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hey John Allen Fan - A lot of fine folks attempted to assist you in your efforts to prove the claim made by a seller to you that the subject engine was a long-lost G & D engine. Not just because they would be intrigued by its very existence, but because they also enjoy helping other model railroaders. Since there is only vague evidence at best, that it could have ever belonged to John Allen, and that you are questioning the validity of what the seller told you, the respondants on this topic have done their level best, and there has been precious little to go on, and until two days ago, nothing to look at. And, apparantly there isn't any documentation - letters, early photos of it on the G & D or with John Allen in the presence of the engine, or any reference to its existence on a G & D roster, that substantiates its true origin. As I stated in an earlier post, and in a subsequent reply to an email from you (because you took issue with my recommendation to post some pictures, and you debated my statement that I believe that a public forum is not the 'place to discuss the character, integrity, or reliability of a fellow modeler' - deceased or not ), it is still apparent that you are more interested in what was Keith all about, than the 'history' of the little tank engine. Nobody 'jeered' you, and I'm not sure what "slanders" has any reference to. . .In order to prove something, especially if to establi***he authenticity of a potentially valuable, and even historically significant article, you have to attempt to 'disprove' it also, like peeling away at the layers of an onion to get to the underlying truth. That is all that anybody was doing as they offered what they knew or made suggestions to you, inspite of the fact that your mission was, at best, unclear from the start. And apparantly still is. . . What are you trying to accompolish? Are you trying to afix a "value" to this engine by establishing its pedigree as a G&D engine? Did you pay too much for it because you believed that it was a G & D piece, and are attempting to recover something from somebody? ( probably not ) Are you trying to sell it on eBay and want to justify an outlandish price? Or. do you just want bragging rights? I hope it is the latter. Although, if it could be established that it is an actual G & D engine - that was owned by John Allen (and therefore his estate) - its rightful home is in the NMRA's museum, along with the other John Allen / G & D items donated by the Allen family. Personally, the engine doesn't appear to be a typical G & D engine because it lacks any of John's usual and unique detailing. Even if John may possibly have used this engine (if it were established that he did, in fact, own it), perhaps only when operating his Timesaver (switching module) while 'on the road', surely he would have added pick-up shoes to an 0-4-0. However, I believe that John Robert has offered the most plausible explanation of how this engine may have been associated with John Allen, as did CNJ 831sum it up by stating that without a better paper trail or testimonials, it shall "remain a curiosity". We all tried to help you, and now you're threatening to leave because you didn't get the answer you wanted. C'est la vie.
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