<Camelbacks like #4 burned culm, anthracite mine waste that was very <cheap instead of the grades of coal for commercial or home heating use. <That is why a Wooten firebox was so wide, pushing cabs on to the boiler <ahead of the firebox.

Even though Ohio had excellent bituminous locomotive coal mined from the No.8 District, in Ohio we call "clum" by the term, "slack." The old Wheeling & Lake Erie had a trio of Camelback 4-6-0s that were nicknamed "slack burners." Be safe.

John B. Corns

A "normal engine" from the period when 1187 was built had the firebox IN the cab; most were deckless. The cab moving behind the boiler entirely seemed to coincide with the advent of trailing trucks and the larger boilers that went with them.

I am very happy to see the engine going to AOS; they are assembling a collection that will trace the development of the steam locomotive in North America.

I saw that engine hot in 1964 and was disappointed it wasn't running, as any kid would be. Perhaps there is a chance I'll yet see it run before I leave this earth.

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Thanks Kelly. Makes tons of sense. Can you share with us where/when the " sealed auction" for the Camelback was advertised?? Seems no one was aware of it and one of my good friends would have definitely entered a bid had he known.

Thanks, Ross Rowland

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You made a good choice with AOS. I hope to take one of their tours some day.

Kelly thanks for the answer. My guy is a SERIOUS Camelback lover and very well heeled and is kicking himself for missing the opportunity to purchase this old derelict.

I've told him to reach out to the AOS folks and see how much it would take for them to flip it to him. I think he'll probably do that??

Amazing that's there's competition for something that forlorn looking isn't it.

Oh well, never judge a book by its cover.

Ross Rowland

Without giving a specific figure, what's the ballpark figure for what something like that goes for in a broad range?

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Old trick.

When the Deltic Preservation Society acquired British Rail 55.009 Alycidon and 55.019 Royal Highland Fusilier in 1982, BR had made it plain in advance that the bid had to be enough to retain the bogies, which were mostly interchangeable with the still-running Class 37, at a price of about £6,000 each. A thorough inspection selected the two in best condition, one "racehorse" (named for a racehorse) and one "regiment" (named for an Army regiment); as I recall, the actual amount tendered was £16,550.09 and £16,550.19.

Kelly, one of the common questions I'm seeing is - was there anything else up for auction that was sold? Or was #1187 it?

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Alright, got a question that involves 1187 here... She's an Class A-4B, but I've seen reference to an A-5A class of 0-4-0 camelback and saw a model of what someone claimed to be an A-5A... Which frankly looked like 1187, but with a steel cab and slopeback tender. Was there really much of a difference between the two classes of engine? Because I can't find any readily available specifications to make a comparison.

Initially the first wide-firebox engine, P&R 408, was designed to burn culm, which was waste anthracite. By the 1890's, P&R discovered they could get better performance from good anthracite (anthracite has good heating value) and set speed records between Philadelphia and Jersey City.

As the photo shows, the cab is wrapped around the boiler, in front of the firebox. With bigger camelbacks, there is no view to the rear and when backing, the engineer has to sit "up on the cab" meaning he is sitting on the armrest to see back.

The cab is also over the drivers and main rod. Kelly's photo above shows what can happen.

1187/4 is a small 0-4-0 and weighs 104,800 pounds. At Birdsboro it was their big engine. Nos. 2 and 3 are 0-4-0T's.

Phil Mulligan

Daylight, the A5a's had slightly different valve gear arrangement, mostly around the yoke. Yes, taller steel cabs as well. I own a a live steam Reading A5a, a lot of people do, and the variations from inception to the end of days are innumerable. BTW, these were big switchers,