This locomotive, while at TVRM was one of the ones we never managed to get a photo of for steamlocomotive.info. Yesterday, out of the blue, Denny Fisher submitted the photo below of this locomotive:



Please notice the sign to the right "Maryland Welcomes You!". Obviously the locomotive has been sold, but to whom? And where is it headed? Anyone know? Searching rypn and trainorders elicited the information that it was for sale, but nothing about its actual purchase. Any help would be appreciated.

Very interesting! As I've said on more than one occasion, I'd love to see (and hear!) that Franklin R-C poppet valve equipped locomotive run one of these days.

Hugh -

Can we hope that the 2628 (her original number) ends up back on the short relaid section of the Maryland & Pennsylvania for future operation? She is the only steam locomotive surviving, that once ran on the MA & PA's rails. The occassion was some U.S. Army testing of the locomotive back in 1950, and she reportedly powered freight and passenger trains during those tests. But, I had heard that she had been offered to the MA & PA Preservation Society, and they turned her down. Could the photo possibly show a change of heart?

Les

I just called some Ma & Pa folks on the matter (and for Wes' request).

I think the unofficial response can be summed up:

"HUH?!!?!?"

I'm getting tempted to watch the Maryland DOT camera feeds online, just to see if I spot this sucker en route...... hmmmm, that sure looks like Interstate 68 at the state line west of Friendsville, and Cumberland is to the east.............

I was just thinking this may be the most-traveled-without-being-restored steamer ever. Ft. Eustis to Texas to TVRM and now to Maryland or points north. Wasn't it also at Cass for a while?

Nope. That's sister 2630/612. Probably also available, if you're interested?

The rumor I heard is that a "private collector" bought her and fully intends on "fixing her up and making her run again".

I hope the PC is successful and the little choo choo gets to Hoot and Toot once again.

TOOT-TOOT!!!

T7

I was under the impression that 611 was headed for PA somewhere to a private owner.

I also thought the 612 at Cass had been sold at auction. Has this not happened already?


Jason Greene
Birmingham, AL

I've been told that it was sold to a private antiques collector as termite7 said. I still find it funny that he want to restore it. He'll have to find a fourth driver unless he wants an 0-6-0 or a 2-6-0. And from what else I've seen he'll also need to make a tender tank along with a variety of other parts. I doubt that it'll ever get restored unless it goes to somebody that knows steam locomotives.

Are there not 4 drivers in the photo? Remember, at TVRM they had removed one of the drivers for the purpose of making up drawings of the oil cellar arrangment. POint being, all 4 were "with" the engine...just were not installed.

Nope, Count them....1,2,3,ahhhh where's the fourth?


Jason Greene
Birmingham, AL

I was told it was sent to GSMR so they could convert the 1702 back to friction bearings.

The Army 611 was sold by TVRM to Mr. Bill Miller, a heavy equipment dealer and private collector in western Maryland. To the best of my knowledge there are no plans to attempt anything more than a cosmetic restoration. The sale included the fourth set of drivers and assorted other loose parts, which were shipped on another truck.

Alan Maples
TVRM

I found this thread, and figured I would start putting things in here on the status of the 611 for starters. Both the 611 and the USA 4038 are owned by Bill Miller Equipment in Maryland. I know that there has been a lot of interest on how the type D valve gear on the engine is put together and or works, so I am going to put up information here for everyone as we get it. I'm going to have to put these up in a couple of posts to get all of the pictures in, please bear with me if you all are interested.

So as for the status of the locomotive now. The boiler shell has been stabilized. There has been some rust abaitment done of the locomtovie to hold her as she and the #4038 are presently stored outside. There was no smoke box faceplate or door for the locomotive, so the whole front of the smokebox has been made and is waiting istalation.
The machineshop is working on a new rod for L 3-4 as that rod was bent in an accident railroad west of Hanks Yard on the James River Sub at Ft. Eustis. They had the rod tied up to the locomotive with wire, the rod came loose and pole vaulted the engine.


The first foto is of the 611 engineers side showing the general arraingement of the type D gear. This gives you a basic road map of the set up. Second picture is a 3/4 front of the engine. This also gives you another good look at the gear.

So now that we have a couple of "in service" pictures to work off of, we can get into the first part of the down and dirty on the locomotive. The first question was "how does the valve gear adjust? By a Johnson Bar, or a Screw Mechanism. In this case it is niether. The "reverser" in the cab is nothing more than an air powered 3 way switch. There is forward, neutral, and reverse. The air lines exit the cab heading forard of the cab and run along to the running boards to what would have been the power reverse bracket. From there they have yet to be traced forawrd. (Please see the picture of the engineers side of the cab from when the engine was in service).

Next the question on the "Cam Boxes". The cam boxes are suspended via the suspension links over the center of the axle on R3 and L3. The connection between the cam boxes and the main driver is not through some sort of gear, but off of an eccentric crank that attaches to the main pin on both R3 and L3. The movement is transfered to the "cam shaft" at the top of the eccentric crank box by what is believed to be a worm gear (I will clarify once it is appart) this shaft and the universal u joints in it then transfer the movement forward to the valves.