The group’s goal is not to just make the locomotive run again, but with the help of volunteers to promote historic and scientific education and to help boost the local tourist industry. The plan, once the locomotive runs again, is for Down East Scenic Railroad to lease No. 470 from New England Steam Corp. for use on its excursions through Ellsworth and Hancock and, eventually, to and from Green Lake in Dedham.

“It is the largest preserved steam locomotive in all of New England, so it is a real magnet for Maine,” Glueck said. “We feel that we will bring in at least another 10,000 visitors [to the area] annually. That’s the economic force behind restoring No. 470.”

For Roger Bennatti, a retired George Stevens Academy science teacher who lives in Orland, the effort will be worth it, even if it takes a decade to complete. Bennatti, who volunteers for Down East Scenic Railroad in the summer, said word will spread among train enthusiasts like him once the locomotive is running again.

“There’s a whole bunch of people who will drive hours and hours to ride on a particular locomotive,” Bennatti said. “It generates a huge amount of enthusiasm. I’m thrilled just to be the guy who goes around and oils something [on the train].”

Bennatti was among a handful of volunteers who showed up on a recent Saturday, despite a daylong downpour, to put in a few hours of work. The arching tarp overhead protected them from the falling rain, but the runoff seeped under the edges and pooled around their boots as they worked, their breath condensing in mist as they exhaled in the unheated space. Still, they traded smiles and stories — and shared a hot lunch — in between hammering and cranking away at the locomotive chassis.

“Today we’re trying to loosen up parts,” Glueck said. “We have to take the entire locomotive apart [and] check all the pieces for structural integrity.”