G&D Locos

[Anonymous]

I am wondering what locos John Allen bought in the 70's. The roster in the book goes to the end of the 60's. Oh, and ben 13, give me a shout. I have some stuff you would be interested in.
Cheers,
Dalton

[Anonymous]

John died in 1972. The locos in the roster may be correct for the GD at the time of the fire.

[Bob Hayes]

Actually, according to the book, John died Jan. 6, 1973, and then ten days later the house burned!
Bob Hayes

[Anonymous]

Bob, I stand corrected. I was too lazy to check my book and thought I would have been close enough from memory.

[MidlandPacific]

There's a G&D Yahoo group with some info on the G&D roster. I can't recall anyone uncovering anything that wasn't published in the book, but there was a man there who had some pictures of a PFM Santa Fe 2-8-4 painted for the G&D and numbered 43, which he maintains was salvaged: this is listed in the book as a 2-10-2.

One of the fellows at Peach Creek Shops (www.peachcreekshops.com) in Laurel, MD has assembled a scrapbook of G&D photos, and he may have a picture or two that reveals some unlisted locomotive. John Allen did some MR back cover ad shots and catalog shots for PFM, and some of the locomotives in those may have found their way onto the G&D. There are quite a few of the G&D operators who are still alive, and you may be able to contact them for help: Andy Sperandeo at MR operated on the GD in the 1970s and may remember something, and Dave Cooper (who strung the catenary for Cooper Electric in Port) is also around (the Peach Creek Shops guys may know how to contact him).

regards,

[Sperandeo]

I operated on the G-D Line in 1970 and 1971. I never saw a Santa Fe-prototype 2-8-4 on the layout, but I remember one from Pacific Fast Mail ads that John did photos for. An ad in the November 1958 MR had a shot of that 2-8-4, or one just like it, at Great Divide. However, it wasn't lettered for the G-D Line, but as AT&SF 4100 (a mistake, as engine 4100 was a 2-8-2, and the Santa Fe 2-8-4 numbers began with 4101).

As a Santa Fe fan, I surely would have remembered one of the PFM 3800-class 2-10-2s, expecially as I owned two of them myself in those days, but I never saw one of those on the G-D Line either.

As I recall from discussions with John, one of the newest engines he had at that time was the C&O-prototype 2-6-6-2 no. 39, a PFM model of the H-6 class of 1949. I remember that he wasn't completely happy with it, as the mechanism was noisy and it didn't pull as well as he thought it should. I doubt if I saw it run more than once or twice.

I didn't get to see all the locomotives on the roster in Linn Westcott's book – for example I never saw the Hobbyline/Sims 2-8-4 no. 45, although I remember some of the other operators talking about it. There were also some engines that I can remember seeing, like no. 37, that I never saw turn a wheel.

The only engine I can recall operating on John's railroad that isn't included in Linn's roster, except for the few visiting engines he allowed, was a PFM/United model of a Southern Ry. Ps-4 Pacific. It may have been new because it wasn't completely painted or lettered, but it did make at least a couple of trips on the mail trains from Great Divide to Andrews and back. John may have been testing it before completing the paint and lettering.

Happy New Year,

Andy

[MidlandPacific]

Andy,

Thanks for taking the time to reminisce for us: it's always a treat for me to hear something about the G&D.

regards,