PARKERSBURG – Sandblasted, repainted and restored, the M41 Walker Bulldog tank displayed for years at Quincy Park took its new place at City Park Thursday morning.

Members of the 193rd Engineer Platoon, part of the West Virginia Army National Guard’s 1092nd Engineer Battalion, delivered the Korean War-era vehicle to the park Thursday morning.

They used a light equipment transport to move the approximately 20-ton tank off their trailer, with braced by a Humvee with a chain to keep it from moving too quickly.

“It rolled off like they were pushing a baby carriage,” said Parkersburg Mayor Jimmy Colombo, who watched the delivery.

The tank was removed from the park last fall so it could be refurbished at the Combined Support Maintenance Shop for the Guard in Eleanor, W.Va. There, it was sand-blasted to remove paint faded over the years by exposure to the elements, not to mention graffiti, said Capt. Joe Ward, with the 193rd.

Then, it was painted in a shade of green to match the era it was originally in service.

The tank was brought back to the area a few weeks ago and stored at the National Guard armory on Pike Street while the site in the park was prepared. Last month, city workers poured a concrete pad near the Civil War-era Long Tom cannon and the Fallen Soldier Memorial.

Former Mayor Bob Newell originally proposed moving the tank from Quincy Hill so more people could see it and there would be less vandalism. City Park was selected in part due to the other military monuments there.

Sgt. 1st Class Brad Maston, who drove the transport to the park, said the change was a good one.

“It’ll serve the people of Parkersburg better (here),” he said.

Some city residents in the park Thursday morning agreed.

“I think the people here will enjoy it,” said Connie Miller, who watched the tank being unloaded as she read a book.

Miller said she hated to think of anyone vandalizing the tank and she hopes it will be safer at City Park.

Parkersburg resident Sharon Dawson said she planned to bring her brother by to see the tank later in the day.

“As soon as the grandkids get here to visit this weekend, they’re going to come over and see it,” she said.

Ward said the process of moving the tank from the armory to the park took about an hour and 15 minutes. Sporadic rain wasn’t an issue for the heavy equipment moving through the park.

“We had some rain, but the ground was really hard,” Ward said.

Maston said he scouted the route Wednesday evening to make sure the tank – which sat 12 feet high on the trailer, which was 11 feet wide – would fit everywhere it needed to go.