By Chris Barber
Contributing Writer

An East Penn train engine that was embellished to honor the nation’s 250th anniversary made its public debut at the Kennett Square tracks on Saturday afternoon.

When word spread of its appearance, scores of people stopped by to look at it. Later in the evening, journalists, photographers and rail fans came to record the sight ensconced in darkness.

“It’s beautiful. I’m glad I heard about it,” one visitor was heard to say.

Decorating a train engine in patriotic red, white and blue is an occasional but widely spread custom among American railroad companies. Some older visitors in Kennett Square said they remembered decorated train engines in 1976 when the United States celebrated its bicentennial.

The idea for embellishing the former Engine 1700 – a blue locomotive that has been onsite for over a year – came from various friends of the line including train enthusiast and Hockessin deputy fire chief Randy Broadwater. He is also the owner of an antique train caboose that has been staying at the Kennett Square station for months.

According to reports by those in the company, Regional Rail President Al Sauer and Vice President Don Craumer agreed to the idea and proceeded with the project.

Trainmaster Randy Miller, who oversaw the engine's debut on Saturday, said the company ran a contest to choose the design. People handed in their drawings, and the winner, Michael Minatelli, was chosen by Sauer.

The old engine was shepherded into one of the maintenance buildings and work began by a contract company. Miller said they have been working on it for a little over two months.

The colors were applied as an overlay material with paint to finish up the edges, Miller said.

He added that information shared by other train companies indicates that the material (and appearance) can last up to seven years.

He said the engine is not going to hide away but will be used like its brother and sister engines to haul freight along the tracks of southern Chester County. People will see it go by.

The engine gleamed red, white and blue in the weekend sun. It sat beside the station building that had been painted as recently as Saturday morning. Last October the East Penn expanded its management to an office on McFarlan Road.

Regional Rail, the company that oversees East Penn, owns 18 other short rail freight lines throughout the eastern United States. Regional Rail trains carry freight, not people. The company most recently purchased a short line that runs just north of Minneapolis.

Locally, East Penn trains carry freight to Avondale, West Grove and Oxford. The route runs from Chadds Ford to Oxford, and loading occurs as well in the Pocopson station.

Craumer said earlier that East Penn trains carry supplies for Tastykake and Herr Foods and liquid propane to Avondale, among other commodities.

The tracks and operations were earlier owned by Pennsylvania Railroad and were threatened with demolition in 1972. According to reports from those familiar with the history, it was saved by a citizen advocacy group who convinced the county commissioners that the tracks were essential for the development of southern Chester County.