# Late American Steam...



## screen48

Thanks for the welcome -
In 1960, Northwestern Steel & Wire, in Sterling, IL. bought part of a dismantled steel mill out east already in gons to be shipped (?). When the deal fell through NSW picked up the sale. A need to get everything back to Sterling was short engines. Also looking for scrap they made a deal with GTW for about 30 of there Baldwin P5a through g 0-8-0's. They found that most of the steamers were better then the old CB&Q 0-8-0's they were using in the yards. The old CB&Q's were scraped and a new fleet was born. The picture in my avatar is old 73 (GTW8373) pulling a load of ingots from the worlds largest electric furnaces. In 1983 upon retiring old 73 went on display behind the Dillon home (founder of the mill). One went on display at Amboy, IL.. and the rest went to the Illinois railway Mus. There are some tenders still on a side track west of Sterling.


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## screen48

some photos taken during the 60's at the mill (not by me). Thought they would be interesting.


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## imatt88

Sweet


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## tjcruiser

Bruce,

Fascinating "sunset of steam" photos. You might consider starting a new thread under the General section somewhere along this topic theme ... the last hurrah of working steam and similar.

Thanks for sharing,

TJ


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## Big Ed

tjcruiser said:


> Bruce,
> 
> Fascinating "sunset of steam" photos. You might consider starting a new thread under the General section somewhere along this topic theme ... the last hurrah of working steam and similar.
> 
> Thanks for sharing,
> 
> TJ


Great pictures but yes this is not the spot for them.

B&M will most likely move to the appropriate thread.


More info is needed too.
What mill was it? Bethlehem Steel? Great shots!:thumbsup:


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## screen48

tjcruiser, looks like you got your wish. Thanks to the mod. who moved this to a better place.

Everyone, please join in with your late steam. There has to be a whole lot more out there.

Big Ed - Northwestern Steel and Wire - Sterling, Illinois and that is a whole other story!


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## tjcruiser

Bruce,

I wish I had enough knowledge to add some stories here. I'm mid-40's, and can't recall ever seeing true working steam locos. Many of us have toyed around historic / tourist steam rails that still run, but that 's a different game.

So ...

C'mon old timers ... tell your tales of days of old!

TJ


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## Boston&Maine

tjcruiser said:


> Bruce,
> 
> I wish I had enough knowledge to add some stories here. I'm mid-40's, and can't recall ever seeing true working steam locos. Many of us have toyed around historic / tourist steam rails that still run, but that 's a different game.
> 
> TJ


You think you have it bad? I am only 20 :laugh:

But yea, the only steamers I have seen are at tourist attractions...


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## Big Ed

Boston&Maine said:


> You think you have it bad? I am only 20 :laugh:
> 
> But yea, the only steamers I have seen are at tourist attractions...


Me too I just turned 19.
I wish I could add something.

Great shots I like the old passenger car made into a office. With the old cars parked in front. Scrap yards all ways fascinated me too.

Great pictures.:thumbsup:


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## stationmaster

My first trip back to Indiana from New York was aboard a steam engine. All I did was eat, sleep and crap my pants. I was all of 2 months old and remember the trip like it was yesterday.........now, where did I put my keys?

I have been inside the fire box of the NKP 765, sat in the crew's seats in the cab, and helped refurbish the beast. Mostly as a "go-fer". I've seen her with her shroud off(I was a "Peeping Tom"), and saw her with her rods and wheels off.

Here is a link to the story of the 765: 

http://www.765.org/nickelplate765/introduction.html

Also in my sig you can hear a recording of her whistle.

Bob


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## screen48

stationmaster - I see why you have such a love for 765! Thanks for sharing!


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## norgale

I saw plenty of steam when I was kid. The New Haven ran right through my back yard in North Attleboro,Mass. looking at that old picture reminds me of the scrap yards in Providence, RI and on the lower right hand side of the picture there is a white 1960 Lincoln four door sedan. The one I have now is black. Sure wish it was new. Pete


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## tjcruiser

Good trip down memory lane. I recently learned of the Rhode Island Locomotive company that produced steamers in Providence in the late 1800's, and (via a merger with ALCO) into the early 1900's. Thereafter, they shifted over to auto production ... high-end beauties that cost a bundle, were impeccably made, but didn't bring a profit margin for the company.

As one company manager said ... "Our locomotives are already sold when we first lay up the frame. But we need a network of dealers and distributors to sell the cars we make." (Or something to that effect.)

TJ


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## norgale

The Alco cars are very much sought after,very rare and very expensive even if it's a total wreck. Don't see too many anymore. Pete


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## Gansett

Like Pete the New Haven ran close by my house. I vividly remember the huffing and puffing of the steamers, then we saw and heard the rumble of the new fangled diesels. I was 8-10 years old then and we used to put pennies on the track. WOW does a penny ever get big after a loco runs over it!
Guys' on those trains must have had bionic shoulders because they were constantly waving. A blast on the horn or ringing of the bell and a wave would put smiles on our faces that lasted all day.


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## tjcruiser

Yeah ... and a penny was worth about 90-cents way back then! 

TJ


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## norgale

Worth $3.77 a pound now. Pete


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## trainguru

*I know it was Canadian built, but...*










How's this for late American Steam??? - --:thumbsup:


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## Reckers

Nice shot! I'm always amazed at the sheer size of these things; they were monsters.


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## norgale

Nice shot Guru and it resembles a Hudson some. Imagine being about 5 years old and all of three feet tall and standing next to the roadbed watching one of these engines go by. That was my back yard and I never missed going out there and waving at the engineer. Sometimes he would blow the whistle at me but usually he just waved with his huge gauntleted gloves on.
It was the New Haven RR then and the tracks had a slight grade upwards and the engine was really huffing and puffing pulling the usual long freight towards Boston. The noise that engine made was huge with steam spouting out in all kinds of places. But the real facination was being up close and watching the driver rods moving up and down and the front linkage moving back and forth. Truly fascinating motion. 
If your too young to have witnessed this phenomenon then you have really missed one of the true experiences of life. If you ever have the chance to go see this action don't miss it. Fewer and fewer steamers actually work any more. So much for nostalgia. Pete
This is the engine that I remember. Sure was an awesome spectical.


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## trainguru

I took my first train ride at four, and I think it was ethier a RSD-4 or an H-12-44!!! But steam, there's nothing like it, my first ride was behind a logging tank, a hefty lot, and it sure could haul somthing amazing. Steam is the ultament blending of man and machine, but so are Baldwin, ALCO, FM, and other little guy diesels.


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## Kwikster

trainguru said:


> How's this for late American Steam??? - --:thumbsup:


Actually it looks more like a 2-8-0 consolidation type to me, unless I'm missing the trailing truck. I'm fortunate as we have a well preserved and running Berk nearby, the old PM 1225. http://michigansteamtrain.com/sri/our-collection/Also a fan of the huge loco's near the end. Challengers, Bigboys, and Alleghenys. My bucket list includes a visit to the B&O museum in Baltimore.


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## tjcruiser

Kwikster said:


> My bucket list includes a visit to the B&O museum in Baltimore.


A fun destination, for sure. A wonderful collection of trains inside a huge roundhouse. The roundhouse itself (and a few of the trains) took a hard hit a few years ago when the roof caved in due to an unusually severe snowstorm. Things have since been rebuilt. And while I enjoyed looking around at the trains in the roundhouse, I especially enjoyed looking UP at the roundhouse roof ... quite the work of art:

TJ


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## Kwikster

I know what you mean. I've seen pictures of that it looks spectacular. A few loco's I want to see are the replicas and or originals of the early Tom Thumb, Rocket and John Bull. Been a student of early steam for some time, the fact that the early guys were able to do so much was staggering.


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