Final Assembly Location Chosen: Dennison, Ohio
When you set out to build a steam locomotive from scratch—a machine larger than life and louder than history itself—you need more than just steel, welders, and blueprints.
You need a place to assemble with a soul.

For years, the PRR T1 Trust worked piece by piece, steel plate by steel plate, to bring PRR No. 5550 back to life. And we always knew that someday, we’d need the right place to bring it all together—a place where history and the future could meet under one roof.

After months of searching and a little bit of destiny, we found that place: Dennison, Ohio.

But this wasn’t just about logistics. Dennison is sacred ground. In the late 1800s, the Pennsylvania Railroad itself built 75 steam locomotives right here in the Dennison shops. For generations, the sound of hammers and the hiss of steam filled these streets. Choosing Dennison means adding one more locomotive to that proud legacy—a story that spans three centuries and will live on in the history books.

In partnership with the Dennison Railroad Depot Museum, the Trust secured a $1.7 million USDA grant to build a brand-new 60-foot by 200-foot locomotive and passenger car restoration shop, right across the tracks from the historic Depot.

The two-track facility will serve a dual mission: maintaining the Museum’s fleet of historic passenger cars for excursions—and becoming the place where PRR T1 No. 5550 rises from raw steel to a living, breathing locomotive. Starting in 2026, the frame, tender, wheels, boiler, and countless hand-crafted components will move in. Under one roof, piece by piece, the T1 will come to life.

Even better, this new home will allow us to host regular open houses, workshops, and behind-the-scenes tours, giving our supporters the chance to stand alongside history in the making—not just once a year, but year-round.

And thanks to the USDA grant, we will also complete the interior firebox and exterior of the boiler—bringing us closer to the historic moment we’ve all dreamed of: mating the boiler to the frame in 2026.

Choosing Dennison was about more than finding a building. It was about reclaiming history and writing the next chapter in the story of American steam.

One more locomotive.
One more moment for the ages.
One more dream made real—in Dennison, Ohio.