A non-railfan friend was driving on Rt. 68 in Hubbardston near Gardner MA when he noticed a locomotive and cars off in the weeds near a flea market. There is what appears to be an 0-6-0 with slope backed tender, fake cabbage stack and fake oil headlight, wooden box or reefer caboose and modern passenger car. All are somewhat derelict. Seems like a failed "project". What's the story here?

wrj494@aol.com

It's a railroad display on the grounds of a fairly large flea market. I shot the photo below in 1997 when it was in better shape (well, the engine was anyway), and while I was there the flea market owner saw me taking pictures and came over to talk to me. He said the engine came from "down south", which I suppose from Hubbardston Mass could be just about anywhere. The engine is a 1915 Porter, the owner said he added the stack, headlight, and wood trim around the cab windows to make it more "authentic". I tried very hard not to laugh at him while he explained that they stopped using stacks like that because they couldn't fit under bridges!

I went by there again last month and it was looking pretty shabby by then. I'm not sure what they plan to do about it, but apparently the flea market is still active. Hopefully that hideous stack will rust through and fall off, she would be a pretty little engine without the cheesy "Wild West" embellishments.

parkengines.railfan.net

rjenkins@railfan.net

Does anybody have any photos of, or information about, the other rolling stock here - especially the passenger car?

Thanks

rrhistorian@hotmail.com

>> I went by there again last month and it was
> looking pretty shabby by then. I'm not sure
> what they plan to do about it, but
> apparently the flea market is still active.
> Hopefully that hideous stack will rust
> through and fall off, she would be a pretty
> little engine without the cheesy "Wild
> West" embellishments.

The car behind it could be an Ex-B&M USRA outside sheathed car....Would have come from the Norton Co. in Worcester, MA.

gbrail@yahoo.com

I'll try to get out there sometime next month with a digital camera and get some detailed shots of the other equipment.

> Does anybody have any photos of, or
> information about, the other rolling stock
> here - especially the passenger car?

> Thanks


parkengines.railfan.net
rjenkins@railfan.net

> Dear Dave:
The locomotive is former Sturm & Dillard No. 102 from their Circleville, Ohio plant (3 other S&D steam locomotives survive, 2 of them ex-Circleville). This locomotive was displayed until the late 70s' near Harbor Springs, MI; sold to Jim Kopkey who moved it to IRM at Noblesville, IN; who had a disput with Jim and sold the loco. to a guy in Feeding Hills, MA who sold it to the flea market. It WAS a pretty good loco. until someone cut the frame into two sections for ease of transport. One of the former owners told me that it would be "no problem" to weld the frame back together again (I think not).
J.David

jdconrad@snet.net

> The locomotive is former Sturm & Dillard
> No. 102 from their Circleville, Ohio plant
> (3 other S&D steam locomotives survive,
> 2 of them ex-Circleville). This locomotive
> was displayed until the late 70s' near
> Harbor Springs, MI; sold to Jim Kopkey who
> moved it to IRM at Noblesville, IN; who had
> a disput with Jim and sold the loco. to a
> guy in Feeding Hills, MA who sold it to the
> flea market. It WAS a pretty good loco.
> until someone cut the frame into two
> sections for ease of transport. One of the
> former owners told me that it would be
> "no problem" to weld the frame
> back together again (I think not).
> J.David

J. David:

Someone once told me that the "other" surviving L&N 0-8-0 (the one NOT at Ky Railway Museum) was cut in half to move it from the power plant it once served in Florida (Snead?) Wonder if you (or someone else) can confirm that story? Thanks.


midlandblb@cs.com