http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/lo ... es-1532349

Also Google london tube steam for more stories.

I wonder if they modified it to burn propane or something cleaner than coal or coke.

Steve

Looks like the steam train ran on coal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTcWcR0E8EE

I can't think of a situation in the US, short of seeing a Forney on the L in Chicago or a K4 pulling out of 30th Street, that would compare to this. This is awesome in that, in addition to celebrating 150 of the Tube, they used equipment accurate to the area.

Great to see how well the tube anniversary was carried out with the return of steam. And we almost did something similar in 1997 for the 100th anniversary of the Chicago Loop Elevated when the Museum of Transportation and the Chicago Transit Authority brought the only surviving Lake Street Elevated RR steam locomotive, #9 "Charles H," back to Chicago from St. Louis for the event. It wasn't able to be under steam but is did get within a few feet of the running tracks of the elevated at 63rd Street. It met with the sole surviving coach from the start of the Chicago L, South Side #1, when it was still in the hands of the CTA (it is now in the Chicago History Museum) in the surface level yard where they posed for photos together. That went so well that the folks from the CTA had their small yard diesel push both of them up the ramp to the elevated structure, stopping just yards from the active tracks. They were then blocked and chained down and posed for more photos, moving them so the locomotive could be at both ends of the coach as would have been the case in service. Two days later the locomotive was on the street under the Quincy & Wells station for the formal event downtown. There had been some thought of bringing the loco there on the structure but the main driver bearings had not been renewed when it was cosmetically restored a year earlier and we didn't want it to break down being pushed on active track and disrupt service. The plans had gotten to the point of making sure the rods on the loco would clear the third rail, which they would have, when that plan was scrapped. Photos were published at the time and recently on page 58 in the Summer 2012 issue of First & Fastest. That was in an article by Bruce Moffat and myself, "Following the Lake Street Forneys."

Ron -

Isn't the "Lake Street Forney" the "Clarence A.", not the "Charles H."?

Les

They used coal of course, no major restrictions over here, and the tunnels are larger than the deeper tube lines, but as well as restoring the Locomotive they restored the only surviving coach as well in a 16 month 200,000 pound restoration. This is the real joy of the heritage lottery fund and something we dearly need over here.

Mike Pannell

Sorry meant to add this link about the projects...

http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/projects

Mike Pannell

Lake Street #10 was "Clarence A." while #9 is "Charles H." Many rosters show the surviving one as #10 as it was the one used for the builder's photo. The person honored by #9 is Charles H. Deere, son of John Deere and then President of the farm implement company and also a major investor in the Lake Street Elevated and on the first board of directors.

Wait a minute. The UK has a Heritage Lottery Fund? And (from what I just looked up), it's funded through the National Lottery? Why can the US have something like that? That Mega Millions hoopla we had a few months ago with the $250 million jackpot, why can't some of that go toward heritage in the US?

I'm actually quite angered that the US doesn't have something like this.

The heritage lottery fund has done wonders for the UK heritage scene in so many ways, it would be a marvelous scheme to have here and so many people and organizations would benefit.
http://www.hlf.org.uk/Pages/Home.aspx

Mike Pannell

Ron -

So am I reading this correctly? That the MofT is not sure whether its Lake Street Forney is number 9 (the Charles H.) or number 10 (the Clarence A.) but that the number 9 was chosen because of the tie-in to John Deere?

Les

MOT may have been confused about which loco they had back in the 50s or later when it arrived but when I got there in 95 and we found its builder's plate any confusion went away. It is and always was #9, Rhode Island c/n 2942. How they got confused I can't explain. My copies of the 1977 and 1980 editions of the MOT catalog had it right. Please let me me know where are you finding other info?

Ron -

From J. David Conrad's "Steam Locomotive Directory of North America". He shows the engine as serial/number 2943. Dave had to go through a LOT of engine information when he was compiling these lists (and photos) and admits that there were mistakes. Perhaps this was one of them. If you have a builders plate with serial/number 2942, that certainly settles the question. Thanks for the info.

Les

Conrad has it wrong and so does "The Railfan's Guide to Museum & Park Displays" by Randolph Kean from 1973, which may have been Conrad's source of data. Kean lists a 1967 MOT exhibit guide as his source, which was corrected in later editions. When I worked at MOT Conrad contacted us about corrections and changes for a proposed second edition, which we provided, but so far no such editon has been published. When we were working on the loco we found not only the builder's plate, which had been obtained from the collector who took it off the loco in Rusk, Texas, but its number stamped on the reversing quadrant and rods. There were parts from some others of the same batch on it as well. Someone in Rusk also "collected" the bell which we would love to have back. The one on the loco now was another one from the MOT collection but is really a bit bigger than the original.

Ron -

Glad you were able to get the locomotives builders plate. Some years ago, our museum was able to purchase the original number plate for our C&O Kanawha #2789, which was important for the "looks" of the locomotive. We also had the chance to purchase the builders plates, but at the time, the museum thought the cost was too high and that they were not necessary to the engines appearance. I should also state that the number plate and builders plates were acquired legally from the C&O, which sold a lot of those steam locomotive items to collectors when the engines had been written off.

Hope you someday get the Forney's bell back.

Les