Am trying to determine to what extent Vanderbilt tenders were used by New England railroads in the transition era.
Would B &M, for instance, have used them on 2-8-0 Consolidation locomotives?
Have gone through a number of photos, but my results are inconclusive. Any views from those knowledgeable would be greatly appreciated.
John
John, I “copied” your thread title and “pasted” it into google. This is what came up:
Scroll down to page 9 for the tender photos.
Also, the Central Vermont’s T-3-a locos all had Vanderbilt tenders. There may have been others, too, which another search should reveal.
Wayne
From Minuteman Steam, Boston & Maine Steam Locomotives / 1911 - 1958, by Harry Frye, published by Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society, Inc. , 1982:
Five Erie N-1 2-8-2’s were leased to the B&M in the period 4/1942 to 6/1942, temporarily numbered B&M 2801 - 2805. “They were the only Vanderbilt-tendered machines ever to wear B&M garb.” (page 105)
Tom
The only ones that I can think of regularly used in New England were on the Central Vermont. Contrary to some folks’ ignorance, the Vanderbilt Tenders could carry coal or oil, depending on the railroad. A Vanderbilt of the same New York Central linage invented the tender, but no NYC Lines used it.
Victor A. Baird
Quick aside, if I may…
Harry Frye was my high school chemistry teacher (1968)!![:D] he is/was also involved with the Suncook Valley (NH) Railroad Historical Society…
May your freight ALWAYS roll smoothly…and ON TIME!!
The New Haven had Vanderbuilt tenders on some mountains and some pacifics. Can’t tell you more than that because I am not a steam man but a big New Haven fan.
Ron High
I’ve been looking for a small-ish tender only for a MOW train (for the C&O though) and I’ve found it’s really hard to find a decent tender (not brass and not a toy train one) by itself. I’m willing to pay $30-$50 for one, especially if it’s on par with the new models being released (separate grabs, nice detail and, this is the tough part, prototypically correct, not a ‘generic’ model). Since this will mostly be a stationary train (a yard queen, if you prefer, or perhaps something to fill up a siding to make operations interesting/challenging sometimes), I don’t want to spend too much money on it. There’s another train show coming up in Ann Arbor, MI next weekend…I’ll keep my eyes out for one.
One place I check for prototype photos are historical societies, both for the railroad I’m interested in and for predesessor as well as parent companies…sometimes those models’ ownership will overlap several railroads and may be found in historical photos. I’ve even found good pics of C&O stuff in the N&W historical website, so check adjacent railroads and other railroads that interchanged with your railroad (they might not have been the focus of the photo, but there is a lot of good stuff in the backgrounds of those photos…that also encourages me to take better photos. One is the closeup of what I’m focused on, and then several wide shots including all the stuff around it). I’ve also used Youtube to some degree of success so check that website too.
Good luck on your search (and mine too).
I used this old Tyco tender as a water car for my MoW department, and, since the road is freelance, it works fine:
You may be able to find something suitable from bachmanntrains.com, either as a complete tender or the parts to build one.
Another option is their repair department, as they’ll sometimes sell stuff from items returned under warranty - I’ve bought loco cabs and other items not offered in their parts section, usually from models that are probably going to be scrapped. If you want to pursue this one, it’s best to 'phone and speak to a repair technician.
Wayne