Valley Railroad 97

Valley Railroad No. 97 is a preserved 2-8-0 steam locomotive that was built in 1923 by Alco. It was used for pulling services around the valley railroad the locomotive was restored in 1963 and was retired in 2010, On October 26, 2018 the locomotive was restored again As of 2023 the locomotive is still operational.

Revenue Service and First Retirement (1923-1958)
No. 97 was built by the American Locomotive Company's former Cooke Locomotive Works in 1923 as No. 200. It was one of two locomotives that were intended to be exported to Cuba for use on the National Railway Company of Cuba. No. 200, however, never made it to Cuba, and it was stored at the Cooke factory until it was shut down in 1926. The locomotive was subsequently sold to the Birmingham and Southeastern Railroad on March 5, 1926, and it was moved to the company's shortline in Alabama. The locomotive pulled multiple passenger and freight trains on Birmingham and Southeastern trackage until 1958.

First restoration and excursion career (1963-2010)
In 1963, New York publisher Stephen D. Bogen purchased No. 200, and it soon began operating on the Vermont Railway. It was also renumberd to 97 to avoid conflict with the railroad’s diesel locomotive No. 200. Locomotive 97 pulled mainline excursion trains on portions of the New Haven Railroad until it merged with the Penn Central Railroad in 1968. No. 97 was subsequently moved to the Connecticut Valley Railroad in 1970, but it didn't start operating there until 1973. Shortly afterward, No. 97 would replace 2-6-2 locomotive No. 103 as the Valley Railroad’s train consist expanded.In 2005 it was sold to the private owner to the Valley Railroad. In 2007 the locomotive was filmed on Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Second retirement (2010-2018)
No. 97 ran until December 2010, when its flue time expired, and while being displayed outdoors,

the locomotive underwent a 1,472-day inspection as required by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

Second excursion career (2018-present)
No. 97 returned to service on October 26, 2018. In September 2019, it had more maintenance In January 2020, 97 had been lifted off its wheels for the first time in decades. In 2021, 2022, and In 2023, it hauled the north pole express.

Film history
In June 2007, No. 97 was coupled to some passenger cars to be filmed at Essex station. This was for the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the Crystal Skull, starring Harrison Ford and directed by Steven Spielberg.