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| IAM District 19 members restored a historic locomotive bell to be displayed at the R. Thomas Buffenbarger Library at the Winpisinger Center. |
A relic of American railroad history now has a home at the R. Thomas Buffenbarger Library at the IAM’s Winpisinger Center in Hollywood, MD. A locomotive bell, possibly from as far back as the Civil War, was restored by IAM District 19 members and given to the library.
“It came off the Santa Fe Railroad, which was chartered in 1859,” said Jeff Doerr, president and directing general chairman for IAM District 19.
Doerr says the bell, which was restored in its original casting by District 19 members at the Roanoke Locomotive Shop in Virginia and donated by the Weldon Granger family, is from an old steam engine.
“There’s no better symbol than the railroad locomotive bell,” said Buffenbarger. “I’m honored and touched.”
WATCH: Historic Bell Dedicated to Buffenbarger Library
