"Old Betsy" 1905

[Ray Dunakin]

A 1905 photo of "Old Betsy" on the Oregon & California Railroad:

 

 

Full-size image here:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/O_and_C_Photo_01_%288072079456%29_%282%29.jpg

 

Sure would make a great little model! 

 

[gmcrail]

That's gotta be a fascinating boiler design, with the smokebox and the firebox both in the cab...

[Ray Dunakin]

It's either a return-flue, or a return-tube, type of boiler.

["JaBear"]

Charles Rous-Marten, a British Journalist mainly writing on railway topics, on seeing a New Zealand Railway A class 0-4-0T locomotive first built in 1873, described it as “a most absurd dwarf”. I wonder what he might have said if he had seen this loco??

http://www.trainweb.org/nzsteam/a_class.html

Thanks Ray for posting a photo of an interesting but unusual subject.

I wonder how busy Darth Santa Fe or hon30critter Dave are??? 

Cheers, the Bear,

[Steven S]

Here's an old thread with a pic of the 'B' engine.

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/128481.aspx

 

Steve S

[tomikawaTT]

[quote user=""]

Charles Rous-Marten, a British Journalist mainly writing on railway topics, on seeing a New Zealand Railway A class 0-4-0T locomotive first built in 1873, described it as “a most absurd dwarf”. I wonder what he might have said if he had seen this loco??

http://www.trainweb.org/nzsteam/a_class.html

Thanks Ray for posting a photo of an interesting but unusual subject.

I wonder how busy Darth Santa Fe or hon30critter Dave are??? 

Cheers, the Bear,[/quote]

Bear, with all due respect (ROFLMAO) to Charles Rous-Marten, I dare say that there's nothing absurd about the Class A.  I'd wager that they lasted longer in service than he did - and there seem to be a good number of survivors (including two still operational.)

My very similar 1873 Hohlenzollern (same gauge!) 0-4-0T is still going strong (in 1964) as was its prototype.  #60 is now stuffed and mounted in Kyushu.  The model, my infamous, "Block of lead with a wheel at each corner," is in regular service on the Tomikawa Tani Tetsudo (suitably modified with air brakes and electric lights the prototype never had.)

As for Old Betsy, that return-tube marine boiler was allegedly salvaged from a steam launch.

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

[Ray Dunakin]

I found a couple other photos of the O&C RR loco:

 

 

 

These photos, and some similar small locos, can be seen at this site:

 

http://donstrack.smugmug.com/UtahRails/Oregon-Ponies/