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| Green Bay's Pershing 2-8-0 https://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=17591 |
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| Author: | Jeff Terry [ Tue May 31, 2005 12:14 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Green Bay's Pershing 2-8-0 |
(Note: This message was also posted at Trainorders and at the Chaski railfan board) I’ve been doing some research on the “Pershing” 2-8-0 now displayed at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay. This history of this engine has been published many times, however, I’m finding the “facts” just don’t add up. The often published and widely accepted history of this engine say that it was one of the initial 150 “Pershing” 2-8-0s built by Baldwin for the United States military for service in France, and it is the lone survivor of the initial 150. Here is what David P. Morgan wrote in the June 1959 Trains: On July 18, 1917, the U. S. Government ordered 150 2-8-0’s from the Baldwin Locomotive Works for service in France. The first engine was delivered just 20 days later, since the design virtually duplicated (except for its superheater) that of the Consolidations Baldwin was building for the British War Office. The 150th engine got only as far as Norfolk, Va., where it was reassigned as a switcher to Fortress Monroe. In 1925 the Army overhauled the stay-at-home, named her the General Pershing, and kept her at work on local bases. During World War II the Pershing chuffed about Army camps in the South. Finally in 1947 she and 100 World War II surplus Army engines were donated to the Republic of Korea. When the Korean conflict broke out the veteran 2-8-0 was switching at Pusan. She soon saw combat, won fame as “the darling of the Military Railway Service.” In January 1959 she came home, a gift of Korean President Rhee to the Green Bay (Wis.) National Railroad Museum. So some old engines, like old military men, do not fade away. A variation of this story appears in The Locomotives that Baldwin Built and also in Steaming Up! The Autobiography of Samuel M. Vauclain. Here’s the problem. The General Pershing carries Baldwin C/N 48714, with a built date of May 1918. According to Baldwin, military records, and other sources, the first 150 engines were a rush order. Baldwin delivered the first on August 10, 1917 and the order was completed by October 1st of that year. Could C/N 48714 have been given its plate later, or is it NOT one of the initial 150 Pershings? (Note that there were up to 1500 additional Pershing 2-8-0s built after the initial order.) I have not been able to locate a list with the construction numbers of the initial Pershing engines, but this would probably answer this question once and for all. Also note that the Texas State Railroad’s Pershing was also left behind, yet it carries an earlier built date of 11/1917. There are also some discrepancies in its numbering. Doug Bailey lists it as being initially numbered 765 for service at Fort Monroe, renumbered 8341 after a 1925 rebuilding, then eventually becoming Korean Railways 101 in 1947. (Doug’s information came right off the cab cards, so I’d consider it accurate). I have a photo, though, that shows the engine in Pusan, Korea in 1955, and it is numbered 765! The photographer claims this is because the engine was rescued and rebuilt by the 765th Railway Operating Battalion after suffering damage on the Korean Railway. So was it initially numbered 765, as the accepted history indicates, or did it only wear this number in Korea? If only in Korea, than what was its original number? Does anyone know the real story here?Jeff Terry |
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| Author: | bobyar2001 [ Tue May 31, 2005 3:25 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Green Bay's Pershing 2-8-0 |
Sorry Jeff, can't help, but Don Ross was in the military railway service during and after the Korean War, and might be able to help you. He also has numerous interesting Korean steam photos on his website:http://www.donrossgroup.net/ |
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