| Nice action shot of a crew member getting Buffalo Creek & Gauley 2-8-0 #4 ready for a day's service. Originally built in 9/1926 by Baldwin to be Ferrocarril Mexicano (Mexican Rwy) 2-8-0 #200, it was diverted by Baldwin to BCG as their #4. In 1967, it was sold to Francis Ede of Bethlehem, PA, who stenciled the herald of the defunct Quakertown & Eastern and pulled excursion trips on main lines such as the Lehigh Valley, Penn Central, and the Reading. After five years, Ede sold the engine in February 1972 to Carter Cash Enterprises of Appalachia, Va, who in turn sold it to the Southwest Virginia Scenic Railroad in Hiltons in April 1975. The 4 reached the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer in 1978, where she operated occasionally in tourist service. A four-year effort to restore the 4 to operational condition was estimated to cost $500,000. Specs - 190 psi boiler pressure, 22x28" cylinders, 50" drivers, engine weight of 194,000 lb and tractive effort of 43,773 lb. No exact day in October, 1961 was listed for the photo so an approximate one was used and no photographer was listed. |