Anything happening with #425 at Pt. Clinton?
Ed K. cp Laurel Run

Ed, one of the best photos I have ever seen of the "four and a quarter". I've ridden behind her many times at speed on the old BM&N, the road of friendly service.
Alan

the last I heard, expect her out and about this summer. Beautiful engine and one heck of a loud one also!
Kevin

She would definitly be on my list of locomotives to get a real good look at one of these days....

Work is progressing both in house and out. A complete rebuilding of the pony truck is underway. Some staybolt work going on as well. She WILL run this year.

You're not the only one Ed. I want to see her black again as well. 20 years of the BLUES is enough!

Ed -

I think that the high position headlight was done when the engine was on the Louisiana Eastern. I believe when she was built as #425 for the Gulf, Mobile & Northern in 1928, the headlight was in the center of the smokebox door. When she became Gulf, Mobile & Ohio #580 in 1940, she certainly had the centered headlight. The headlight position today is a bit above center because the headlight platform is in the center of the door which makes the headlight a bit high to my liking, but it's certainly much better than the LE's high mounting. Of course, beauty is all in the eye of the beholder. One thing about the removal of the headlight from on high, is that the bell could be mounted above the smokebox door, which I think is a classy look.

As for the blue, I too prefer black, but the public seems happy with it. And it is the BMRN's locomotive after all.

Les

Les,

There's a picture of GM&N 426 in the 2007 TRRA Historical Society Annual, page 71 that shows the locomotive with the high headlight and round number plate, as she wore in preservation until recently.

I think that's how the 425 was on the GM&N, as the locomotives look idential.

David -

Thanks for the info. GM&N 425 and 426 were apparently a two locomotive order that the GM&N made with Baldwin. If 426 had a high headlight when built, certainly the 425 did too. I don't know when the GM&N converted to a center headlight. Someone from the GM&O Historical Society could probably answer that question, but I am not sure that anyone from that organization is on RyPN.

Les

The headlight was mounted high when delivered. It was centered after the G&MN/M&O merger formed the GM&O. The current headlight is from a DL&W Pocono and the bell from a Reading Co. Pacific. Both are owned by the owner and CEO of the railroad. He wanted them on the engine and so the front end was changed to accommodate his wishes.

What is the origin of 425's pilot?

Jeff and R-E:

Thanks for the info. DL&W headlight. RDG bell. Eastern railroads connections! And say, didn't one of those eastern railroads have an engine painted blue?

Les

David,
The pilot 425 has is actually a recasting made in 1987. We had a serious grade crossing accident with her in November of that year and the pilot was broken in several pieces. It was tacked together enough to make a pattern and a new one was cast. It came to us with this style pilot. A check of earlier in service photos may yield when it was changed from boiler tube style to solid casting.

Les,
Indeed the Reading Company had a blue Pacific in the 1920's. It was a one off as far as I know. The idea to paint 425 blue was made by the late Charlie Kachel (425's main engineer in the 80's & early 90's) to emulate the Reading's engine. However no color photo exists of that engine so the blue we used was a guess. The black & white photo of the Reading engine would indicate a much darker blue than what we used. It's been blue since 1992. Time to go back to black, no?

The cast pilot on 425 is a Ross-Meehan Co. casting; made in Birmingham (I'm pretty sure). A number of Southern roads used these-- C of G, A&WP, W of A, for example. I think the pilot on Pacific 290 is one of these. Look at some 40s-50s photos of locos in the South and these "regional" cast pilots show up.

Howard P.