I don't want to cause any problems but I was curious about something.

I know that Reading 2101 went through a roundhouse fire. The question still looms. Could it be restored to service?

Just curious.

JD Johnson, Morehead and North Fork Railroad Historian

NO
Ross Rowland....no s please.........

Mr. Rowland,

Are there any photos of the remains of the fire? Was the jacket and lagging still on the engine at the time of the fire?

Do you believe that the frame could have been warped by the heat as well as possible bearing damage?

Just curious.

I have never seen any photos.

IF you want to respond off line, my email is:

www.mnfrailhist@hotmail.com

One more question for you, Do you know anyone who would have a Sunbeam 1018 headlight that I can get measurements and photos off of for my scale model of Morehead and North Fork #9?

Thanks,

JD, Johnson, Morehead and North Fork Railroad Historian

In the steam era locomotives were rebuilt after being in a roundhouse fire. But then the backshop facilities were putting new boilers on locomotives in a regular basis. I think in short the answer is no but if you have enough $20 bills to fill the tender you might be able to do something.

The reason we did not attempt to restore the 2101 after the fire was that no one could ascertain beyond a reasonable doubt what damage the extreme heat may have caused to the frame and other vital components, A lot like an automobile-you can rebuild it after its totaled but its never the same. When you're dealing with a machine pulling trains with a 1000 people behind it- the risk is just too great.
As it turned out it was a blessing in disguise, as we ended up with the 614, a much more modern and easier to maintain machine.
Nearly anything is doable, but why would you want to waste millions on an engine that would always be suspect. Makes no sense, and no- it will never happen.
I have no idea about headlights!
Ross Rowland......no s please...........

They did? Of all the locomotives damaged by fire (completely burned, that is) I have ever heard of, even in the steam era, they were all scrapped. I’d love to see further info on a locomotive that was in a fire that affected the whole engine that was rebuilt and put back into service…

White Pass 69 was burned up in a roundhouse fire in Skagway, then rebuilt, worked there for many more years. Upon retirement, went to the lower 48, worked in tourist railroads until finally used up by Stuhr Museum in Nebraska. I inspected her in pieces there several years ago, and found the frame was in fact nothing like square, but if that was a result of the fire, any number of wrecks or derailments, or simply decades of hard use, I couldn't speculate.

GENERAL was actually blown up at the head of an Atlanta munitions train by the retreating Confederates as Sherman approached Atlanta, burning about everything along the way. It was rebuilt, worked its way down to the scrapline, was hauled out, and some portions remain in Kennesaw today.

Just two of the most obvious off the top of my head.

dave

Ross: This brings to mind another question I have wanted to ask for a long time. How was it that 614 was chosen as the successor to 2101? Were you offered a choice of locomotives? The 614 was an excellent locomtive to operate, but I have often wondered why another 4-8-4 instead of the streamlined Hudson or a Kanawha? I'm not griping, just wondering. Her modern design had to be a part of the decision, particularly as she made a stand for the ACE 3000 test. I'd like to hear it from the horse's mouth.
BTW, this was a magnificent way to get a major eastern road locomotive back into service, and to operate her on her home trackage. I wish I lived closer to see her in person and assist you on the maintenance days. I do hope CSX decides to contract her out with you in the future.

I sure hope that the old girl gets a freshened up as she was looking really rough last time I saw her. It was really sad.

There were some posts within the last few months that stated that she was to get a fresh coat of the Freedom Train paint.

Dave

Thanks to Chairman Hayes Watkins-Chessie System RR's, we pretty much could have selected any of the loco's. in the collection. We chose the 614 primarily for her moderninity and especially the fact that she was an ALL roller bearing machine and the last commercially built 4-8-4 produced in the USA. We struggled constantly with bearing/lubrication issues with the 2101 and were very determined not to have to repeat that nightmare. Having now had the pleasure of operating an all roller bearing equipped locomotive vs. a friction bearing engine I can report it's literally night and day. The Timken equipped 614 has never given us a speck of trouble and you can run her hard all day and not have to touch her running gear. What a HUGE difference!
In addition we wanted an engine that was designed to run at passenger speeds AND had the power to pull a long train(capacity=$$$$$) reliably. Of the available candidates 614 was the clear choice.
The reason we modified the main tender from 25 tons/coal to 50tons/coal was so we'd have the fuel capacity to pull a 25 car train all day without having to take coal, and the same reasoning drove the expansion of the lubricator reservoirs so they'd have enough reserve to allow us to operate 500 miles without re-filling them. These improvements payed off big time during the ACE trials and for the 1996-98 Hoboken-Pt.Jervis program. With 2 auxillary tenders of 25,000 gal. each and a full load of coal she can now cover about 350 miles with a 25 car pssgr. train in average terrain, without stopping at all for serviceing. That ability makes it feasible to do a number of programs that would not be operationally possible otherwise, and to operate all day without a servicing stop.
When we're able to put together all the necessary ingredients needed to justify the $350-$500k it will cost to do the full FRA work-up, one issue that will need to be studied carefully will be converting her to oil. I much prefer a coal fired engine for a bunch of reasons BUT in todays world we may have no realistic choice but to convert her. This is esspecially true if her assignment is going to be a touring gig vs. a fixed location. The cost of transporting/loading the coal and the logistics of disposing of the ashes in an EPA approved manner make coal about 3 times more expensive/mile vs. oil not to mention the logistic headaches. Plus if the tour is nationwide in nature then you get into the whole issue of running a coal fired engine out west etc. We'll see, but it's definitly an issue that will demand an answer. The relative ease of calling the local oil dealer and telling him to come "fill 'er up" vs. ordering coal months ahead,hoping the gon of it gets to East Bumfork in time, that the clam shell shows up(with an operator who knows how to operate it well enough that hes not banging up the side of the tender) that the EPA licensed contractor shows up to take away the ashes etc.,etc.,etc. is as you can see very appealing to say the least. Then, when you add a 3:1 cost advantage it becomes awfully compelling.
Let's hope we need to face that decision soon!
Ross Rowland....no s please............

Ross,
If you do convert the 614 to oil, how would it work to run it on bio-diesel?
Leverett Fernald

As to bio-diesel it should work fine as long as the btu's/gallon are there. If we go that route I'd want to do all possible to be able to use bio.
Thanks, Ross Rowland

It is hard to believe you now need to hire an EPA licensed contractor just to clean up a few ashes from a steam locomotive. If you took a ballast regulator and swept the ashes away how in the world would anyone prove they came from 614 instead of from one of the thousands of boilers that no doubt contributed to the cinder ballast that is under much of the railroad track east of the Missippi? I find it rather sad that in a coal rich, oil poor country we must talk about converting what ammounts to a coal burning pleasure cruise vehicle to oil on the basis of economics. I guess truth really is stranger than fiction.

John Bohon

Sorry to dredge up an ancient post, but are there any good photos online that show 2101 right after the fire? I searched for quite some time but only found this: http://www.trainweb.org/chessiephotos/p ... /css12.jpg
How about photos of C&O 614 before it was handed over to Ross?