Little Joe

bobyar2001 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 27, 2006 2:40 pm

Much modeled, but not saved in real life, nor even seen often in photos. B&O Little Joe 0-4-0, with tender.

http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?j ... anColl.jpg

JMann · **Posted:** Wed Dec 27, 2006 4:29 pm

It's too bad that this wasn't saved. It would have been a good little loco to operate on a museum line. I have a soft spot for this loco since I recieved an AHM model of it about 40 years ago. If it still existed I wonder how many railfans would donate to restoring it just because of owning a model of it. Same thing with the "Dockside". I'll bet that when Gordon Varney made the model the locomotive still existed. If it was saved and still around today it would get lots of respect due to all the models made of it.

fredstev · **Posted:** Wed Dec 27, 2006 4:39 pm

That locomotive was as cute as a bug's ear. Interesting valve gear. Is that conical projection from the rear of the valve cylinder a safety shield?

Dave · **Posted:** Wed Dec 27, 2006 4:55 pm

fredstev wrote:

That locomotive was as cute as a bug's ear. Interesting valve gear. Is that conical projection from the rear of the valve cylinder a safety shield?

It is a casting that holds the valve guides.

dave

Les Beckman · **Joined:** Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm **Posts:** 6482

JMann wrote:

It's too bad that this wasn't saved. It would have been a good little loco to operate on a museum line. I have a soft spot for this loco since I recieved an AHM model of it about 40 years ago. If it still existed I wonder how many railfans would donate to restoring it just because of owning a model of it. Same thing with the "Dockside". I'll bet that when Gordon Varney made the model the locomotive still existed. If it was saved and still around today it would get lots of respect due to all the models made of it.

Standard gauge as-built 0-4-0 tender types did not fare well in preservation but there are a few examples remaining including:

PRR #94 at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania (Strasburg, PA)
Chicago & Illinois Western #701 at Mid-Continent (North Freedom, WI)
Illinois Northern #4 (at a private museum in Iowa)
Reading 0-4-0C #1187 at the Strasburg Railroad (Strasburg, PA)

There may have been others, but those are the ones that come to mind. The last two are supposedly being restored to service but I'm not at all sure how those projects are going.

Some locomotives built as 0-4-0T's have had their saddletanks removed and a tender of some type added, but these are not as-built examples.

Les