I was reading one of the Flimsies posts, and it refers to a privately owned steam locomotive as a 614-ton Porter. Seems rather "portly" (pun intended) for anything built by Porter!

Here's the link:
http://www.skagitvalleyherald.com/artic ... ople01.txt

I can't recall the exact specifics but I can guarantee she doesn't weight 600 tons. The whole railroad probably doesn't weigh 600 tons, track and all!

She's a little narrow gauge loco, probably 0-4-0, and the track gauge is around 18 inch to two feet or so. He's got a small private railroad on his property. I've seen the loco, but not the railroad.

Sounds like a neat little operation, but it's not the home of the world's largest Porter. :) I'm guessing it's engine #6, and it weighs 14 tons? I'm not even sure it would be that heavy!

It may be "urban legend" but I was under the impression that Porter was limited as to the size of locomotives they could build based on the load limit of their overhead bridge crane at the factory...someone here I am sure knows if this is true. I suppose even BLW couldn't manage to pick a 614 Ton locomotive.
Chris

I think Bob's got it right. As I recall, the operation is called the Bow Lake Railroad and the locomotive is built out of a Porter compressed air locomotive.

You're close... According to his business card, it's the "Bow Hill Rail Road"
He has a logo consisting of a large B with an H inside, looking rather reminiscient of a certain local railroad's large B with an N inside of it...

As I mentioned, I've seen the locomotive and spoken to the gentleman that owns it. It's along the same lines as Tommy Thompson's Anacortes Railway, which was only about 20 miles from this operation, and may well have been the inspiration for this project. (That's only a guess on my part, nobody has said whether it was or wasn't...)

As I said, I can't recall whether it's 18 inch gauge (I think it is) or maybe 24 inch or whatever, and whether he possibly converted it to a 2-4-0 or something, but I can absolutely guarantee yout that it's not 614 tons, or even 164 tons for that matter. It would have to be made of solid depleted uranium... :)

This loco was a 24 inch gage fireless or compressed air loco that the company that owned it converted to steam by welding a firebox to the rear and a tubesheet in the front, with the old tank end becoming the smoke box door. When he got it, it had been in use long enough to grandfather the unorthodox boiler. This info is from the printed Two Foot Newsletter that was replaced by the online site www.thetwofooters.com.