After a lot of reading, I think my first layout will be a log train circa 1895. I'm going to base my line/scene on Olive, Texas. Olive is a ghost town now, but was a good sized East Texas logging town from 1881 to 1912. It maxed out around 1,200 people and had at least a doctor, lawyer, drug store, church, saloon, and offices. I was thinking that a 4-4-0 would be appropriate for that time. But I thought I'd run it by ya'll to double check. Also, I found this picture of an engine circa 1910 at another East Texas town and wanted to see if anyone could ID it. One more thing... Would a log train still have a caboose?
Thanks.
With crewmembers blocking the view of the drivers, it's hard to tell for sure, but the length of the boiler suggests that it's a 4-4-0.
Most logging railroads used a caboose because there was no place else for crew members to ride. In many cases, their cabooses were home-made.
Thank you!