Coming along nicely!

http://web.mac.com/vtlyon/iWeb/The%20Le ... G_4727.jpg

http://web.mac.com/vtlyon/iWeb/The%20Le ... G_4709.jpg

Looks beautiful! What is the ancestry and present location of this locomotive? (I tend to follow electric railway activities more than steam)

Ancestry...funny you should put it that way. Leviathan is actually an all-new locomotive being built outside Chicago by an individual enthusiast. Leviathan was, and is again sister engine to the Jupiter (of Golden Spike fame), and in fact some of the same NPS-owned patterns are being used in her creation.

Fantastic work. I see the builder was not a fan of Wilke's Cyrillian Blue. I know of a nice stretch of railroad out here in California where the new Leviathan might be able to retrace its predecessor's steps. I have heard this fellow might follow in Markoff's footsteps and go on tour with this sharp American. Will this engine meet FRA requirements?

Do you suppose he could knock out some open-platform coaches too?

There's more info here at the website for the project:
http://web.mac.com/vtlyon/iWeb/The%20Le ... an%20.html

A contemporary newspaper noted that the lot of locomotives that included the Jupiter were "Azure Blue".

Check out the following for more contemporary research on the colors of the Jupiter and 119:
http://cprr.org/CPRR_Discussion_Group/2 ... olors.html

The Leviathan touring the US and operating on various railroads would be super!

I understand that replica 1860s open platform coaches have been looked into for use at the Golden Spike National Historic Site. From what I heard, building a proper 1860s coach is much more difficult than replicating 1860s locomotives.

I beleive that is correct. Cass / Mountain State has looked into 40 ft timbers to rebuild some of the historic logging flats and found that they were just too cost prohibitive. I asked for a number, but the employee I spoke with was not aware of what it actually is. I would imagine that a replica 1860's coach would face some of the same cost challenges.

Mike Stillwell
Buena Vista, VA.

I wonder what happened to the replica 1860's coaches that used to be in the Ford Museum? As I recall there were three of them. They were auctioned off in the 1980's. I don't know if they were structurally sound enough to operate, but something like that would look great behind this new locomotive. From the outside, it wouldn't matter if the side trusses were aluminum and not wood.

- Aarne Frobom

Build a steel framed car sheathed in wood. It won't be completely accurate, but it is very practical and will appear as it should.

I don't think the locomotive was entirely built using century-plus old materials and techniques either......

dave

Last I knew, two replica 1860s coaches from the Ford Museum were in storage at Thanksgiving Point here in Utah. (I think there were only two). The Golden Spike National Historic Site looked into acquiring these but the owner wouldn't sell.

Aluminum 1860 passenger cars. Interesting thought. Light enough for a 4-4-0. They would also be expensive to build but it might be better than wood. Aluminum doesn't rot away like wood. And the cars could be powder coated, no paint maintance.

Perhaps we can learn from our friends across the pond at the Ffestiniog Railway. They have built very authentic-looking coaches that meet current safety standards. The carbody is framed by a "box" of welded square steel tubing to which the interior and exterior wooden sheathing is attached.

I thought this thread was about this locomotive.

There is still one replica coach behind the Sam Hill 4-4-0 at the Henry Ford Museum.

For the 1948-49 Railroad Fair in Chicago, the C&NW built a four-wheel tender and an 1850's style coach to go with the Pioneer. The tender was on display for several years at the Villa Ave. station of the CA&E, although it had nothing to do with Villa Park or the CA&E, then it disappeared. I believe the coach wound up in somebody's back yard; whether it's still in existence I have no idea. If it's been maintained, it might be a candidate for the Leviathan.

And then I guess the Lyon project in Iowa is still active. Maybe we have a business opportunity here? I'd agree with Dave that a steel frame with wood siding and interior finish is the way to go.

The Leviathan touring the US and operating on various railroads would be super!

Certainly would look interesting with some period coaches near Gettyburg PA.

I think they are restoring the station President Lincoln pulled into prior to delivering the Gettysburg address. Wouldn't be a replica of the locomotive he rode in behind, but period enough.

From what I've been told, the remains of the C&NW replica coach that was built for use with the Pioneer have indeed been acquired by the person building the Leviathan. The body was gone, but he plans on using the trucks and frame to construct a new replica coach.