The March issue of Railpace had a piece on the Kutztown RR and said they received two Whitcomb centercabs. The article said that they are "the only two Buda-powered engines in existence." Is this true? I pretty sure that there are more Whitcombs than these two in existence. I believe the Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern has some. How are they powered? Where were Buda engines made?
Scott Markloff

markloff@telus.net

The Canadian Railway Museum at Delson Quebec has a Porter 12 Ton Gas-Electric, serial 7120, blt 12/1928. It's been forty years but I seem to recall it had a Buda engine, complete with magneto ignition. It was very hard to start and was fondly called the "sanpareil" (French for no other like it) as we hoped nobody else had to put up with anything like it. It was the first working power (sorta!) that we had at the Delson site.

http://www.exporail.org
neilpr@sympatico.ca

> How are they powered? Where were Buda
> engines made?
> Scott Markloff

Doesn't the source of their energy come- "from within?" I understand that if the transmission is intact they are considered, "one with the universal."

Sorry, couldn't resist.

The Rochester & Genesee Valley RR Museum, a project of the Rochester (NY) Chapter of the NRHS, has a 7-ton Plymouth, model BL, built circa 1920, that is powered by a BUDA model FRH gasoline engine.

The locomotive is undergoing a comprehensive restoration. In 2002 / 2003, the Buda had a complete rebuild. Work on the locomotive continues to this day, with the brake system recently returned to service, and the sanding system currently being rebuilt.

Check the link below, and scroll to the bottom, for images of the Plymouth BL, and the Buda FRH.

Rochester and Genesee Valley RR Museum 2003 News

Corrected link from previous post.

http://www.rochnrhs.org/rgvrrm_news_2003archive.html

The SPCRR has a Plymouth DL-2 with a Buda engine. The 1923 locomotive engine is original, including the governor and carburetor (by serial number)

The locomotive is operable, but has a bad clutch, which limits its use.

Randy Hees
www.spcrr.org

> The March issue of Railpace had a piece on
> the Kutztown RR and said they received two
> Whitcomb centercabs. The article said that
> they are "the only two Buda-powered
> engines in existence." Is this true? I
> pretty sure that there are more Whitcombs
> than these two in existence. I believe the
> Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern has some.
> How are they powered? Where were Buda
> engines made?
> Scott Markloff


hees@ix.netcom.com

The Museum of Transportation in St. Louis had two Whitcombs. One, a 20 ton has a Cat diesel and the 65 ton has two Cummins diesels.
I was in the Coast Guard during WWII and we had some small boats powered with Buda gasoline engines.


john_nansen@yahoo.com

The Buda Company, of Harvey, Illinois, made Marine and industrial engines, some of which were used inside small railroad locomotives and others for tractors, gasoline and diesel engines, jacks and railroad equipment, and mining equipment engines. The Buda Engine Company was bought out by Allis Chalmers in 1953.

The Whitcomb at TMNY still has its Buda diesels.

Whitcomb #9
n2xjk@yahoo.com

> The Whitcomb at TMNY still has its Buda
> diesels.
One other Buda powered Witcomb is in Phillipsburg NJ. Its the old Ingersoll-Rand plant switcher. Though not running it is complete for the most part. There was a rumour that the brasses for the axels where stolen and sold for scrap. Otherwise I think she was stored serviable.

In my view, what's needed in terms of rolling stock restoration is not full restoration of locomotives but rolling stock. There are many noteworthy pieces sitting in the yard that need attention. Some off the top of my head- DL&W milk car, MOW troop sleeper, D&H flanger etc. Cosmetic restorations on some locomotives should be considered as well- DL&W mogul, NKP engine, fireless engine. Of course abating asbestos is not cheap (not an issue with DL&W #565).

Joshua

> Frank J. misses the point about Steamtown.
> The place gets a lot of money when you think
> about the number of visitors it gets.

That doesn't sound that strange to me. The Saugus Iron Works -NHS (in Saugus, MA) receives somewhere in the neighborhood of 14,000 visitors, on 9 acres, and has an annual budget of over $800,000. That's $57. per person.

By comparison Minuteman National Park in Lexington, MA receives slightly more than a million annual visitors and has a budget of over $2 million. Minuteman also maintains nearly 1000 acres.

Surely there are plenty more Steamtowns out there in the national park system which cost more to run than they take in at the gate, but I for one am happy to have them.


SJHussar@aol.com

> As an addendum to the above request,, anyone
> have any knowledge or information about the
> former steamers at Chicago's Brookfield Zoo
> ?
> The trains were taken out many years ago,
> and my information is that the steamers were
> put into storage with the Chicago Park
> District,, but no one (to my knowledge) has
> seen anything of them since.

The former Brookfield Zoo equipment is now at the LaPorte County Historical Steam Society's "Hesston Steam Museum" at Hesston, IN. See the below link for a recent photo (by Tim Bainter) of the ex-Brookfield Zoo Sandley-built 2-4-2 242 at the Museum. This photo is one of many on Tim Boshart's website. Other photos show the ex-Brookfield Zoo 2-8-2, which was a Sandley rebuild of a Jung (German) outside-frame 0-8-0 "Feldbahn" locomotive chassis. I believe this equipment is to be evaluated for future restoration to service on the museum's dual gauge (2' and 3') railroad.

Regards,
Jim Robinson



Brookfield Zoo 242 @ Hesston