For many years the 1551 was the work horse of the Ohio Central Railroad steam department. The 1551 was originally built in April 1912 (the same month that the Titanic went down) as number 1354. Among the Titanic's passenger manifest, was the President of the Canadian Northern Railway. How ironic that the man for whose road the locomotive was built, never saw it run.
The 1551 was used in Montreal's commuter pool until her last overhaul in 1954. She was then used at Barrie, Ontario for branch line protection until her retirement in 1958.
Purchased by F. Nelson Blount for Steamtown, restoration efforts began but were halted and the locomotive stored. In 1986, Jerry Joe Jacobson traded his Jackson Iron & Steel Company (JISCO) 0-6-0 #3 to Steamtown
for 4-6-0 #1551. Once the Baldwin Locomotive Works shop switcher, today the 0-6-0 is Steamtown's #26 and hauls visitors around the Steamtown facility.
Age of Steam Roundhouse shop forces returned the ten-wheeler to service in 1989. Since that time, 1551 has pulled over one million passengers on Ohio Central passenger trains. She was affectionately known as "Puff" by the Sugarcreek staff.
