The lead locomotive dog that will aim to pull teams of freight down the Piedmont & Northern Railway was delivered to its new Gaston County home on Friday.

Progressive Rail's engine pulled into its temporary stop behind Tony's Ice Cream in Gastonia in the afternoon, where local officials conducted an inspection and safety check to ensure it's ready to use here. From there, it was to be relocated to its storage site at a stop along the route in Ranlo.

The locomotive, officially known as PGR-38, features a medium blue-based color scheme with red and white enhancements and a red diamond logo. Progressive Rail Marketing Director Gerre Goard said as customers are added, they will aim to put additional engines into service.

"This is our first lady," said Goard, who retired from a 32-year career with Norfolk Southern before joining Progressive Rail. "Hopefully we'll bring another one down here when we start growing the business."

The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Rail Division announced this month that Progressive Rail had taken over operation of the 11.6-mile P&N, which runs between Gastonia and Mount Holly, with an additional 1.5-mile dead-end spur into downtown Belmont. More than $7 million in state and local tax dollars were spent to restore and then reopen the track in 2012.

The line connects with two major carriers, including CSX in Mount Holly and Norfolk Southern near downtown Gastonia.

Lakeville, Minnesota-based Progressive Rail, a short line rail operator established in 1996, was selected after a competitive bid process. They will be the third operator to attempt to recruit new business to the line in the past five years, coming on the heels of Patriot Rail and Iowa Pacific.

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or on Twitter @GazetteMike.