After many years of neglect by the Chessie System and the subsequent weathering while sitting inactive at Cass and Romney, WV, the former Western Maryland BL2 #82 arrived well worn in Belington on October, 26, 1998. For the next year and a half, the locomotive remained in its rustic appearance until the spring of 2000 when work began to restore the BL2 to its authenic WM Speed Lettering paint scheme. The plan to restencil the engine came about during a conversation between West Virginia Central operator John Smith and Western Maryland railfan Dave Dudjak, who offered to restencil #82 with the measurements he had taken during the locomotive's extended vacation at Cass in the early 1980s. Before any painting could begin however, the rusted and "swiss chesse" sides of #82 had to be replaced, which was completed in early 2000. A few weeks later, the group of dedicated WVC volunteers gave the locomotive a fresh coat of gloss black paint, covering old wounds and leaving the locomotive without its WM lettering since it emerged from the EMD paint shop in 1948 - fortunately, it wouldn't stay that way long. On Saturday, April 15, 2000, a group of railfan volunteers arrived at the "crack of dawn" (Hawaiian Time!) to begin the tedious job of restenciling #82. By dark that evening, the WESTERN MARYLAND lettering had been applied on the conductors side, along with its road number, side hood stripe and smaller details. After calling it a day, work resumed the next morning at an accelerated pace to try and finish the stenciling on the engineers's side of the locomotive, while also placing the WM wings on both ends in time for the stockholders trip to Tygart Junction at noon. Unfortunately all of this did not get completed in time, but the WM Wings were finished on the front hood along with the side lettering. Following the return trip, the remaining stenciling jobs on the locomotive were completed, leaving only minor retouching to be undertaken on Saturday, May 20, the weekend before the official excursions began. Credit should be given to the Master Stenciliers of the group: Dave Dudjak of Pittsburgh and Jerry Doyle of Huntington, along with the volunteers who donated their time: Greg McDowell of Huntington, Matt Reese of Fairmont, and Randy, Linda and Chris Strogen of Bridgeport. I urge all of you to take the time to visit Belington this summer to see #82 and ride one of the two excursion rides: the Belington - Tygart Junction trip is well worth the scenery, while the Belington - Elkins trip shows you the heart of the West Virginia Central. There are not many places in the country where you can say you rode on an excursion pulled by an operating BL2, much less an original operating Western Maryland Railway BL2 in good paint! [Click to enlarge] The BL2 has already been repainted with Black Gloss paint by the WVC crew in this view, while the first stencil cutout is already on the locomotive awaiting masking tape underneath for the "odd" letters. In the background David Dudjak can be seen applying masking tape to create the curved stripe on the side of #82. [Click to enlarge] Linda and Randy Strogen lookon as Master Stenciler Jerry Doyle applies the first coat of yellow paint to the locomotive while Chris Strogen holds the ladder steady. [Click to enlarge] Work is progressing as the masking tape for the W and E are in place, awaiting the Exacto cutter, Randy Strogen, to move in. [Click to enlarge] On the sections of the locomotive where the carboard stencil won't lay flat against the surface, masking tape is underlain and then painted over as in this view. [Click to enlarge] The WESTERN is in place as Greg McDowell fills in the stenciling marks on the letters, while Master Stenciler David Dudjak works from the ladder on getting the horizontal stripe to line up correctly. [Click to enlarge] The lettering on the conductor's side of the BL2 is almost complete, while the yellow stripe begins to take shape as the masking tape and paint are extended along with the stencils for the side number, #82. [Click to enlarge] Not quite finished! On the first run of the 2000 season, #82 is still wearing masking tape on the engineers side stripe as it prepares to pull to the station in Belington to pick up the WVC shareholders. More importantly however, the front WM logo was completed in time for the excursion, much to the approval of the awaiting crowd. This trip was one of the last runs for senior WVC engineer Steve Willis, who left to finish his armed service career a short time later. Good Luck! [Click to enlarge] Photo by Jerry Doyle. The Finished Product... #82 basks in the late evening light wearing its old, yet new, Western Maryland Speed Lettering scheme following the completion of its repainting. Notice the exact details from the Saftey First logos on the front plow to the DF 16 on the side.... Accurate in almost every detail! Back to West Virginia Central RR Page Copyright 2000 © Northern WV's Railroads