Historic Waterville steam engine to move to Ellsworth

WATERVILLE, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- $25,000 can buy you a decent car.

But it in Waterville it can also buy a steam engine.

A non-profit organization called New England Steam bought "Old 470", a historic Maine Central Railroad locomotive there Thursday.

They plan to take it to Ellsworth and restore it until it's able to run. The last time the engine moved was in 1954 and it has sat on public display ever since.

The project will involve breaking the locomotive into pieces, loading them onto trucks and driving 80 miles away. That alone will take a year and the entire restoration even longer.

"Time I would say would have to be viewed in years," said Richard Glueck, the president of New England Steam. "We move at the speed of money. If I had a million dollars dropped in my lap today. The engine would be done in five years."

Peter Violette is a 23-year-old volunteer with the organization.

He's wanted to restore the locomotive ever since he was a little kid growing up in Waterville.

"It would be like a movie or story or something because I did start out coming here when I was really young," he said. "I do remember climbing on it and then going home and crying that it was rusted, had graffiti on it, pieces missing and I probably told my parents that I would fix it someday."

New England Steam estimates the cost of the restoration at $1.5 million

For more information about the project, visit newenglandsteam.org.