In a steel plant reliable, durable, powerful and cost efficient equipment is a necessity to feed the furnaces a diet of heavy raw materials and to transport ingots and plates around the plant. In the early 1900’s the solution was to use narrow gauge rail and steam locomotives. For that purpose, Lukens purchased two HK Porters in 1902. Narrow gauge rail remained in use at Lukens up to the 1990s.

Our locomotive is a 1911 HK Porter 0-4-0-T. It had run for the Florida Paint and Turpentine Company. With the help of contacts at Lukens Steel Company and elsewhere, we found our locomotive in Decatur, Alabama.

After purchasing the locomotive, it needed to be restored. It now rests outside the Lukens Executive Office Building — fully restored and sitting on a railroad bed, with 4 narrow gauge flat cars, donated to us by the Lukens Steel Company.