Here is a link to a postcard on eBay of it as T&P 909

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Texas-Pacific-R ... 5d33b8f70d

The original 909

http://www.texaspacificrailway.org/stea ... -1459.html

There are other pictures around including an Ed Novak picture of it as the 909. We did have a large picture of Bob Spaugh standing on the pilot just after the agreement for the trade was reached. The last time I was in the museum it was no longer on display. The 909 number board T&P Diamond and the headlight that was on it also were on display with the picture.

Mark A. Frazier

Jeff,

I also saw that in the picture and it looks like the steam may be coming from the whistle. The whistle mysteriously disappeared just before it moved to Elkhart. I do know that it was never under steam after retirement so I am guessing that might have been a special event and steam was piped to the whistle.

Mark

Mark -

Back when the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum had a Members Day, we would hook up C&O Kanawha #2789's whistle to the Shops air line and blow it that way. The line was only 100 pounds, so the sound was a little anemic, but it did blow! When NKP 2-8-4 765 was at HVRM in 2009, we actually put the 2789's whistle on her for one run.

Les

Another twist about the 3001 happened one day when someone ask if it was a Hudson? The CMO at the museum Neil Puetz got a big smile and pointed out that it was just a stretched Hudson. He went on and reminded me that it was a Mohawk that was dressed up like the Commodore Vanderbilt for the Rexall Train in 1936. It was the 5344 that was also streamlined as a Dreyfus Hudson. It was then that with a gleam in his eye he said it could someday be the Dreyfus Mohawk.

http://www.themetrains.com/rexall-train ... k-2873.htm

BTW the Rexall Train was converted to burn oil.

Mark

Mark, I believe the picture with Bob Spaugh on the pilot is now back on display in a new room partially dedicated to 3001's history. Mr. Spaugh cleaned up several of 3001's gauges for display, including the speedometer (which was apparently missing for a while). The "T&P 909" headlight has not yet been moved to the same location. As an aside, I do not speak as a official representative of the NYC Museum, though I do intern there.

Mark A. Frazier on another thread, mentions finding 3001's original headlight on the "front portion" of Missouri Pacific #124 that is on display in Dupo, Illinois. That got me to thinking about the New York Central, and its headlights with the number board and below that number board, the New York Central oval herald. I don't know how common this particular arrangement was on Central steam power, but I recall that ex-Buffalo Creek & Gauley 2-8-0 #13 was renumbered as #1977 with a similar headlight/number plate/oval NYC herald when it worked for a short time in tourist train operation in the Middlebury, Indiana area. I think that 1977 might have been the number of a NYC 2-8-2, but I don't know that for sure. Might this be the headlight (with a new number plate and number boards in the headlight of course) that is currently on the 3001 there at Elkhart? If not, does the museum have the 1977 headlight/number plate/herald on display in their museum?

Another NYC headlight/number plate/oval NYC herald of this type that comes to mind, is the one off of famous Hudson #5344. This is the 4-6-4 that the Central streamlined not once, but twice! The second streamlining was later removed and the engine ended up looking like any other New York Central J-1 class Hudson at the end of her active career. But the story doesn't quite end there. I remember going into a hobby shop in Park Ridge, Illinois (Hill's Hobbies) and there, mounted high in one corner was the 5344's headlight/number plate/oval NYC herald! The owner had it on display because he was looking for the builders plates off of the engine. Don't know if he ever found them, but the last time I was in the shop, the headlight was no longer there.

Les

New York Central 5344's display sometimes goes on temporary exhibit at conventions, etc., so you might have been in the right place on the wrong day.
The purchaser had to buy twice from NYC because he thought it was all one big part and he only ordered "5344's Headlight" the 1st time. That's exactly what he got, and he had to place another order for the numbers and plate.
Another post mentioned a published photo of 5344 on the scrap line already missing the jewelry, with a fear that it had been stolen. The purchaser has the correspondence with NYC to establish proper transfer of ownership.

Les,

You are correct about the 3001 headlight it is an Erie headlight and the number boards are reproductions. In 1998 when I was a volunteer at the museum, the 3001 had a blank smokebox and looked dead and lifeless. I found the markers, that cast number board and the Erie headlight in the attic of the museum. They were dug out and bolted onto the locomotive with the nuts welded. Another volunteer painted the lighted number boards. We wired them up to an old extension cord and plugged them in. The next Monday I got a call from the Director and was told if they got broken I would have to pay for them. that was 14 years ago and it still shines bright.

When I was the curator there I had made a display on the inside end walls of the lounge car with large pictures of the front of the 3001 and the 909. I had the number boards and emblem badges along with the headlights from the 909 and NYC 3130. The entire layout of that car was changed by my successor.

The 1977 headlight was the older barrel style NYC headlight. that number was chosen for the Lakeshore Central 1977 because the NYC 1977 (2-8-2) was the last NYC steam locomotive to run in the US. There was a Ten-Wheeler that ran in Canada later. The number board and badge plate was a one off the Bob Spaugh had made and still has in his collection. The headlight was owned by an former Elkhart roundhouse employee who was also a Lakeshore member. After his death it my understanding his son sold the headlight.

Mark A. Frazier

Mark, I never knew about the Rexall Train or the streamlining of Mohawk. Awesome.

KL

I've been under the impression, based on information from some of the volunteers, that Mr. Spaugh recently took 3001's original headlight out to be properly restored. Mark, are you aware of the origins of a headlight stored in one of the boxcars? One volunteer thinks it is an original NYC headlight, but no one there knows for certain.

Orion,

Can you describe it or get a picture of it? There was one in there that was on pieces and was primed with a green/grey primer that is the original headlight for the 3001. It is very distinct as it has the socket for the parking light on it.

I know of 3 headlights that were at the museum the 3001 original headlight disassembled the 3130 headlight and the 909 headlight.

Also do you know if the cab side from the 999 survived the house cleaning from when the theater was built?

Mark A. Frazier

A month ago, I came across another headlight sitting on some of the shelving in one of the ex-B&O boxcars. I recall that it was entirely black; both 3130's and 909's headlights are ruled out, as they are on display, and Mr. Spaugh has 3001's. This must be a fourth. When I return to Elkhart, I'll try to grab some photographs.

As far as 999's cab side, I have heard it mentioned that it is still around, but I have not seen it with my own eyes. Most of what was in the "theatre" space was moved to either the B&O boxcars or the Milwaukee URTX reefers.

In the tale of the 2 tenders here is a link to a great picture of the forward end of the 3042 tender showing the modifications that were made to turn it into an A-Tank also you can see the fire damage on the fireman's side.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2585670

Mark A. Frazier

Saw today on Facebook that there was a new "fireup3001" page looking for volunteers and sponsors. Pie in the sky dreamers or actual attempt?

Hopefully it is more successful than the dream they had 4 years ago