Northumberland, Pa.-based North Shore Railroad Company & Affiliates (NSHR) on Dec. 22 rolled out a tribute to America’s 250th anniversary: NSHR 2238.
Local artist Pedro Reyes hand-painted symbols of “our nation’s liberty and independence,” according to NSHR, whose North Shore Railroad was named Railway Age’s 2017 Short Line of the Year.
“While there are many commemorative paint schemes and vinyl wraps on locomotives (or murals on walls depicting locomotives), this is the first, documented time a locomotive has been painted as a mural,” the Central Pennsylvania short line company said.
On the first side, NSHR 2238 displays:
- “George Washington crossing the Delaware River (a notable turning point in the Revolutionary War).”
- The “Declaration of Independence (as penned by Thomas Jefferson, and signed on July 4, 1776).”
- The “Liberty Bell (believed to have first rung in Philadelphia after the reading of the Declaration of Independence).”
Displayed on the second side are:
- A “bald eagle flying over ‘amber waves of grain’ by ‘purple mountains majesty’ as sung in, America the Beautiful.”
- An “American flag, waving proudly, colored in red (meaning valor and bravery), white (meaning purity and innocence), and blue (meaning vigilance, perseverance, and justice).”
- The “Statue of Liberty (a gift from France for the centennial celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence).”
- “‘Oceans, white with foam’ as written in the song, God Bless America.”
Other features on display include:
- One stack showing “Paul Revere’s lantern (a symbol of his ride, alerting the colonists that the British were coming)” and the other stack showing “a cloud of black gun powder (symbolizing the war fought and won by Colonial Soldiers).”
- On the cab, below the hood, is the phrase “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and on top of the cab roof is “the full inscription found on the Liberty Bell (derived from Leviticus 25:10), ‘Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all inhabitants thereof.’”
- On the cab door is “the Mayham Tower, a 30-foot tower designed by Major Hezekiah Mayham, which was built and used in Augusta, Ga., 2,238 days into the war. [It] symbolized one of the major turning points in the Revolutionary War in the south … [and] the countless battles it took for our nation to claim our independence.”
- The back of the cab displays “red, white, and blue fireworks (fireworks being a tradition set by John Adams from America’s inception).”
“We are blessed to have such a talented artist in our backyard,” NSHR President and CEO Jeb Stotter said of Pedro Reyes’s work. “If we did not have total faith in him and his work, this engine would never have been repainted. We knew from the word, ‘Go,’ that Pedro was the perfect partner for this project, and we were right.”
“We wanted our locomotive to be more than a patriotic tribute,” NSHR Treasurer Diana Williams noted. “We wanted it to honor the 250th anniversary and history of this great nation.”
“We love and admire the engines that have been presented in celebration of America’s Semiquincentennial thus far,” added Loni Martz Briner, NSHR PR and Media Manager. “However, we are doing something very different. One thing is for certain, this locomotive is now a beautiful piece of American history. The best word I can use to describe her is EPIC!”
No. 2238 is slated to travel NSHR’s system, with scheduled photo opportunities and tributes in 2026, according to the railroad company, which includes the Juniata Valley Railroad, Lycoming Valley Railroad, Nittany & Bald Eagle Railroad, Shamokin Valley Railroad, and Union County Industrial Railroad, in addition to the North Shore Railroad.
This is not the first time NSHR has repainted a locomotive as a tribute. In 2024, it dedicated the LVRR 9052 (Veterans Unit) and LVRR 9050 (Memorial Unit) to United States military service members—”past, present and fallen.”
