Thanks, Les. I had a feeling you may know the answer!

So, the 624 was built around the same time that the 587 was merged into the NKP roster (circa 1922-23)!

-Kelly

That is interesting. I had no idea NKP had ordered big tenders for some of their mikes.

Thanks.

John Bohon

I can't remember if it was the Nickel Plate or the Pere Marquette that bought a dozen or so 0-8-0's with 22RA tenders, with the intent to swap tenders with 2-8-2's when the switchers were delivered. The builder's photos for those engines looked VERY strange.

Erie did it. Stauffer's book, "Erie Power" shows some of the weirdest looking builders photos I've ever seen.

As long as the subject of Nickel Plate Road tenders has come up, I was informed some time ago that the NKP actually had some modified tenders with a four wheel truck and a six wheel truck. Behind both passenger and freight service engines as I recall being told. I THINK, but am not 100% sure, that one of these tenders survives; behind 2-8-2 #639 I believe. I don't recall if the four wheel truck was under the coal bunker and the six wheel truck under the back end, or vice versa.

Anyone know for sure about the tender in Bloomington, Illinois behind #639?

Les

Les, you are correct! Photos of 639 from the collection of Ray Breyer :





And I know 639 looks MUCH better than these photos show thanks to a paint job from John Sciutto of the Monticello Railway Museum.

Kelly Lynch

Les, the NRHS excursions in 1993 ran out of Chicago to Argos where the whole train was turned on the wye. I seem to remember the 765's wheels slipping slighty at the diamond in Argos. The town rolled out the red carpet for the excursion, providing box lunches to the passengers and water for the steamers. They parked the whole consist north of Walnut Street, roped off the area and allowed locals to view the engines up close and personal (with supervision, of course). It was one of the more interesting excursions I've seen in quite some time. I rode that train east from Valpo to Argos. I have several pictures of the excursion around here somewhere.

The Western Maryland replaced the rear 4 wheel truck on one of their 2-8-8-2s with a 6 wheel truck from the tender of H-9a class 2-8-0 number 842. The purpose was to test the tender booster on the 6 wheel truck on the mallet. I have never found out if the 6 wheel truck was replaced after the experiment was determined to be a failure with the 4 wheel truck or if the 2-8-8-2 kept a 6 wheel truck until it was scrapped.

John Bohon

Bob:

Argos. Thanks. I should have remembered that.

Les

Where in Bloomington is this engine located? For some reason, I had it in mind that it was close to the AmShak station, but not so.

Thanks.

Scott

Looks to be Miller Park:

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp

http://nkprr.railfan.net/639/nextpage.html

Kelly

While on the subject of 624 and 639, could anyone tell me what kind of feedwater heaters were applied to these locomotives and when they were removed? Did they have boosters?

Also, does anyone have any dimesional information for the tender behind 639? It looks like a stretched USRA tender but that would be too easy.

NKP 624 was built with a Worthington BL feedwater heater.
NKP 639 was built with an Elesco HD feedwater heater.
Both engines were built with booster motors in their Delta trailing trucks.

Both engines had both the feedwater heaters and boosters removed between 1951-1954. I'm working on nailing down the exact dates.



The odd five-axle tender behind NKP 639 is a 16RC, one of roughly 30 similar tenders the NKP kitbashed in the 1930s out of USRA long tenders. As rebuilt, they were 40.8 feet long. Email me offlist at rbreyer AT cesinfo DOT com, and I'll email you the NKP erection card for these tenders.