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From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research
http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33922
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Author:  machinehead61 [ Mon Jan 26, 2015 9:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research

Thank you Les, no I had not seen that before. When does your museum start running this spring?

Steve

Author:  Les Beckman [ Mon Jan 26, 2015 10:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research

Steve -

There's an Easter Bunny special train. Not sure of exact date. Regular Saturday service begins in May. I'll see if I can get you a brochure.


Les

Author:  John T [ Mon Jan 26, 2015 10:45 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research

Hi,

I once owned a Whitcomb for about a month. The creosote plant that owned it wanted it gone so I bought it for $500. I promptly sold it to another fan who eventually donated it to the Northwest RR Museum at Snoqualmie, WA. Here is the info on it.

11920 3/1925 B 36” W6A MO Wauk 6A 4 ½ x 5 ¾ 12T 24”
W A Bechtel Co., San Francisco, Calif -for-
Construction of Magma Arizona RR, Superior, Ariz
Southern Pacific RR #6-C Oakland, CA (converted to STD)
J. H. Baxter Co. #6-C Alameda, CA
J. H. Baxter Co. #6-C Renton, WA
John A. Taubeneck (never moved)
Rich Wilkens Snoqualmie, WA
Puget Sound Ry. Historical Assn. Snoqualmie, WA
Northwest Railroad Museum Snoqualmie, WA

Author:  machinehead61 [ Tue Jan 27, 2015 8:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research

John T wrote:
I once owned a Whitcomb for about a month. The creosote plant that owned it wanted it gone so I bought it for $500. I promptly sold it to another fan who eventually donated it to the Northwest RR Museum at Snoqualmie, WA. Here is the info on it.

11920 3/1925 B 36” W6A MO Wauk 6A 4 ½ x 5 ¾ 12T 24”
Do you have any photos of that unit?

Steve

Author:  John T [ Tue Jan 27, 2015 10:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research

You can see the Baxter Whitcomb here:

http://richard-schooler.net/2004/IMG_2789.jpg

and here

http://drawing425.deviantart.com/art/J- ... -483376221

http://drawing425.deviantart.com/art/J- ... -483376257

Author:  machinehead61 [ Sat Jan 31, 2015 10:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re: From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research

Thank you John. BTW I just discovered this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Railroad-Book-G ... 19faf6e2d7

Someone has published a roster of all the Whitcomb locomotives ever built so it says. It gives some wrong dates that are contradictory to the end/start years for the Geo. D. Whitcomb Co. and the start/end of the Baldwin era but it I hope it gives me year by year production and engines used.

I will have to get a copy.

Steve

Author:  John T [ Sat Jan 31, 2015 11:25 am ]
Post subject:  Re: From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research

Steve,

The Ebay offering is Bob Lehmuth's list. He went through and copied all of the Whitcomb records at the California RR Museum a few years back.

John

Author:  machinehead61 [ Mon Feb 02, 2015 10:41 am ]
Post subject:  Re: From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research

John T wrote:
Steve,

The Ebay offering is Bob Lehmuth's list. He went through and copied all of the Whitcomb records at the California RR Museum a few years back.

John
Our museum ordered a copy and hope to have it in a week. I found a site with Bob Lehmuth's offerings and contact info. I will try to get hold of him.

Steve

Author:  Les Beckman [ Fri Jul 03, 2015 10:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research

Steve -

Stopped by Stewart Grain and shot their Whitcomb. Not sure if a photo of it appeared earlier in the thread or not.


Les

Attachments:
West Baden, St. Louis & Nothern late Jun `15 016.JPG
West Baden, St. Louis & Nothern late Jun `15 016.JPG [ 337.39 KiB | Viewed 9350 times ]

Author:  1702 [ Mon Jul 06, 2015 9:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research

Tip of the hat to Stewart Grain Co. for keeping this "oldie but goodie" employed. She works 100-car grain trains that come in weekly from the Kankakee, Beaverville & Southern. Quite a history -
45T Whitcomb #60228 12/42
ex-JBS United Inc. (Rossville, IL)
nee-Kaufman Grain Co. (same)
exx-C&S Grain (Henning, IL)
nee-Cargill (same)
exxx-US Army #1212
nee-Oak Ordnance Plant #103 (Illiopolis, IL).

Further west, at Bartonville, IL, another old warrior, Mosaic Crop Nutrition's 80T Whitcomb has been scrapped on site after an engine failure and replaced by a railcar mover.
Whitcomb #60160 8/42
ex-Cargill Inc. (same location)
nee-Cargill Inc. (Alta, IA)
exx-Beech Mountain #100
exxx-USN #65-0082
nee-US Naval Ammunition Depot #1 (Burns City, IN)

This one carried a plate reading "Serviced by Trans Global Rail 515-754-9033".

Thanks to Jay Reed and his "Comprehensive Guide to Industrial Locomotives - Third Edition" for the data on these two. And a big thanks to Les Beckman for the fine photo!

Jim Tatum

Author:  Les Beckman [ Mon Jul 06, 2015 10:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research

Jim -

Thanks for furnishing the information on the 45 ton Whitcomb.


Les

Author:  machinehead61 [ Thu Jul 09, 2015 10:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research

Very nice photo Les and I'm impressed by the history that Jim supplied. I will have to look that book up.

Steve

Author:  1702 [ Fri Jul 10, 2015 11:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research

Steve,

The 3rd edition of "Comprehensive Guide to Industrial Locomotives" was published in 2002. Jay Reed has a small quantity of new copies ($25.95) left. http://www.sonic.net/~jayreed/critter.html Used copies can probably be found on Amazon or eBay.

In 2000 he published an identification guide, "Critters, Dinkys & Centercabs", which he sells for $43.95. Used copies at the usual suspects.

Mr. Reed maintains a "preserved critters" site http://www.sonic.net/~jayreed/preserved.html

Jim Tatum

Author:  machinehead61 [ Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:46 am ]
Post subject:  Re: From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research

Every once in a while a golden nugget drops out of the sky.

Image

This plaque was on the outside wall of the Whitcomb factory in Rochelle when it closed in 1952. This gentleman then started working at the plant when Austin Western began producing street sweepers there and this sign had been taken down and put in a corner of the office. This man kept asking around to see what would be done with the sign and no one would give an answer. So after work one night the gent decided the sign would go into the trunk of his car and from there spent the next 63 years in his basement gathering dust. This summer he met me at the annual railroad days and said he had something in the trunk of his car that I might be interested in.

He was right.

Steve

Author:  Les Beckman [ Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re: From Rochelle IL and doing Whitcomb Locomotive Research

Steve -

Which goes to prove that sometimes doing the wrong thing is actually the RIGHT thing! Hope that, if the Whitcomb artifact is ever displayed, that this gentleman gets credit.

This made my day!

Les

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