Port Huron and Northwestern Narrow Gauge 2-4-0 D.B. Harrington stored at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio
The D.B. Harrington was built in 1878 for PM predecessor Port Huron & Northwestern by Porter, Bell & Co. It served the PH&NW for only a few years, and was sold by 1884 after its limited speed and pulling capacity proved to be insufficient for the railroad's needs. It bounced around among various logging companies in northern Michigan until 1923, when it was retired from its last job, serving as a stationary boiler for a cherry cannery in Glen Haven. Displayed at the cherry company's offices until the early 1930s, it was placed on loan to the City of Traverse City, which put it on display in Clinch Park. The D.B. Harrington remained on display until 1965, at which time it was acquired by the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, where it received an ornate paint job. Its boiler deemed no longer even repairable, the engine was put on display until about 1974, when park expansion overran its display site and it was moved into storage.After a brief period under ownership by the Henry Ford Museum, during which time its tender was deemed too far gone for restoration and replaced with a replica, the Museum decided that the locomotive no longer fit its needs, and in 1991 it was transferred to the Port Huron Museum. In early 2018, plans were put into motion to have the D.B. Harrington cosmetically restored. It was moved to St. Clair County Community College where the work is under way.
The photo here shows it as it looked while stored at Cedar Point.
Photo from the T.J. Gaffney Collection
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