A couple of Foundation veterans told me the 926 had some other issues, particularly with draft. Even under a full load, the fire would tend to blow back when the firebox doors were opened.

And yes, even under the best of circumstances, tractive effort was an issue with the cars & grades out of Scranton. At least she never got painted Lackawanna!

Dave

An interesting detail is that the 15's cylinders are set up for outside admision, or so it seems to me. What is the story there; are those the original cylinders to that locomotive, or was it upgraded from slide valves with new cylinders and valve castings?

A Steamtown "Special History Study" explains why the slide valves were converted to piston, and why outside admission was used, here:

http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/steamtown/shs2r.htm

This was done around 1926, while the locomotive was in use for the Oneida & Western in Tennessee, its original owner.

Steamtown Originally operated in 1961 on the Clarmont & Concord railroad out of Bradford Vermont. I Know because i was there- See below. Operations lasted only six weeks before the ICC man shut the operation down for lack of paperwork - what we now call a form 4. CNR 47 has not steamed again in all this time 50+ years. I was 2-1/2 at the time.

PR

A complete tear down of 47, inspection and rebuild should be enough to get her steaming clearance. She's and ideal locomotive for an operation like Steamtown. It's a darn shame to have her sitting outside in the elements while there remains a great commuter locomotive under that mantle of rust and peeled paint.

Al P., I'd recognize that LOOK anywhere!!!!

47 has been sitting for 52 years with jacket and lagging on it, and no attention. I think that tells the tale of her boiler's external condition.

Those CNR X-10s are quite suitable for out-and-back excursion operations. One is ensconsed in a museum north of the border, in right-out-of-service condition, another is within 25 miles of the other one, on outdoor display, and the third one is in Scranton.

Howard P.

There is indeed a Bradford in Vermont, but the one that was on the Claremont & Concord is in New Hampshire, roughly half way between the namesake cities of Claremont and Concord.

-John

X-10a #46 is in Valle Jonction, Quebec, and has been attended to by a railfan group. The locomotive appears to be in very good condition, and suitable for operational rebuild. Some of that prep work has already been done.

Biggest Al - sorry for the delay, I had trouble climbing back into my chair when I saw the photos.........

Big Al

Something that always irks me when it comes to Steamtown (and I'm "guilty" of this as well). Ever so often, you hear about railfan groups that get together to maintain and/or restore locomotives all over the US. Most of the time, when the work is done, it is done on a little stub of track with no equipment to speak, and progresses along fairly steadily and quickly. But then you have Steamtown, a great roundhouse and shop complex with enough equipment to all but build a brand new locomotive, and outside groups almost seem to avoid it at all cost (the notable exceptions being the ARHS and the L&WV and Tri-State chapters of the NRHS). Why is this so? Is it difficult to work with Steamtown on restoration projects? Do people purposely avoid it because they feel Steamtown is more than capable than doing the work on their own? Do they not want to put forth the time, money, and effort, only to not be able to run the engine themselves?

I just feel like, for the amount of people that criticize Steamtown for it's lack of steam, almost none of them step up to try and change that (And like I said, I'm "guilty" of this as well, though I try to keep most of my criticisms to myself).

Mark:

Steamtown has worked with other preservation groups in the past, but never was anything publicized, either by omission or design.

While that may be true, it always seems to stop short of actual restoration. Outside groups seem to only ever do cosmetic work (and I'm not saying that is a bad thing. It's a great thing). You would think groups, especially now, would be jumping to try and get engines restored up there, since they now have 11 locomotives with no asbestos lagging in them (which, I am told, is a key factor in where a locomotive is restored or not).

As part of the 565 crew, I can say that working with Steamtown is quite easy. As long as you have a good solid plan, play by the rules and keep it safe, they are far more than accommodating. Steve plans a work day, we show up, work and go home satisfied with a day's work. If issues crop up during the day, we consult the shop crew if they have the time and usually we're left with some sort of solution.

I'm guilty of that thought, too. While I've been involved since 1958 with the trolley museum now at Steamtown, my labor and most of my money these days go where I have a chance to run something. I'm not interested in donating the salary of the paid engineer.