Nine months ago, the city of Macon gave permission for the Hartwell Railroad Co. of Bowersville to take Steam Locomotive 509 out of Central City Park, restore it and put it back in service for tourist runs.

Nine months later, the engine and coal car are still there -- where they’ve sat for the past 53 years.

“We’ve been waiting on them to come pick it up,” said city Parks and Recreation Director Dale “Doc” Dougherty.

The engine was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1906. Its display serves as a monument to Benny A. Scott, a community leader who served as fireman on the engine’s last run after 42 years of railroad work. He was the first black fireman on the Central of Georgia railroad, a prestigious position at the time, Councilman Ed DeFore said.

In May 2011, the city agreed to lease the engine and coal car to Hartwell for 30 years at $1 per year. The plan was for the company to rebuild the locomotive as an excursion train for use mostly on its north Georgia lines and offer discounted trips to Macon residents at least twice a year.

Hartwell officials didn’t return a call seeking comment this week, but when the lease was approved, company representatives said it would probably take about a year to get the locomotive back on the rails. DeFore said when the train’s moved he would like to see the plaque honoring Scott remain, and for it to be displayed more prominently.

Hartwell representative Jason Sobczynski said in May that it could cost $450,000 to restore.

Asbestos removal and reassembly would cost about $80,000 he said.

That first step, at least, has been done, Dougherty said. Hartwell workers did the “heavy lifting” of asbestos removal and removed possibly toxic old paint, leaving the locomotive rust-colored.

If the company finally decides not to take it, the city can repaint the locomotive and keep it in better condition than before, Dougherty said.

“At this point they’ve done nothing but help us,” he said.

Hartwell operates on about 140 miles of short-line track, mostly in north Georgia, but was “scouring the country” for a steam engine to restore as an excursion train, Joey McCollough, a representative of Hartwell, said last year. The restored locomotive would operate most of the year on those lines, but it might make excursion trips to Macon and perhaps to Savannah a couple times per year, he said.

In addition to discounts for city residents, the city government would get 50 free tickets for each trip, Sobczyn-ski said.

To contact writer Jim Gaines, call 744-4489.