards, which makes it one of the cleanest-running locomotives in North Carolina," he said. The 12-cylinder engine has 3,200 horsepower and is geared to travel up to speeds of 105 mph, but the state's maximum rail speed is 79, said Paul.

The locomotive's christening will take place on the newly extended platform at Burlington's station, the completion of which will also be recognized. The platform extension was one of the state's rail projects paid for by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. Paul said the length of the platform was doubled from 200 feet to 400 feet, which will allow longer passenger trains to make only one stop instead of two when picking up or dropping off passengers.

Chief Operating Officer Jim Trogdon will be at the christening, and Best will take a bottle of champagne and "bust it over the front cuppler of the locomotive," said Paul. "That's a long tradition to christen locomotives, just like you do ships." The event starts at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 15, and is open to the public. Paul said after the christening, the locomotive will be open for quick tours.

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