Saw this one on ebay. Is this the 148 or one of the engines in Florida?

http://cgi.ebay.com/PHOTO-NEGATIVE-Rail ... 240%3A1318

Tom,
I'm thinking U.S.Sugar maintained the original FEC road numbers, so this most likely is FEC 98. This would be in the series of 4-6-2 locos between ours at Thronateeska Heritage Center (FEC 88/Georgia Northern Ry 107) and Gold Coast RR Museum's FEC 113. I'm away from my resources now but can verify this tonight if no one beats me to it.

Tom,
Was finally able to check on this. FEC 98 (ALCO Schenectady, 9-1911) is indicated as being sold to Southern Sugar in Feb. 1931. No indication as to what happened after that, but from the photo it appears she was transferred/sold to U.S. Sugar at some point - perhaps a stable mate to 113 and 153. Maybe there is a corporate connection between the 2 sugar companies?

FEC 113 to Walter-Wallingford Co. for scrap 9-1930, then to U.S. Sugar (#113) in 1938.
FEC 153 went directly to U.S. Sugar (#153) in Jan. 1940.
FEC 148 (Richmond works) to U.S. Sugar (#148) in June 1952. It looks like 148 and 147 were the last of this type to leave the FEC (both indicated as disposed 6-1952.) Seems late for steam of this size on the FEC. More research is warranted.

Interesting. It seem pretty strange that a sugar company would use pacific types. I have a vision of a switching operation. Maybe they had more than a switching operation.

That "numberboard" on the cab side tells me real quick that the locomotive in the photo is not 148. When 148 arrrived on the Black River in the late '60s, it had raised metal numbers, possibly aluminum, on the cab sides. As I remember it, there was a bit of conversation about moving them, possible changing the spacing or centering them up better, and having to fill in the old screw holes with weld. A long time ago-

As far as using a Pacific as a switcher, I suspect that price, location and availability came into play here. Another factor could have been axle loading; the FEC Pacifics were fairly light and you could use them almost anywhere. The 69" drivers were not all that great a liability for switching, the TE was still something around 28,000. By comparison, BR&W's 2-8-0 number 60 developed 32,500.

As I used to tell my son, years ago, when he asked about New Hope using a Consolidation and Strasburg using a Twelve-wheeler in passenger service, TE is TE, in many applications.

US Sugar used engines for more than switching.They had, and still do, a vast network of rails around the Lake Okeechobee sugar can fields. Especially on the South and East side of the lake. If you look at Google Earth you can see some of it. They would hall long trainloads of cut cane from the fields to the mills. Sorta like an early version of unit trains. Much of this hauling was replaced by trucks in later years.

Bill

Bill and Tom -

U. S. Sugar wasn't the only industrial operation to use 4-6-2's. I know that some IC 4-6-2's were so used and I seem to recall a Frisco or Missouri Pacific 4-6-2 working for a coal company. I would imagine that there were probably others. Sure would be interesting if someone came up with a list.

Les

Les,

I have read about the IC Pacifics, with fairly low drivers, being sold to the Mississippi Central and used in freight service there.

Tom -

Yes, the Mississippi Central used them. But they were a common carrier short line whereas U. S. Sugar was a private industrial road. I think at least one coal company used an IC 4-6-2 but I can't recall the circumstances. Somewhere in my papers I have a reference, but where.........?

Les

Visitors to Trainfest will see Pacific Little River 110 which worked for the Little River logging company out of Townsend, TN, in the Smoky Mountains alongside Shays, where apparently it did its share of hauling logs as well as visitors to the mountain resorts.