<P>Thanks to Erik Ledbetter for a great Brief posted here on the B&O Museum Live Steam Days. I was fortunate to get there early on Sunday before the "William Mason", "Lafayette", and "Tom Thumb" had gone out on their first test runs. They were all lined up outside the Car Shops and I got some great video of them pulling out. There was mention that both the "Tom Thumb" and "Lafayette" may not run for awhile since they need shop work to be able to conform to the new FRA standards. Hope it is not too long. The museum's Steam Days are a great opportunity for not only railfans but whole families to come out and observe some of the museum's historical collection in operation.<br>I do have a question for Erik, though. Was the "Mason" indeed built as a coal-burner? Most early photographs I have seen of B&O 4-4-0s from that era have balloon stacks, suggesting they were wood-burners at the time. One photo I have of another Mason 4-4-0 taken at Cumberland shows it with a bonnet stack...<br>




JMFouchard@aol.com

<P>Hmm, you've raised a good question. I'm NOT certain, but if you give me time to get home and tear into my John White at home I'll try to nail down a definitive answer.<br>




eledbetter@rypn.org

<P>For what it is worth, when the Mason was at the Chicago World's Fair in 1983 it had a straight stack. There was a drawing of it in the trade press of the time. This suggests the bonnet stack is more recent.<br>




rdgoldfede@aol.com

<P>Ron; a straight stack on the Mason at the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1983? Or in 1933? Or perhaps the Chicago Columbian Exposition in 1893? Please clarify. Thanks!<br>




midlandblb@cs.com

<P>Well, to my surprise John White's revised edition of "American Locomotives" does not discuss No. 25 specifically.<p>However, he does say in no uncertain terms "To return to examples of railroads making early use of coal for locomotive fuel, no such account would be complete without reference to the Baltimore and Ohio... Passenger trains were handled by wood-burners until the mid-1850s when new tests were made with coke and coal. In 1858, 14 of 34 passenger engines were converted to coal or coke. By November 1859, all 235 locomotives were coal burning except for one freight engine and ten old light machines." pp 87-88.<p>So it seems that 25 may have been delivered by Mason as a wood burner, but converted to coal within four years of construction at the latest.<br>




eledbetter@rypn.org

<P>The Mason was delivered as a wood burner. As for the Tom Thumb and Lafayette...it's all about safety. My understanding is that the Museum is working with the FRA on this matter. It is not a situation where the FRA is exerting its authority.<br><br>




smatthewh@yahoo.com