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 No. 11 when it operated for the Narragansett Pier Railroad, circa 1934 | |||||||||||||||
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Everett Railroad No. 11 is a 2-6-0 "Mogul"-type steam locomotive. It was built by ALCO in 1920 for export to Cuba, but it remained in the United States, being sold to the Narragansett Pier Railroad in 1923. It was later sold again to the Bath and Hammondsport Railroad, where it operated until 1949. It was subsequently sold to the Rail City museum in New York, and it hauled tourist excursion trains for them, until the museum's closure in 1972. In 1977, No. 11 returned to the Narragansett Pier Railroad and was partially restored, and then it was sold to the Middletown and New Jersey Railroad, where it was stored indoors. In 2006, No. 11 was purchased by the Everett Railroad, who sent it to the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad's shops for a complete restoration. In 2015, the restoration was completed, and No. 11 began hauling tourist trains for the Everett Railroad. In 2022, the locomotive was converted from coal to oil firing.
Revenue service
ALCO found a domestic owner for No. 11 in 1922 when the Narragansett Pier Railroad in Rhode Island agreed to a purchase, with the locomotive arriving the following year. No. 11's first trip made it as far as Wakefield before coming to a sudden stop at a sharp curve. Railroad management realized the flanges on the drive wheels made navigating the curve at Wakefield impossible. This prompted a trip to Providence, Rhode Island, where New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (known as the New Haven) shop forces fixed the problem by removing the flanges on the middle pair of drive wheels (creating blind drivers).
As the newest locomotive, No. 11 continued service after older locomotives were retired, becoming the railroad's only locomotive in 1926. Insufficient maintenance meant No. 11 spent much of its time in the engine house for repairs, with rentals from the New Haven filling in at significant cost. This finally grew unbearable by 1930, when the company purchased outright a used 4-4-0 "American" locomotive from the New Haven, numbered 20.
No. 11 continued at the Narragansett Pier Railroad until 1937, when the higher operating costs of steam power and the increasing age of the company's locomotives combined with decreasing revenue led to retirement of all steam power in favor of a Plymouth Locomotive Works gasoline switcher. No. 11 was sold to the Bath and Hammondsport Railroad in New York State upon its retirement in Rhode Island.
No. 11's new owner operated it until 1949 when the railroad adopted dieselization. Rather than scrap the obsolete locomotive, the Bath and Hammondsport Railroad kept it within their roundhouse until a buyer could be found.
Preservation
In 1955, preservationist Stanley A. Groman purchased No. 11 for a new museum he was planning in Sandy Pond, New York, to be called Rail City. The locomotive ran for a number of years at Rail City until declining patronage forced its closure.
By 1977, the Narragansett Pier Railroad was owned by John Miller, a dentist who lived in Newtown, Connecticut, and planned to turn the railroad into a museum. Miller announced his intention to reacquire No. 11, at the time stored at a New York railroad museum, for passenger excursions. No. 11 was shipped to the railroad and restoration work begun but not completed by the time it was sold to the Middletown and New Jersey Railroad in 1981. Railroad president Pierre Rasmussen held a personal interest in steam locomotives and hoped to run No. 11 on the railroad. However, by the time of Rasmussen's death in 2004 the engine had spent more than two decades in the M&NJ roundhouse without any further restoration work completed.
Ownership of No. 11 ended up with James Wright, who had done business with the M&NJ. Two years later, the Everett Railroad's president Alan Maples bought the locomotive and sent it to the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad for restoration. After intensive repairs by the railroad's shops in Ridgeley, West Virginia, No. 11 moved to the Everett Railroad in 2015 where restoration of the locomotive to operating condition was completed. No. 11 made its first trips on the railroad in October 2015. The locomotive was converted from coal to oil burning in 2022 due to difficulties in securing coal and the desire to cut down the amount of smoke from operations. This was a return to No. 11's original configuration, as it was converted to coal burning shortly after construction.
On May 6, 2023, No. 11 hauled a fundraising excursion that benefited the restoration of Pennsylvania Railroad 1361, sponsored by the Railroaders Memorial Museum (RMM).
See also
- Canadian National 89
- Huntingdon and Broad Top 38
- McCloud Railway 25
- Southern Pacific 1744
- Valley Railroad 3025
References
- ^ "Historic R.I. Rail Line to Get 1923 Steam Engine". Nashua Telegraph. June 13, 1977. p. 15.
- ^ Henwood 1969, p. 36.
- Henwood 1969, pp. 36, 45.
- Henwood 1969, p. 39.
- Henwood 1969, pp. 45, 47.
- ^ "Equipment". Everett Railroad. 22 February 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- Laepple, Wayne (October 28, 2015). "Man behind the 'Mogul'". Trains. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
- Railfan & Railroad Staff (March 23, 2022). "Everett Railroad Steamer Converted to Oil". Railfan & Railroad. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
- "Everett RR Company hosting special excursion event to benefit K4 restoration project". WJAC-TV. April 28, 2023. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
Book sources
- Henwood, James N.J. (1969). A Short Haul to the Bay: A History of the Narragansett Pier Railroad. Brattleboro, Vermont: The Stephen Greene Press. ISBN 08289-0101-5.