Railroad supporters and workers of Ohio
Family, friends, business leaders and railroad enthusiasts all were shocked when De la Porte, who was 78, died Oct. 30, 2013, while vacationing in Maine.
His family, Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad supporters and workers of Ohio Locomotive Works LLC paid him tribute again in a dedication ceremony Sept. 27.
“When he passed, they came up with the incredible honor of naming their first green locomotive after him,” said his son, Pete de la Porte of Grafton. “He’s always been an absolute train fanatic.”
A commemorative plaque bears his name on CVSR Locomotive 365, which is off the rails and under construction at Ohio Locomotive Works. The company has its shop at IRG Lorain LLC, the former Ford Motor Co. factory at 5401 Baumhart Road in Lorain, and in the last few years, has grown to 20 workers from six.
The 58-foot-long locomotive is a 1965, 2,000 horsepower model built by the American Locomotive Co., or ALCO. It has been a mainstay in the railroad trips since CVSR acquired it in 1998, Tallman said.
The ALCO engines were known for being good pullers, but were “dirty, oil-leaking fuel pigs,” said Jack A. Siffert, president of Ohio Locomotive Works. In the 1950s and 1960s, oil and diesel were plentiful and cheap, so no one cared much if the engines leaked, he said.