Exelon to donate locomotive to W. Chester Railroad

The 43-year-old locomotive that once hauled coal to Exelon's Cromby Generating Station in Phoenixville is getting a new life.

Exelon Power is donating Locomotive 7706, a GP38 model with a 16-cylinder 2,000-horsepower diesel engine valued at $140,000, to the West Chester Railroad, a nonprofit that preserves and operates vintage trains in Chester County. Exelon had used the former Conrail locomotive since the 1990s to pull coal hoppers to the power plant, which was retired at the end of 2011 and is undergoing decommissioning.

The nonprofit plans to take two years to restore the locomotive's exterior and repaint it with West Chester Railroad insignia.