Tweet
Oil tank car loading... Too bad we can't see the full lettering on the dome: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/...0-e00a18064a99
dave
dave
-
Modeling 1890s (because the voices in my head told me to) -
Early Rail groups.io had a post of a very interesting photo of what is presumed to be the "Eastern RR" ca 1880s. Here's a small version formatted to fit this forum:
And here's a link to the photo that can be expanded:
https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/12122/zoom
What an exquisite photo! Via the zoom feature the photo can be expanded and really studied.
Andre
Comment
-
Besides the different railroads (all members of Hoosac Tunnel Line Fast Freight Line), note the different heights and the different door openings (some open to the left, others to the right.)
dave
Modeling 1890s (because the voices in my head told me to)Comment
-
Dave:
Yup. SO much can be learned by looking closely at pictures like these I posted. Yet, they also create many questions!
Andre
Comment
-
Two of the boxcars shown are for Midwest railroads.
_________________________________________________
Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. James BaldwinComment
-
At that point, the Eastern and the B&M were the major freight routes from Boston to Maine. ERR #96 appears to have been sold or scrapped before the 1911 cutoff date of 'Minuteman Steam', but ERR #98 was built by Rhode Island in 1881 with 17x24 cylinders.
JamesComment
-
Hi James!
So ERR #96 (engine pictured) would be a bit earlier build, or was it of the same 1881 batch?
Andre
Comment
-
my favorite part of this picture is crew in it. Their dress, their attitude to being in the picture, The guy sitting on the brake wheel.
Great stuff.
Bob
It's only make-believeComment
-
Bob:
True dat! The figures add a bunch to the pic.
All:
MY CURVED SWITCHES ARRIVED FROM THE UK!!
That's HUGE for me. SO relieved.
Andre
Comment
-
So how long did they actually take?
It's only make-believeComment
-
Andre, the history of ERR and B&M locos in the 1800s is complicated. Numbers were re-used as locomotives were scrapped and replaced. A 1931 roster scanned by the B&MRRHS says #96 was an 1878 Rhode Island 2-6-0, scrapped 1889. They say there is a better, much revised roster done in the 1960s but I haven't found it.
JamesComment
-
Bob:
Shipped from the UK on March 4th. Arrived at Customs in Chicago on the 11th, arrived here today. SO... about 1 month to the day?
James:
Boy, do I understand about convoluted rosters. (St. Louis & San Francisco is a labyrinth!) So the above loco is a product of RI in 1878. Cool! Thanks!
Andre
Comment
-
Andre,
I have the MR cyclopedia. Here is a Brooks 2-6-0 from 1883. The one caption states these locomotives were made 1870s to the 1880s.
The other pictures are of a Dickenson and a Rogers.
I can send you a bigger image if you are interested. I also have one of an early 2-8-0 and 4-4-0.
Scott
Comment
-
Hi Scott!
Yes, a larger scan of that page would be nice. I think my email address is available at my RR-Line "Profile" page. If not, holler back and I'll get it to you.
Thanks!
Andre
Comment
-
The Hoosac Tunnel Line train is indeed headed by an Eastern Railroad locomotive. Number 96 was one of only four moguls used on that road, as most of its business was conveying passengers up and down the coast between Boston and Portland, and it didn't need heavy motive power. Three of the moguls, including this one number 96, were built for it by the Rhode Island Locomotive Works (the fourth one was another RI Works engine but built in 1871). According to the Eastern's 1884 annual report, all three of the 1878 moguls weighed 77,050 lbs.and had 55 1/2 inch drivers with 18 x 24 inch cylinders. As of December 1883, however, the Eastern was leased by its long rival, the Boston & Maine, and so by 1884 it's likely the B&M repainted at least the markings and changed the number.
Frank
Comment
Comment