CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Motorists on the West Virginia Turnpike are going to get a good look at the steam engine locomotive traveling from Hinton to the state Capitol Complex Wednesday afternoon.
State police said northbound Turnpike traffic will be impacted beginning at around 2 p.m. as a large truck carries the 50-ton engine from Princeton to Charleston. State police and the West Virginia Parkways Authority are coordinating an escort.
“Motorists traveling northbound on Interstate 77 (Turnpike) should expect extended traffic delays and intermittent lane closures due to the slow-moving transport. Vehicles will be permitted to pass the equipment except in restricted areas where passing is not possible,” state police said.
The locomotive, a gift to the state from American Electric Power several years ago, has been sitting in Hinton. It will now be part of the state’s new courtyard celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States. A crane will be used Thursday to lift the engine from Greenbrier Street into the courtyard on the southside of the state Culture Center. A 20-ton coal shuttle car is also part of the outside exhibit and scheduled to lifted by crane into place Thursday.