Spring 2002 Newsletter Volume 22, Number 2 A Quarterly Publication of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Inc. Newsletter Notes June Post-Meeting When members write to me about something in the Bulletin, I dont know if that refers to Railroad His- Colorado Trip tory or the Newsletter. The new banner should help. The previously proposed Plan A, the Grand Heres some more challenges for the expert au- Tour, did not have sufficient response to justify the thors: Operation of the Triple Valve, Superheaters, Au- bus charter. Some members will be traveling by rental tomatic Oilers, and Cutoff as it relates to cylinder valve car to Antonito on Sunday, June 9, to ride the Cum- systems during start and efficient running. Theres bres & Toltec the following day. Please contact Henry more: Feedwater heaters, Valve Gear types, Mechani- Deutch or Adrian Ettlinger, 7 Lefurgy Ave., Hastings- cal stokers, Exhaust nozzle, and Thermic syphons. ^ on-Hudson, NY 10706-2503. (914) 478-0644, [email protected]) for carpooling arrange- COVER PHOTO: The colorful Eureka has operated ments, and guidance for motel reservations as soon as almost every year since 1994 on the Durango & possible. The R&LHS is not responsible for this func- Silverton Narrow Gauge in Colorado. The route is famous for the high line above the Animas River, but tion. ^ the tracks also run through a valley between the leaving the roundhouse in the morning. When running, mountains as the train nears Durango. The Eureka is the Eureka stops every 20 miles or so for fuel. older than the narrow gauge line which opened in July BACK COVER: At Silverton, the Eureka is on the siding 1882. Three photos by John Gruber as ex-D&RGW locomotive 473 approaches the station. PAGE 4: The Eureka pauses with its train on a bridge No. 473, built in 1923, is newer and much larger than in the Animas River canyon. Its owner, Dan Markoff, the woodburner. The 473 is right at home on the line, carefully wipes the boiler and polishes the brass before also operating there in D&RGW days. ^ R&LHS MEMBER SERVICES builders. Copies are available to members Membership Matters at twenty five cents per page ($5.00 mini- ^ Membership applications, change of mum) from James L. Larson, 12820 West- address and other membership status in- side Road, Manassas VA 20112. A list of quiries should be sent to: available rosters may be obtained from Mr. R&LHS Newsletter R&LHS - Membership Larson for $2.00. William H. Lugg, Jr. Copyright © 2002 R&LHS PO Box 292927 Back Issues of Railroad History Published by Sacramento CA 95829-2927 Many issues of Railroad History since The Railway & Locomotive Historical No. 132 are available at $7.50 per copy. For Society, Inc. Trading Post information on the availability of specific Society members may use, without issues and volume discounts, write R&L- William F. Howes, Jr., President charge, the Trading Post section of the HS Archives Services, PO Box 600544, 3454 Cormorant Cove Drive quarterly Newsletter and the R&LHS Web- Jacksonville, Florida 32260-0544. Jacksonville FL 32223-2790 Site to advertise items they wish to sell, trade or acquire or to seek information Articles from the Bulletin & Railroad Editor/Publisher from other readers. This service is in- History Clifford J. Vander Yacht tended for personal, not general commer- Copies of back issues of these publi- 2363 Lourdes Drive West cial, use. All items should be sent to Clif- cations of the Society are available to Jacksonville FL 32210-3410 ford J. Vander Yacht (see address at left). members at twenty cents per page ($5.00 <[email protected]> minimum) from R&LHS Archives Ser- Commercial Advertising vices, PO Box 600544, Jacksonville, Assistant Editors Anyone may present, with payment, Florida 32260-0544. Vernon J. Glover display advertising to the quarterly News- 704 Renaissance Loop, SE letter and the R&LHS WebSite to adver- Research Inquiries Rio Rancho NM 87124 tise any railroad oriented items. All adver- Source materials printed, manuscript tisements should be sent to Clifford J. Van- and graphic are included in the Societys James A. Smith der Yacht (see address at left). Archives. Inquiries concerning these ma- terials should be addressed to R&LHS Ar- Editorial Advisor Locomotive Rosters & Records of chives Services, PO Box 600544, Jackson- Bruce Heard Builders Construction Numbers ville, Florida 32260-0544. To help expe- The Society has locomotive rosters dite our response, please indicate a day- Printer: Raintree Graphics for many roads and records of steam loco- time telephone number where you can nor- Jacksonville, FL motive construction numbers for most mally be reached. ^ R&LHS Newsletter 22-2 Page 2 ALCOs were not a minority unit on the NH, so every- In Defense Of ALCO one knew how to work on them. The four-wheel truck used on the RS and FA models was not a problem, Diesels being similar to that later used on GE U25Bs, and the by J. W. Swanberg six-wheel truck used on the PA rode like a Pullman. One ALCO model we had which was not liked was the Id like to speak a few words in defense of ALCO RS-1 1 (which had a 251 engine, not a 244 as stated in diesels, after the beating they took in Elsie Voigts the article); the 251 prime mover was OK, but the lo- Diesel Engineers Remember article in the Autumn comotives evidently suffered from poor quality con- 2001 Newsletter. I was a locomotive fireman on the trol during construction. And the Century 425s were New Haven Railroad in the 1960s, and I worked on a known as rough riders, despite having the same truck wide variety of ALCO diesels, from ancient S-1 switch- as an FA or RS. ers to the latest Century 425s. ALCOs were well And in an EMD comment, the LTVs were not thought of on the NHRR, and in fact the 244-engined the only set of F-units still around in regular service; RS-3 and FA-1 models were real workhorses of the Metro-North runs two-unit FL-9 sets every day on fleet, despite less-than-stellar maintenance by the bank- Danbury, CT commuter trains, and they are usually in rupt NH. One reason for this may have been that matched McGinnis NH colors. ^ “They rode like Pullmans.” Swanberg was the fireman on this four-unit set of New Haven RR ALCO PA’s, ready to leave New Haven, CT with 1 00 cars of freight for Maybrook, NY on Aug. 20th, 1962. EMD FL-9s had bumped the PA’s from passenger service, but they could still haul tonnage if they weren’t overloaded, ALCOs were well liked on the NHRR. Photo by J. W. Swanberg R&LHS Newsletter 22-2 Page 3 R&LHS Newsletter 22-2 Page 4 EUREKA! by John Gruber The ashes drift back gently over the train as the Durango in 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001, colorful 127-year-old woodburning locomotive picks and will be back for Railfest 2002 in August. Its first up speed leaving the station. appearance after Markoffs restoration came in 1991 Dan Markoff has his hand on the throttle, watch- at Railfair in Sacramento, California. It also has been ing the rails ahead and the crowds at trackside. He is at Railfair, 1999; Nevada State Railroad Museum, pleased at how many smiles the Eureka brings to Carson City, 1996, 2000; Eureka, Nevada, 1992; Rail- peoples faces when they see it in operation. Time road & Transportation Days, Las Vegas, 1992; U.S. and time again when we are running down the road or Gypsum Railroad, Plaster City, Calif., 1993; and Cum- pulling into or out of town, I get the thumbs up and bres & Toltec, Chama, N.M., 1997. The National Park the victory sign, or the clenched fist in pride. Service recognized its transportation and engineering The locomotive brings a lot of happiness to a lot significance in American history, and placed the Eu- of folks, and that makes me feel good. Its a living his- reka on the National Register of Historic Places. tory that you wouldnt otherwise see, says Markoff, a The Eureka, the oldest of the three remaining Las Vegas attorney whose business card reads gen- Baldwin 8-18C class locomotives in the U.S., is the only eral practice including aviation law. one retaining its original boiler and tender. The oth- The crowds marvel at the Eurekas elegant ap- ers, built in 1876, are at the California State Railroad pearance. The base color is lake, a deep reddish brown Museum in Sacramento (the Sonoma) and the Smith- hue used by Baldwin between 1875, when the engine sonian Institution in Washington, D.C. (the Jupiter). was built, and 1878. After that, Baldwin painted most I would like to see the locomotive continue to engines black or olive green to resist coal smoke. operate. I dont want it in regular service, since it prob- The walnut cab is varnished inside and out and ably has more original parts on it than any other loco- trimmed with gold leaf lettering and striping. (Green motive in the United States built before 1880. I dont paint was not used for cab interiors until the mid- want to consume the artifact to the point where you 1880s). Ornamentation is called Eastlake, which takes are replacing major components. You can maintain it its name from the flat two-dimensional patterns of tex- well for many many years, as already has been shown. tile design. While complex, it can be applied more If we take it easy with it, it will last for generations to quickly than the florid scrolls of the 1860s.