An additional comment about the Meadow River Lumber Co. Myself and a friend were there some time in the late 1970's, of course after the mill and the railroad had shut down. We walked around the property and took a number of pictures of the mill and some of the derelict equipment, including a locomotive hulk. I am going to have to take a look for those photos. I even took some pictures of the huge bandsaws that were used to saw the timber. There was an exterior wall that was sided with shingles made from the old bandsaw blades. I regret to this day that I did not take a picture of them!

I made a visit to the master mechanics office which was heavily vandalized and nearly picked clean. I did manage to find several steam locomotive books and catalogs, some slightly water damaged. The prize though was a full pad of unused daily locomotive inspection reports marked Meadow River Railroad.

Don Fenstermacher

This was quite timely. I MIGHT have need for one....

Many thanks to everyone who contributed info.

It seems as though the existing ones fall into three distinct "camps", if I understand the ancestry of the various locos:
1) LS&I
2) SP
3) N&W
(plus one logging loco). It is interesting how they are grouped. . .

Again, thanks to everyone for taking the time to post.

JR

.

All three surviving S.P. heavy Pacifics have Worthington BL or BL-2 feedwater heaters
P-8 S.P. 2467
P-8 S.P. 2472
P-10 S.P. 2479

P-8 S.P. 2475 was factory-equipped with a Worthington BL as an experiment, when delivered in 1921. This was very successful on the S.P., setting the standard for the future. The other 14 P-8s (S.P. 2461-2472) were retrofitted with Worthington BL or BL-2 FWHs before WW2. FWH type (BL or BL-2) was occasionally swapped at major shoppings.

P-10s were factory-equipped with Worthington BL(-2?) feedwater heaters.

In the 1980s, we got Garlock Packing to make one last order of Rockhard packing rings, (made from that favorite steam-era gasket material, "Vitamin A"), including many spares, for these three FWHs.

- Doug Debs

I have a photo hanging in my computer room of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy class O1A 2-8-2 #4963 working hard on a train of loaded hopper cars when leased to the Bevier & Southern. There is a wisp of steam showing at the BL feedwater heater. The CB&Q O1A's either had BL's or Elesco's. I'm assuming that the 4963 still has her BL there at IRM.

Les

[i]"In the 1980s, we got Garlock Packing to make one last order of Rockhard packing rings, (made from that favorite steam-era gasket material, "Vitamin A"), including many spares, for these three FWHs.

- Doug Debs

Garlock still makes the RH packing. It does not have a shelf life though and will get so hard that it is not easily formed around the piston nor will it seal. For as little as these engines run the Cotton duck packing can be used without having it hardened. It still doesn't have much of a shelf life though.

Thanks again, to all who provided info.

I started the thread a few days back, and it's interesting how the discussion made its way to Garlock. The Garlock plant is located about 15 minutes from our house, near the NYC main line (and very close to one of my favorite train watching spots). Somebody ought to be singing "It's a small world" in the background.

JR

And I'll add Great Northern #2523 on display at Willmar, Mn. Some info at http://www.kandiyohicountyhistory.com/engine.html . mld

PRR 4483 in Hamburg, NY is likewise equipped. Photo from Rgusrail here http://www.rgusrail.com/album/nyprr4483/prr_4483_14.jpg

The LS&I #20 still has a striped hulk of a BL on it. The BL that had been on the LS&I #18 was removed in 2008, it has been sold to the group restoring the LS&I #21. I believe that there is still a BL in storage at GCRY.

When the Klickitat Willamette #6 was build it had a BL on it. The BL was removed at some point by the Rayonier when it be came their #2. The bracket is still on the left side of the locomotive.

One of the advertised points of the BL system was that it could be applied as a 'unit' to a locomotive to take advantage of the then-new miracle of feedwater heating. Other systems require components in a variety of places, some of them essentially inaccessible from the cab while moving, connected by a network of hoses and lines.

No, not joking. We really did.

Yep, been there, done that!



MDR

The Franklin Institute's Baldwin 60,000 BL Heater/Pump must have worked ok because it had a "Water-Tube" boiler/steam generator which requires a consistent flow.

Any information on it will be appreciated.

The Franklin Institute has the engine. Do they have the Baldwin records of the testing? I don't know.

The test on SP's Donner Pass Route must have been the main event because 60000 was competing with other 4-10-2's (by Alco!). I'm sure BLW had an army of technicians to keep 60000 running and in addition SP was a big user of BL-type FWH's.

Alco won the battle; SP did not buy duplicates of 60000, but Baldwin won the war. Donner Pass became the home of BLW 4-8-8-2 Cab-Forwards and the 4-10-2's migrated elsewhere, such as Beaumont Pass on the Sunset Route.

Phil Mulligan