East Broad Top RR
EBT #1 (Baldwin, March 1873)
I jokingly refer to this as my “Frankenstein” locomotive, since it’s massively kitbashed from parts from LGB, Bachmann, and Delton locomotives, along with some scratchbuilt parts as well. EBT #1 served the railroad until 1913 when it was sold to the neighboring Tuscarora Valley RR. It remained on their roster until the end, but it’s unknown how much use it got.
EBT #3 (Baldwin, October 1873)
This started out as a Bachmann 2-6-0, but now rides on a Barry’s Big Trains 2-8-0 chassis. The cab was slightly modified to match the prototype, but the rest of the loco received just minor alterations, such as an extended smokebox, new pilot, and other things of that nature. EBT #3 went to the TVRR along with #1, but shortly after arriving reportedly blew out a cylinder, and never ran again.
EBT #7 (Baldwin, June 1881)
This was scratchbuilt on a Barry’s Big Trains custom chassis. EBT #7 was built to the same drawings as the D&RG’s “class 70” locos (later designated C-19). Number 7 was sold to the Ohio River & Western RR along with EBT #10, and served that railroad until it ceased operations.
EBT #12 (Baldwin, December 1911)
This is an Accucraft loco, with minor cosmetic tweaks and paint to match “regular service;” i.e., basic black. Number 12 was actually originally delivered in the olive with plannished iron jacket the same as how the previous EBT locos are modeled, but the Accucraft model is of #12 later in life with dual airpumps and electric lights/generators, so I went with the latter EBT “basic black” scheme. Number 12 survives today on the EBT, though will need significant boiler work if she’s to return to service.
Rockhill Furnace Co. #2, later EBT 3rd #2 “Dinky” (Alco, May 1903)
This little guy began life as a Bachmann 0-4-0 Saddle Tanker. It still is, albeit with a slightly shorter tank (now exposing the smokebox) and also with everything lowered on the frame. It served the iron furnace at Rockhill as one of their switcher locos (along with EBT #1 for a while, and a smaller Porter 0-4-0T). When the iron furnace shut down, #2 went to the EBT, where it worked as a switcher in the Rockhill Furnace yard, and saw occasional service on the Shade Gap branch. It was scrapped in the 1940s.
Tuscarora Valley RR
Tuscarora Valley #2 (T. H. Paul, date unknown)
TVRR #2 began life as an Accucraft Ruby, though it was stripped down to the bare components and rebuilt to this. The prototype began life as an 0-4-2, but the TVRR shops replaced the single-axle trailing wheel with a 2-axle truck. The only “departure” from the prototype on this locomotive would be the name. The prototype bore the name "J.M. Blair.
Tuscarora Valley #5 (Baldwin, May 1877)
TVRR #5 is pretty much a stock Bachmann 4-4-0 with some minor cosmetic changes and new paint. The prototype for #5 came to the TVRR from the Eagles Mere RR. It was pretty much a dead ringer for the Bachmann 4-4-0 as it was, so few changes needed to be made.
East Waterford & Kansas Valley RR #265, ex. Perry Lumber Co. #265 (Climax, June 1901)
EW&KV Climax #265 is a 2nd-generation Bachmann Climax, albeit with a new boiler and cab. The prototype was purchased by the Perry Lumber Co. in Pennsylvania, and served there until it was sold to the EK&WV RR a few years later. The EK&WV connected with the Tuscarora Valley RR at East Waterford. For unknown reasons, the locomotive retained its “Perry Lumber Co.” paint when sold, and reportedly still kept it when sold to another operation a few years later. The name “Alfarata” comes from an indian princess in the poem “Blue Juniata.”
That’s it for my roster of models of historical locomotives. The following locomotives, for my semi-fictitious Tuscarora Railroad are all freelance, though some based on historical locomotives.
Tuscarora RR
Tuscarora RR #1 (Porter, April 1884)
TRR #1 “Allison” is built on an Accucraft Ruby boiler and chassis. While not quite so disguised as TVRR #2, it did receive e new cab, extended front pilot, and tender. It’s based on a Porter 0-4-0 which was preserved and rebuilt into a 2-4-2 in 1970 for a tourist line in Maui, where it still runs today.
Tuscarora RR #2, ex. ET&WNC #2 (Baldwin, August 1881)
Tuscarora RR #2 came to the railroad from the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina RR in 1907, as the TRR was getting up and running. It is built on a Bachmann 2-6-0 chassis, based on East Tennessee & Western North Carolina moguls nos. 1 and 2. This is actually the 2nd model of this locomotive I’ve built. The first one looked like this:
Unfortunately, this loco took a spill off of a shelf, so was sidelined and ultimately scrapped. The second version of #2 came about after thinking of ways to “modernize” the Bachmann 2-6-0. So, the current version of TRR #2 models the locomotive as it appears after it was sent to Baldwin for rebuilding after a rather nasty derailment. In both cases, the locomotive has a larger boiler and cab. The first #2 uses the stock 2-6-0 tender, while the rebuilt #2 uses a tender tank that’s cut down from a Bachmann “Connie” 2-8-0.
Tuscarora RR #3 (Baldwin, July 1908)
Tuscarora RR #3 was ordered new from Baldwin in 1908, and quickly took on a roll as the backbone locomotive of the railroad. It’s a customized Bachmann “Connie,” with an extended smokebox, and wood-sheathed cab. I also replaced the domes with fluted domes, and wrapped the boiler with a sheet of blackened brass.
Tuscarora RR #4, ex Utah & Northern Ry. (Baldwin, March 1879)
TRR #4 came to the railroad in 1913 from a used locomotive dealer. They had been using EBT #7 as motive power, but the EBT had just sold that loco to the Ohio River & Western. This little 2-6-0 fit the bill nicely. TRR #4 is an Accucraft mogul, with a new wood cab and other very minor cosmetic tweaks. My original intent (okay, my second original intent after my original original intent didn’t pan out) was to build this one to revive the original TRR #2, but this loco was just too small comparatively. So, the TRR got a #4 instead.
(Historically, the prototype Utah & Northern Ry mogul was sold in 1913, to the Nevada Central, where it became their #1. It’s now preserved at the California State Railway Museum.
Tuscarora RR #5 (Baldwin, 1881)
Tuscarora RR #5 is a Bachmann C-19, with minor tweaks to “de-Colorado-ize” it. I had just finished building my model of EBT #7, so a great sense of “been there, done that” was preventing me from modeling #7 in another one of its guises. (It changed appearances more than a few times over its life.) I liked the “modern” look of TRR #2, so I decided it needed a more modern stablemate. It’s modeled as it appeared when the railroad bought it secondhand from a railroad in Central America in 1916.
Tuscarora RR #10 (Alco, September 1927)
TRR #10 is really the locomotive that started this whole “modernization” push on my roster. Before this loco, I was content to keep things set firmly in the 1910 - 1913 timeframe. But this locomotive kept sitting on my shelf begging to have something done with it, and–more importantly–my wife liked it. So, I decided to do some work to make it look a little less like the iconic K-27, though it still has a very strong family resemblance. But, not being built until 1927, it had to be much more modern, so I started working on a “what would the TRR be doing in the 1930s?” storyline. That’s since given rise to #2, #5, and this next locomotive:
Tuscarora Timber Co. M-1 (GE, May 1939)
The Tuscarora Timber Co. is a sister company to the Tuscarora Railroad, operaitng lumbering operations across southern Pennsylvania, the Maryland panhandle, and northern West Virginia. While the TRR was struggling mightily by 1939 (essentially living off the revenue generated from its role in building the PA Turnpike), the TTCo. was a rather successful business. In 1939, their aging Heisler (#4) was pretty much ready to be scrapped, and the timber company management really liked the economies the new diesel technology afforded. Their lumbering operations were very temporary in nature, so eliminating the need to build a large support system for the steamers really appaled to them. So, They plunked down the cash for little M-1, and it served them well into the 50s when they finally shut down rail operations in favor of trucks.
The locomotive itself is Bachman 45-tonner that joined Weight Watchers. I narrowed it and lowered it. (See the current–August–Garden Railways magazine for more on this.)
There are a few “critter” type things in the works, but they’ll get done eventually. I don’t know what the next big locomotive project will be. I’m quite fickle that way. I was up at the Georgetown Loop RR today, and Andy liked their 80-ton Porter 6-axle diesel. Who knows what evil lurks in the idle mind of a confessed locomotive addict.
Later,
K
