The logging engine on display in the museum lobby is a model of an actual engine used in the White Mountains. It is a 2-4-2T which means it had a set of 2 small wheels in front, 4 wheels in the center an 2 wheels in back where the “T” means it was a tank engine that had water stored in the engine rather than the tender.
The restored engine is operating today at Clark’s Bears, a rare working survivor of New Hampshire’s White Mountain logging era. Built in 1906 by Baldwin Locomotive Works, the engine was designed for industrial service rather than mainline speed, combining strength, flexibility, and a compact form ideal for rough conditions.
Originally, the locomotive worked for the East Branch & Lincoln Railroad, one of the largest logging railroads in New England. Deep in the forests along the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River, it hauled raw timber over steep grades, temporary trestles, and sharply curving track. Its saddle tank eliminated the need for a tender, allowing it to run equally well in either direction—an essential feature on logging spurs where turning a locomotive was often impossible.
As the logging boom faded in the early twentieth century, the locomotive transitioned to mill and yard duties, continuing to serve the region’s timber industry in a quieter but still essential role. Eventually retired from active service, it spent years on static display, a relic of a vanished industrial landscape.
In 1999, the locomotive was moved to Clark’s and carefully restored to operating condition. Today, it runs again on the White Mountain Central Railroad, pulling passenger trains through the same region where it once hauled logs.
More than a preserved machine, this 2-4-2T is a living connection to New Hampshire’s industrial past—a reminder of the ingenuity and endurance required to bring the forests of the White Mountains to market.