Okay I’ve been seeing some topics regarding the two Byron locomotives and I’d like to get a few things straight.

I work as a machinist for the private individual that owns the locomotives. What was said above is true in regards to the condition of these locomotives as we got them.
Without a doubt they were the most hacked together things you’d ever seen. I’ll break it down a little bit.

“2968”
-Had a crude 3 foot extension welded to the frame to allow for the large cab
-had 3 male fittings WELDED together that came off the steam dome
-sand pipes welded to the crosshead guides
-trailing truck assembly was torch cut and welded together
-tender was 2 Standard gauge ties, with a big red round tank inside paper thin sheet metal on top of angle iron trucks with speeder wheels

“2967”
-Had a tractor boiler for starters
-tender was the same cobbled pile that the 2968 had
-front of the frame was cut and shortened
-ran without the trailing wheel assembly
-missing the entire 6 foot section of the original frame

I find it kind of pathetic people would rather see the engines in the “Byron appearance” vs their original trench engine configurations. Luckily, we are putting both engines back to original specs. Viva La trench engine!!

Okay I’ve been seeing some topics regarding the two Byron locomotives and I’d like to get a few things straight.

I work as a machinist for the private individual that owns the locomotives. What was said above is true in regards to the condition of these locomotives as we got them.
Without a doubt they were the most hacked together things you’d ever seen. I’ll break it down a little bit.

“2968”
-Had a crude 3 foot extension welded to the frame to allow for the large cab
-had 3 male fittings WELDED together that came off the steam dome
-sand pipes welded to the crosshead guides
-trailing truck assembly was torch cut and welded together
-tender was 2 Standard gauge ties, with a big red round tank inside paper thin sheet metal on top of angle iron trucks with speeder wheels

“2967”
-Had a tractor boiler for starters
-tender was the same cobbled pile that the 2968 had
-front of the frame was cut and shortened
-ran without the trailing wheel assembly
-missing the entire 6 foot section of the original frame

I find it kind of pathetic people would rather see the engines in the “Byron appearance” vs their original trench engine configurations. Luckily, we are putting both engines back to original specs. Viva La trench engine!!

History will be well served by your work. I can’t wait to see the finished locomotives? Are there any Davenport trench engines left? I know there are Baldwin’s, Alcos and a handful of European examples left (some beautifully restored and operational).

Aside from these there is the example in Fort Benning, GA. It's lettered for the Quartermaster's Corps and was just repainted about two or three years ago... I can't speak to the accuracy of the tank paintjob (I thought they were kept grey or black). It's had 1902, 6 and most recently 5 put on it for numbers. I just don't know what the system was, or if when the army repainted it they decorated it as another engine that was on their roster...
https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/for ... ht-railway
The real shame is that none of the Vulcans survived... It's too bad too, because they were definitely unique.

Film at Fort Benning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BTtncKnS9k

...there is the example in Fort Benning, GA. It's lettered for the Quartermaster's Corps and was just repainted about two or three years ago... I can't speak to the accuracy of the tank paintjob (I thought they were kept grey or black).

Neat bad and tender. I can't imagine any use on another locomotive, but I hope they go to good homes. Heck, if I lived anywhere nearby and could come with a trailer to pick it up, I might have plopped down a bid for the cab just for the heck of it!They were in black. I have no idea why the concept of a OD green steam locomotive is such a common mistake that nobody will let go. Bachmann just came out with a Baldwin 2-6-2T 'trench engine' looking locomotive in On30 which should be in hobby shops very soon, and one option is one in OD green with the classic "MASH-style" stencil typeface.
A paint job and lettering no US Army locomotive ever had that I can tell. It's a classic case of doing what people assume must be right, without looking at any period photos, and they're wrong (and would have known it, if they'd done any research).

Neat bad and tender. I can't imagine any use on another locomotive, but I hope they go to good homes.