We have been keeping busy here these past months here in Dearborn; between operating our regular scheduled trains, maintenance, and the restoration of our 1897 Baldwin 4-4-0 Detroit & Lima Northern No.7 we have had our hands full.



Our 0-6-4T Mason Bogie the Calumet and Hecla Mining Co. No.3 spent the summer picking up the slack while our 4-4-0 Edison was down to have its drypipe replaced. The Edison has been back in service for just over a month now.





Our 1897 Baldwin has seen a lot of attention in the last couple of months with the drivers/boxes being lifted back into place with new hubliners, new shoes and wedges, the completion of the new lead truck, timing of the valvegear, instalation of the rods, and finally the correct olive green paint. The boiler is complete and will be placed back on the frame within the next couple weeks.

The timing marks have not yet been painted over and are still visible.









The 7's tender tank is in position for sandblasting and primer. This winter construction of a new steel riveted tender frame will begin.

Can't wait to see #7 running. Knowing the quality of the work you guys do, she'll look good.

Remarkable restoration work. Thanks for sharing.

Very interesting shop-truck under the tender tank. Do you know it's origins? Thanks.

Mike Stillwell
Buena Vista, VA.

GV has a former U.S. Navy GE 45 ton switcher with similar trucks, I've always assumed it was either a replacement or one that was replaced. Not entirely sure though.

The cart that the No.7's tender tank rests on was fabricated here years ago, the wheel sets were from extra parts we aquired when we bought our G.E. from a scrapyard in the 80's. They had 2 G.E. 50 ton locomotives of which we took 1 complete, and some parts of the other.

Is there a roster of Greenfield Village/The Henry Ford locomotives and rolling stock available? Their website, last time I looked, had information on the obvious items like the Allegheny and the 4-4-2, but not much else.

As to the rolling stock, I remember hearing a credible report 20 years ago of all sorts of interesting "back lot" items, such as a steam crane, but what survived the general purge that took place about that time (in which, for example, the restored wooden baggage car that was used as a stand-in for the one in which the boy Edison did experiments, wound up in a New Jersey backyard (if I recall correctly)?

I also seem to remember a classic Maine Central wooden combine that belonged to the 470 Club, who used it on excursions, being sold to GV/THF in the early '80s, seemingly never to be heard of again. What ever happened to it?

Off the top of my head,

In the Village,

0-6-4T Mason, Calumet and Hecla Mining Co. "Torch Lake"
4-4-0 Ford homebuilt, "Edison"
4-4-0 Baldwin, Detroit & Lima Northern #7
Naval Ammunition depot #1 (charleston SC), GE 45 Ton diesel (not sure of it's history)
Detroit and Mackinac #8, Baldwin 0-6-0 (former Edison cement?)
Detroit River Tunnel Co. (Michigan Central) Steam/Electric(?) crane
A Plymouth switcher (1927, lettered for Plymouth, not sure of it's history either)
There's a Detroit and Mackinac wooden caboose being rebuilt (as time permits) in the roundhouse Michigan Central ALCO Schenectady 4-4-2 (#?)

There are a bunch of freight cars there too, but I don't know the detail info about them

In the Museum

C&O Allegheny #1601
NYC Dewitt Clinton replica and associated passenger cars
Atlantic Gulf RR 4-4-0 (Rogers?) "Sam Hill" aka "The President" With a period replica(?) passenger car
Bessemer, Baldwin 2-8-0
Ingersol Rand Demonstrator boxcab diesel
Ford private passenger car "Fairlane"
D&M wooden combine
DT&I wooden caboose
Pacific fruit express reefer
Stevenson's "Rocket" replica
Wayne county road commission, Davenport 0-4-0T
Canadian Pacific snow plow

There are also a few trollies/street cars in the museum

Some pictures from the No. 7's boiler lift today.

Looking good guys. One step closer to operation. Any idea of how long it's going to take now that it's two major pieces are re-united?

A thing of beauty. Very nice. Thanks for the info on the shop truck. It almost looks like a truck from one of the Baldwin "Shay-type" locomotives. None of which survived, but I've seen strange remnants of otherwise extinct locomotives appear before.

Mike Stillwell
Buena Vista, VA.