Doesn't look so bad. Would certainly give the engineer a legitimate excuse to hang on the whistle cord...

Broken rods are a dangerous situation regardless of the locomotive configuration. I recall reading an ICC report on an Erie 2-8-4 that broke a rod, which then swung around and punched through both outer and inner throat sheets, the resulting leak killing the three men in the cab.

If I recall, Long Island #35 has a dent in her throat sheet from a similar misadventure.

Hi guys, getting a little back on topic, any news on Strasburg 4? Thanks - David Notarius

It is my understanding that there is NO plan for the “4” or Reading 1187. It is too weak to pull anything and can only serve as a switcher. I think that 31 will be worked on before the 1187. What’s the status on CP 972? Last I heard and saw was that her firebox had been removed and that a Belpaire was considered as a replacement...

Kelly - Were traditional wooden patterns and core boxes used for the drivers, or was one of more recently developed types of pattern/mould used?

If that was the case, the same would have been true of the N&W's Baldwin M2 and Roanoke-built M2a/b/c subclasses of 1910/1911. They had drivers and frames of similar dimensions to the 1906 M class engines, but a larger boiler, a decked cab, and no trailing truck.

Not much.
That’s where she sits today. With the hit that tourism has taken in Lancaster county, the Rail Road has no need for another steam locomotive. On the other hand, she is torn too far down for anyone else to want. #972 is a bit of a quandary for us.
To date, we have used traditional wood patterns. Here are several examples.

Kelly - Thanks for the response.

And yet, she ran before!

I heard some time ago, in addition to being used as she had been in the past, she might serve well with the railroad's freight operations - though perhaps the car loads have increased to such a point that is no longer valid.

'Shame about CP No. 972 but fortunately, there are 9 surviving CP 4-6-0's scattered through the US and Canada. Maybe you can sell her to Steamtown : O Or, to the Age of Steam in Ohio. Here's a photo of her from 2015: https://www.railpictures.net/photo/558540/

/Mitch

Kelly -

This comment seemed to be kind of lost in the wonderful photos and reports about goings on in the Strasburg Rail Road Shops. I wondered how serious this "hit" has been. Also, if other museums/tourist railroads are also experiencing similar "slowdowns" recently.

Les

Quarter century -- or more -- ago, I had a conversation with the then President of the Strasburg. This was before Lynn became president.

He shared with me an interesting concern. The urbanization of Lancaster County in Pennsylvania was causing farm land to be converted into housing tracts. A later visit to Lancaster County showed that this had continued.

Overall, the Amish were selling their farms and moving to locations further west in the country -- Ohio, Dakotas, Oregon, etc. The Amish and their communities and their crafts were a major tourist draw in Lancaster County. This tourism was both day-trippers and people who stayed several nights. His concern was if the Amish leave, the tourism would decrease and then disappear and it was the tourists that filled the seats on the Strasburg passenger trains.

On the other hand, that's more locals (and their visiting families) to visit, perhaps.

Gonna need a bigger Thomas - maybe an 0-6-6-0?

/Mitch

This has been a known syndrome for decades.

Somewhere over 20 years ago, in an event that spurred a symposium of Lancaster County tourism bureaus (yes, there are several, with differing objectives), a woman stormed into the Mennonite Information Bureau on Rt. 30 east of Lancaster and demanded to file a complaint. It seems some Amish farmer refused to pose for photos for her, instead walking away and "hiding." It took some conversation to reveal that she literally though ALL of the farms out there were, like Colonial Williamsburg or the like, all paid actors posing for the background. There was NO convincing this woman whatsoever that these individuals were, indeed, private citizens with rights of privacy.

This is, indeed, the problem that spurs part of Lancaster County's dilemma.

Another aspect is that the Old Order Amish tradition is that the father sets up the son, upon adulthood and acceptance of the faith, with his own farm. In later years that transitioned into setting him up in any related business, such as furniture-making, butchery, etc.--as much for practical reasons as economic. The Amish have, therefore, been forced to move west and "re-think" their agrarian ways as they do so. There are even some Amish in the inhospitable "no man's land" between Arizona and Utah, also home to the radical/extremist Mormon sects/"cults" that garner unwanted media attention.

The snide line that has been cast about is "Will the last Amish to flee Lancaster County please extinguish the lantern behind him?" Be advised that all parties involved are aware of the dilemma and have taken steps to address what they can--farmland trusts, "greenland" preservation, etc. (The Strasburg supposedly has had some financial involvement in preserving its trackside farms, though I still nearly vomit at that corn-maze "amusement part" near Cherry Hill). Unfortunately, the economic factors involved may be insurmountable.

Ha. Several months ago, while on a Sunday morning walk in a park nearby, a vehicle with an out-of-state license plate pulled to a stop at the curb. The window whirred down, and the driver asked, "Where do they keep the Amish?" Since it was Sunday, after all, I suggested they were probably in church for the next two or three hours. The driver rolled up the window and roared away, apparently displeased by my response.

There appears to be topic drift here, so I'll add my 2 cents. The area in Ohio between Sugarcreek & Berlin has quite a few Amish and seems to be getting more popular as a tourist destination since urbanization hasn't begun in earnest. At one time, Jerry Jacobson ran tourist trains out of Sugarcreek before retiring and beginning the AOS Roundhouse. I'm surprised that someone hasn't tried to resurrect tourist trains in this area, especially since AOS has some operable engines that could probably be leased.

Insurance rates killed the tourist trains...not JJs retirement.