| Caught here at the 1986 Vancouver Steam Expo, this little 1906 Burnham, Wms & Co (Baldwin) built 2-8-0 Consolidation sparkles in the sun. The pair of 1906 Consolidations (#51 and sister #52) operated on the Great Western until they were retired in the 1950s. #2 retired in April 1952 and scrapped while #51 lingered to be sold to Boulder Scientific in 1963. According to Wes Barris's Surviving Locomotives website, #51 wound up operating on the Fillmore & Western Railway in Fillmore, Calif, from which it was bought by Jim Birmingham and moved back to Hudson, Colo. More recently, the 1906 Baldwin was overhauled to participate at SteamExpo during Expo '86 in Vancouve. After that, it was shipped to Washington State were it operated for many years at the Yakima Valley Rail & Steam Museum (where it was converted to burn oil). No.51 then moved to the Fillmore & Western in the early 1990s, and operated there on special occasions and for movie work, but has been out of service for the past few years. Rumors abound, but there's no official word yet as to where No.51 will operate once its boiler work is completed. Specs - class 51, 52" drivers, 190 psi boiler pressure, 2-x26" cylinders, engine weight of 132,000 lb, tractive effort of 32,300 lb. |