Engine No. 4

[Mountcastle]

Anyone have any pictures of A&A steamer No. 4, by any chance? There is no picture of it in the Ed Lewis book and I'm curious as to what it looked like.

I picked up an inoperable (but still displayable) HO scale ten-wheeler at a train show at a VFW post last week and I want to paint it up as an old A&A steamer. Ironically, it's tender is currently painted and lettered to be that of No. 14 (it says "ARCADE & ATTICA" on each side, in big silly red letters with a big red "14" on the back).

This model somewhat resembles No. 6 but not quite enough to be passable. It rather closely resembles No. 2, except that No. 2 was a Mogul. It resembles none of the others shown in the Lewis book, so I wondered what No. 4 might look like.

[Benjamin Maggi]

Hum... a ten-wheeler, inoperable, and lettered for the A&A. Are you sure it is a model? Sounds like the real thing!

[Mountcastle]

Cute.

Yeah, it was so odd to come across it. I had gone to this show in hopes of finding a junk engine so that I could rob it of it's pilot for my model of No. 14 (which sports an unsatisfactory pilot). And there it was: a Rivarossi Illinois Central "Casey Jones" 4-6-0 with its tender lettered "Arcade & Attica", "14".

So I thought, before I butcher it for parts, I'll paint it up and letter it as an A&A engine and photograph it as such first. Why not, seeing as how all the originals came from elsewhere (some, even, from the Illinois Central), were painted in A&A 'colors', and then were scrapped, right? This modelling experience will be truly authentic.

Truth is I've already re-painted, re-lettered, and weathered it, and I've gone ahead and numbered it "4", regardless of whether or not it bears any resemblance to the original No. 4. It looks almost too nice to 'scrap'. But it doesn't work, so to hell with it.

[BSOR Patarak]

Here is A&A #4; seen here in General Equipment Co. Paint prior to delivery to the A&A

[Mountcastle]

Oh, that's incredible; thanks so much for posting it.

I'm gratified to see that it actually bears a passing resemblance to the model I painted up. What a shame that one or two of the old engines wasn't preserved. Each time I see a picture of one of the oldies, I try to envision it on the rails, today.

[Benjamin Maggi]

Um... either it has inside cylinders (unlikely as I can see them on the outside) or the rods are not connected to the cylinders. That engine isn't moving anywhere.

[BSOR Patarak]

It appears that the main connecting rod was removed for shipment. This way, the cylinder doesn't move back and forth while it is being towed dead. There would be no lubrication in the cylinder as they are oiled through the steam passing through them. I believe that this view of the engine was taken after it left the Genesee & Wyoming. The General Equipment Company probably did some limited repairs and resold the unit to the A&A. It had a short life on the A&A and probably was not in the best of shape. It was noted for "dropping" it's fire and had to be rescued several times.

[Mountcastle]

It was noted for "dropping" it's fire and had to be rescued several times.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of a source did you refer to for a tidbit like that? Do you have a resource that recounts the performance records of the old locomotives or would this be more of a word-of-mouth recollection from veterans who were told as much by older veterans or...other?

I love the fact that obscure information like that about the A&A is available.

[Alcophile]

I have another question about #4. I found an all-time roster online, but it doesn't say when #4 was retired. Though when it comes to the "Casey Jones" 4-6-0, #6 was IC.

[Mountcastle]

Though when it comes to the "Casey Jones" 4-6-0, #6 was IC.

True enough, and, as a matter of fact, I had used the same Rivarossi engine to model No. 6 in the 90s (if it still exists and Ben didn't take it, it may still be in the upper storage area in the Curriers depot). That one didn't run, either, and was also purchased at a VFW post (in the oft-repeated words of former bishop Henry Mansell: "it's all connected").

I'd like to model No. 6 again someday but I'll hold out until I can find something that closely resembles it, considering that 6 is pretty recognizable, at least amongst A&A devotees. If I'm going to model it I want people who know what the prototype looks like to be satisfied that I've represented it well.

Number 4 I don't care about...especially now that we've all heard what an unreliable piece of junk it was.

[BSOR Patarak]

The information was from an old employee.

As for the scrap date, I have not found any on it. It happened after 1924 but before 1939.