According to Jeff Terry's caption she has just emerged from extensive boiler work. All i can say is what a fantastic job on this old girl!!!

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 326&nseq=9

Neat story behind the photo....

Two years ago No. 6 was taken out of service for boiler work. The boiler was sent out to a shop in Minnesota, but didn't arrive back in Mount Pleasant until a few months ago. Since 2010 marked the 50th anniversary of the MCRR, and No. 6 was the railroad's first locomotive, it was desired to have her back in steam for the annual threshers reunion, held over Labor Day weekend. For the past sever months MCRR volunteers have been working to put her back together.

When I arrived at Mount Pleasant last Wednesday (September 1st) No. 6 was still inside the shop without her cab, her tender was disconnected, and her cab piping was incomplete! A hydro test had already been done, so in that regard she was good to go. The air brake equipment had just arrived after being rebuilt so that had to be installed, too, along with a mile (or more) of headlight, cab, and tender wiring.

The volunteers worked all day and well into the night and by Thursday evening she was pretty much back together again and under steam for a test run. On Friday they ran her light around the loop track, and just before the sun set she pulled her first revenue train. The night photo was taken on Saturday evening, after her first full day back in service.

Jeff Terry

Three more...the last one was taken on Saturday morning.

Caught a few moments of Wild Wild West on AMC last night, was this loco used in that movie?

Thanks for share those great photos Jeff!

Just for the roster wonks:
The #6 was SS&S 6 from 1891 to 1926, when it was sold to the Argent Lumber Co. in/near Hardeeville, SC. The big "cabbage" or "balloon" stack, called a Rushton stack, was added by the Argent Lumber Co. The loco had been rebuilt with Southern valve gear by the SS&S. The loco was rebuilt in 1955 after a boiler explosion on the Argent. According to my records, the Midwest Central had already replaced the boiler sometime previously during its post-1960 ownership; given that Argent, a real example of a "shoestring" operation, had rebuilt the boiler after the explosion, I'm not sure I blame them.....

(Data from Argent: Last of the Swamp Rats by Mallory Hope Ferrell, 1994)

BTW, looking at Jeff's photo: Why the *%&# is there a lighthouse at the Midwest Central?

That's not a light house, it's a line side structure. I can't remember if it is a crossing tower or an interlocking tower. I believe the Milwaukee Road, or some predecessor line had octagonal structures of the sort.

I drove by the threshers site a few months ago. It's quite an impressive set up, trolley line, steam railroad, shop facility, etc. One of these years, I'm going to make it up for the reunion weekend.

Walthers offers a kit of a *%&# lighthouse.

Seems to have worked, Sandy....no beached ships evident nearby.

Argent was BIG TIME logging railroading, and fortunately quite a bit remains of its fabric and roadbeds although it takes a bit of looking to find a lot of it now used as roads, etc. Like most, they didn't worry about any expensive maintenance towards the end.

Nice to see the progress and hear about the fine work that should heep her working a lot longer. Not sure how I'd find room for a mile of wire unless i wrapped the boiler like Stanley did.

dave

Very nice job guys. I am very glad that you got it back together for the show.


Jeff Lund
Lund Machine Works