In October of 1977, I made a trip down into the mountains of North Carolina to photograph the Yancey RR. At Burnsville, NC there was an 0-4-0 saddle-tanker (standard gauge) on a side track. The locomotive bore Number 9, but the lettering on the tank was abraded or painted over - it was possibly :B & CF ? My camera back then wasn’t that good, but here’s the picture.
This little 0-4-0 had clearly been receiving some attention, as the front footboards had been recently replaced. I did some on-line searching but haven’t been able to find anything definitive. I found some reference to a Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal (BEDT) 0-4-0 having gone to North Carolina, but it was #15 and this one was clearly #9.
Can anyone provide an identification & history on this locomotive?
You might try checking www.steamlocomotive.com - there is a surviving steam locomotive database that might be of some help. In NC, there is an 0-4-0 #9 listed as operational at the Handy Dandy Railroad in Denton - not sure if it is the one you are looking for. Of course, numbers, appearance and features of steam locomotives can change over the years - especially operating locomotives, since they have to meet the needs of the railroad that is running them.
You know, James, I had looked at steamlocomotive.com (which is on my favorites bar), but the photo of the locomotive from that site showed a tender locomotive (no saddletank) that was visually quite different. The website for the “Handy Dandy Railroad” does say that the locomotive came from Burnsville in 1979 (which would be after the Yancy washed out). The history and exhibit pages for Handy Dandy does not have much technical information on the locomotive. So that would then seem to be the same locomotive, and one can learn that it is a former U.S. Navy, Porter, built in 1942.
The question is still out there for information such as construction #, where it had served the Navy, and how it came to be in the mountains of N.C.
These are the remarks given by photographer Nick McLean: “There are likely not too many US steam locos that have been active for 27 years and have never been captured for RP, this is an exception. #9 was built for the US Navy by Porter as a tank engine in 1942. She’s pretty hefty as far as 0-4-0’s go: weighs about 50 tons, has 45” drivers, 16x24" cylinders, and makes about 21,500 lbs. of tractive effort. She was returned to service for the annual Southeast Old Threshers reunion in 1982 looking like a completely new loco. She was converted from oil to coal, and her tank was replaced by a 2000 gal. capacity tender. Other modifications included removal of the second sand dome, major changes to the cab, and oddly the addition of a diesel-like mechanical bell under the cab."
So there you have it, it was heavily rebuilt from a tank engine with the same number as your picture. As you noted, the website for SETR says the engine came from Burnsville in '79… all circumstantial evidence, but it appears the little tank engine from your picture is alive and in steam! But your other questions still remain: where did it serve the Navy, and how did it wind up in Burnsville? Hopefully someone else out there will know the answers.
That is the same steam engine when Denton NC got the engine she was converted from a saddle tank engine and rebuilt with a tender. This engine and the owner get no support from the NC transporation museum at Spencer, NC. They are less than 50 miles a part as the crow flies. They do not want any part of the engine, but former staff and voluteers do help them with the engine. I use to help both museums.
Pretty impressive bark and a nice whistle! I know opinions may vary regarding the conversion from saddletanker to tender engine, but I think they did a nice job on it and it is good to see it in steam. My hat is off to the owner.
Thanks for that, JamesP. I agree that it is very “throaty” for a small locomotive, and the whistle sounds like some of those up at Cass, WV. I can understand the corrosion issues under a saddletank might be difficult to keep track of, and now they have everything accessible. In that it was a US Navy “war baby” switcher without a “pedigree” of service on a main line, or known ties to a specific RR, I can understand the conversion. The conversion and restoration to operation is certainly preferable to scrapping.
I can think of at least three other “thresher” groups which have done well with railroad locomotives even though that may not be their original/primary interest: Freeport, IL; Hesston, Indiana, and Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.
Hey, who cares if it’s converted from a saddletanker? It looks GOOD!!! And it sounds as good as it looks, and that’s a good lookin’ trains it’s pulling as well. And best of all, it’s alive! Thanks for the video link!
I have a little extra info on this engine. It served for a time on the Blacksburg and Cherokee Falls RR, known as the Swamp Rabbit line. The general manager was Bill Cannon, brother to Yancey GM Jean Cannon. When the B&CF went under, the loco and a couple of cars were moved to Burnsville to try and rekindle excursion service on the Yancey. Yes, there was another steamer used on the YRR in 1969, the former 0-6-0 BEDT #15 operated under the guise of Southern Appalachian Railway, using trackage rights over the Yancey. This effort failed. Tourist and excursion service did do well for a few years, and Mr. Cannon had apparently tried to revitalize the excursion service with steam, but Mother Nature had other ideas and flooding in November 1977 rendered most of the line inoperable. The loco was sold off, and now, as told, resides in Denton.
It’s interesting that he other Yancey saddle tank engine also exists. BEDT 0-6-0T number 15 eventually ended up on the Strasburg where she was rebuilt to resemble Thomas the Tank Engine, with side tanks, a new cab, and other detail modifications. She is currently operational in that guise. Five BEDT 0-6-0T’s have been preserved.
