On display in this Utah town:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=176838

This is taken outside the small museum in Tooele, Utah. Toole is located on the other side of the Oquhirr (sp?) Mountains from the Salt lake Valley. It is almost due west of Kennecott Coper's huge Bingham Canyon Mine.

The building in the background was the Hqs of the Tooele Valley and the main station in town. The loco is generally facing east. The line itself went east a couple of miles to the giant smelter that was the raison d'etre for the railroad. To the west the mailine went downhill through town, down the middle of the street, on a fairly stiff grade to the connection with the UP's Los Angeles and Salt Lake line and the Western pacific which built a special spur to connect with the TV.

From the looks of the cab, that engine sure looks like it has Reading or B&M roots. Anybody know the construction history of this one. Also check out the neat cabooses tucked in behind. This would all look very nice up at the Heber Valley--though they appeared to be well cared for now.
Michael Seitz

There was a writeup about this local museum in Locomotive and Railway Preservation. I don't know the exact issue, but somewhere from the post 1992 era or so.

The article explained the heritage of the locomotive, and the other equipment on display, and of the TV generally.

If I remember correctly, the 2-8-0 was reported to be in pretty worn out shape as far as the mechanics go. That outside braced caboose is pretty neat though.

David

Answers from: http://utahrails.net/utahrails/tooele-valley.php

"November 1969:
City of Tooele was approached by members of the Wasatch Railway Museum to remove TVRY. 2-8-0 11 from Liberty Park in Tooele and move it to Heber for restoration and operation. The city council found that Tooele residents preferred that the locomotive stay in Tooele. (Tooele Transcript, November 11, 1969)"



"TVRy. 11 was built as Buffalo & Susquehana 169, order canceled; held as Alco stock; sold new to Anaconda Copper Co. in April 1912 for Tooele Valley Railway 11; retired in May 1963, stored at smelter until moved to Tooele's Liberty Park in September 1964; moved to Tooele County Railroad Museum in July 1982. (information from Steam Locomotive.info) "

Robert -

That is pretty interesting if true. Soo Line 2-10-0 #950 was also built for the Buffalo & Susquehanna in 1900 by Baldwin as their #113. Not sure why the B&S refused the Decapod, but I find it rather ironic that TWO different locomotives built for this railroad, but never actually delivered to them, ended up being preserved. I don't believe that any actual B&S steamers are still around are they?

Les

As a matter of interest, several engines from the same B&S order served elsewhere. An identical 2-8-0 that was ordered as B&S #174, went to the Chicago and Illinois Midland as #510 and ended up as Midland Terminal #61, in Colorado Springs and was scrapped in 1949.

Not the best photo, but shows it converted to a 2-8-2 on the MT:

http://photoswest.org/cgi-bin/imager?00012671+OP-12671

So, in addition to converting the ex-U.S. Army World War II 0-6-0's to 2-6-0 Moguls, the Midland Terminal shops also performed surgery on this Consolidation. Were the MT shops that extensive? And well equipped? The railroad itself was made up of a portion of the old Colorado Midland that went under as a result of the problems it had during the First World War. I always had the impression that the MT was a "hand-to-mouth" operation but maybe I am wrong on this. But IF these locomotive conversions were done at a shop with minimal facilities, then why couldn't similar procedures be done at museum sites to give certain locomotives better riding/tracking characteristics and/or speading of weight over light museum rail?

Les

The MT had the only RR shops in the Colorado Springs area at that time, though the CRI&P maintained a small roundhouse with a minimal labor force. I suspect all the work was done in-house at Colorado City. Both the roundhouse and machine shop remain today, with the roundhouse used by the Van Briggle pottery company and the old machine shop used as the Ghost Town tourist trap.

I've been trying to track down a rumored one (along with a confirmed ex-Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh one) in Cuba, but it's not looking good.......

Not looking good that the engines are still around? Or not looking good that you will be able to track down the rumors?

Wasn't there a BR&P Twelve-Wheeler that went to Cuba? Supposedly the BR&P had quite a few 4-8-0's on the roster at one time with many of them being sold for service elsewhere. Or maybe I'm getting the BR&P confused with some other railroad.

Les

Do the two of you have builder's numbers or MINAZ names for any of these? I have gone through quite a few lists and trip reports, and entered everything that has been reported in the past decade or so. There were other derelict, post-MINAZ locomotives lying around George Washington sugar mill and other locations before the 1990s, but I think most of these were cleaned out.

E&TH 2-6-0 #50 (ALCo (Cooke), 2114/1891) was reported stored at 314 Jesûs Rabí Sugar Mill. BR&P 2-8-0 #53 (Baldwin 12317/1891) was last reported as derelict at 321 Julio Reyes Cairo Sugar Mill in 1997, and has not been reported since. A former P&LE 4-6-0, #82 (Pittsburgh Locomotive & Car Wks/1592/1896) was converted to a fireless setup, then reported scrapped in 2000; it was last observed in 1997. The South Shore Elevated Forney is still on display, I believe.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

Surviving World Steam Project

I just ran across a reference to another B&S 2-8-0 and it may be from that same order. This particular locomotive was ordered by the Buffalo & Susquehanna in January of 1910 and assigned B&S number 177. The order was cancelled in April of the same year. The engine was eventually purchased by the Southern Utah and numbered 104 and eventually became Utah Railway #4. This engine wasn't scrapped until April of 1956. Those B&S cancelled engines sure did get around!

Les

James,

I think that elevated Forney engine is one of the most interesting engines in Cuba.

Can you send me an article or write up on the engine? When did the elevated go electric and send the locomotive down to Cuba?

Ted Miles