The Shay was built as 36" gauge. It was converted to standard and the boiler centered at the DT&I shops in 1924. Later it was shipped to Brazil and converted to meter gauge. One thing that is hard to remember is that Ford Motor Co., the DT&I and all the other Ford companies existed solely for the profit and enjoyment of Henry. If he wanted a toy locomotive built, it was.

John T -

Well, we still don't know for sure if one of Henry Ford's "toy locomotives" (0-6-0# 36) made it out to one of the west coast Ford plants back in 1947. Hard to believe that with all the railfan photographers out there at that time, that no one would have shot a photo of the little switcher.

Les

Regarding the English photograph, the Ford plant at Dagenham, on the East side of London, had a large internal railway system with several locomotives.

The steam locomotive is by Peckett and Sons of Bristol, apparently there were about 4 or 5 of this type at Dagenham - do a google search for Peckett 0-6-0st Ford No 7 1861 0f 1934 and you will find more images. Pecketts had a very distinctive house style; this one seems to have more cab windows than usual. So far as I know none were preserved though at least some of the steam locomotives lasted until the sixties.

#33 From my photo collection I found

Nice addition to the file--and a glimpse of the levels of maintenance at Ford.

I've seen a color photograph of either that engine or a twin, and both pix suggest the River Rouge plant must have had the spiffiest industrial switchers in the world, and arguably the spiffiest steam engines of any sort of carrier as well!

I received my copy of the Spring-Summer 2018 issue of the R&LHS publication Railroad History at my PO box during the past week.

Several interesting articles. One is about the Ford Motor Company's "Railroad at the Rouge." It tells the story of the plant railroad at Ford's manufacturing complex on the River Rouge.

It has a roster of what is know of the locomotives at the plant. It contains this information and history of 0-6-0 #36

Dickson c/n 26289
built 4/1902
cylinders 19"x26"
drivers 55"
TE 23,200

order by Minnesota Land & Improvement - but not delivered
Detroit Southern #69
Detroit, Toledo & Ironton #69
to Ford motor Company in 1927
2-6-0 converted to 0-6-0

Brian -

Thanks very much for the history of Ford 0-6-0 #36. The mystery, however, of where it was going to as it travelled across Iowa back in 1947, has still yet to by answered. Apparently not something that will ever be solved.


Les