Cedar Point & Lake Erie #3 (Davenport Mogul,displayed out of service) and #4(Porter 2-4-0 , operational but not in use) were both Arthur La Salle locomotives. Both these were used on the Cherokee Wonderland Railroad in the late 1950's early 1960's.

As a long term former steam locomotive owner/operator ( 1966-2024 ) allow me to welcome you to the house of outgoing as in writing checks that will serve as the means for you to transfer large ( yes very large) amounts of your dollars to a wide variety of worthy and not so worthy vendors.

The good news is that your new mistress will ably supply you with hard to imagine visceral pleasures which will more than justify the dollars and skinned knuckles she extracts from you.

Please keep us in the loop as you travel with her down the road towards her coming alive again.


Oh yes, I nearly forgot the most important part.....good luck.

Ross Rowland

Congratulations, Ethan on your exciting acquisition. I look forward to hearing more about this project in the future.

-Philip Marshall

Please allow me to congratulate you, Ethan. She's a real beauty, and I must confess that I'm a tad jealous. And while I'm at it, BEST OF LUCK !!!!

The Heritage Rail Alliance has been very active in growing their Canadian membership, and this puts you in touch with all manner of technical documents and resources, as well as friends (and many that post here) to help you with your effort.

That also being said, I'd encourage you to pursue the paperwork on the locomotive just as vigorously as the locomotive itself - because to actually repair it, run it and insure it, documentation on the design and history of the boiler is as critical as the actual locomotive. And what paperwork you can obtain, keep it organized and in a safe place.

When I've been doing appraisals, that's a rather basic question - starting with the boiler stamp, and then determining how much documentation on the locomotive remains.

The little industrial guys have the advantage of not being edgy on the technical design side, but also subject to more than their fair share of garage-mechanic fixes, patches, and undocumented modifications.

I'm involved with one restoration where it's ultimately agreed to just start over with a new small boiler of current design and safety factors.

Here are two Youtube videos that have been posted about the Loco and moving the loco. If you're interested, have a watch:
https://youtu.be/-tklW5ueGBc?si=v16UIC26xOg2aC0l

https://youtu.be/AG1tepJY9J4?si=B28i2nGLt31TxfuA

Mr. Harty,
Best wishes on the project. That should be a lot of fun.
Nice to see Bill in his real work clothes!

I recently saw a video on the internet showing that Mr. Harty has actually moved old number 2 under its own power into and out of, its restoration building.

Les

Moved on air:

Click here.

I will report that the typical Facebook reader response to a lot of the "shared without credit" copied clips of that test movement, shared out of context, was "what the HELL are those idiots DOING?!?!?"

Here's a few updates on the loco project:

I'm currently getting a CRN number for the boiler. I've already submitted the main boiler drawing and material data sheets, but more drawings and calculations need to be submitted to complete the process. So the ball is rolling with ABSA. I have a good NDT tech working on the drawings, calculations, etc, and he's a good steam man who has restored multiple traction engines. I'm very thankful to be working with a fellow who knows the program in that respect.

An initial NTD revealed the boiler to be in excellent condition...Except for an area of external corrosion on the front tube sheet due to a pile of wet gunk sitting at the bottom of the smoke box. It needs that area welded up, and a new smoke box as the old one is toast.

Tubes are in excellent shape, they were probably replaced shortly before the engine was disassembled. I confirmed this when I talked to Paul Ferry of Strasbourg PA who used to run this engine in the 1970s. He told me that they plugged a leaking tube (as they got a little carried away with the oil burner), and that "repair" is no longer there, indicating that the tubes were replaced sometime after that. The last time it ran was 1977 to my knowledge. They look hardly used, still smooth and grey. I don't plan on running the engine on federal track (unless the 2816 wants to have a play-date with a 15 MPH engine...) so the tubes will not need to be removed like you would to be federally compliant in the USA/Canada.

It runs on air pretty well, and would almost be good to go as is, but unfortunately the tires need to be machined so it has to come apart anyway.

If anyone has pictures of the #2 back when it was operating, please send them my way. I've found two at the moment, but I'd be interested to see more if they are out there. I'll attach one to this post.

If anyone is interested in seeing the videos involving this engine so far, here are some links for your entertainment. They are supposed to be somewhat humorous, so don't be expecting a documentary:
Moving it out of the bush
https://youtu.be/VHybDsRdNe0

Getting it running on air
https://youtu.be/068I8efSO6M

Story of the stolen and recovered bell and whistle
https://youtu.be/068I8efSO6M

Brief history on the engine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG1tepJY9J4

Also, where are these "uncredited" facebook videos of me online? Just curious... maybe I'll go cause some innocent trouble in the comment sections... maybe not...

Mr. Harty,
Looks like you fellows are having some fun with her too! That's what it is all about.
Some friends with traction engines have had good things to say about ABSA in recent years. I had some dealings with them on another matter a few years back and they were very helpful. It sounds like they are fair, so best wishes on getting some good pressure.
Don't lose any sleep about the face-bookers. You are the one paying the bills, so you can do with the engine what you please.