Do any of you have any further information/stories on the 5 2-8-2 Mikado's that the Boston & Maine RR leased from the Erie in 1942?
The story on the B&M side is that in 1942, the B&M was going through a motive power shortage and placed into service the five following Mikados:
Erie #3127 became B&M #2801 Leased 4/1942; Returned 6/1942
Erie #3001 became B&M #2802 Leased 4/1942; Returned 5/13/1942
Erie #3150 became B&M #2803 Leased 4/1942; Returned 5/13/1942
Erie #3069 became B&M #2804 Leased 4/1942; Returned 5/13/1942
Erie #3081 became B&M #2805 Leased 4/1942; Returned 6/1942
The B&M referred to them as Class N-1. The thing I haven't figured out is why the B&M went through the trouble of moving the bell from the top of the boiler to the top of the pilot beam and put the B&M herald on the tender. As you can see from the above list, the B&M didn't have them for very long! I have seen a photo of this class of Mikado while still in Erie garb and the bell didn't seem to pose any clearence issues as they seemed to be below the steam domes, etc.
The B&M used them on freight service between Boston and White River Jct, VT on the New Hampshire Division. I have a friend who worked in one of the B&M Towers in Boston back in the day and he remembered the "Erie Mikes" very well. He said that you could hear them coming 15 minutes before they came into view, as the rods had a lot of slop in them. The other drawback is that they had the Vanderbilt tenders that necessitated the need to stop and water up more often between Boston and WRJ than a standard tender.
My interest in the "Erie Mikes" is that they used to ply the rails a few blocks from where I lived in West Medford, Mass. They were the only 2-8-2's that the B&M ever had and the only B&M locomotives that had Vanderbilt tenders. We have Albert G. Hale to thank for taking the only known photos of them while they were on the B&M. In fact all of the photos he took of the "Erie Mikes" were in West Medford. The only photo that Al Hale didn't take was the #2801, which was taken by John Kendall on the turntable at the Westboro (West Lebanon, NH) enginehouse, right across the river from WRJ, VT. Most of these photos are in Harry Frye's book, Minuteman Steam, which was published by the Boston & Maine RR Historical Society.
My question is what happened to the above 2-8-2's once they were returned to the Erie? Were they shopped or altered after they came back from the B&M? Where did they primarily run on the Erie? Are there any photos of the above locomotives in Erie livery especially of #3150? When was their final disposition? Are there any Erie 2-8-2's of this class still around or are they all gone? Any insights would be much appreciated.
Dave "eriemike"
The story on the B&M side is that in 1942, the B&M was going through a motive power shortage and placed into service the five following Mikados:
Erie #3127 became B&M #2801 Leased 4/1942; Returned 6/1942
Erie #3001 became B&M #2802 Leased 4/1942; Returned 5/13/1942
Erie #3150 became B&M #2803 Leased 4/1942; Returned 5/13/1942
Erie #3069 became B&M #2804 Leased 4/1942; Returned 5/13/1942
Erie #3081 became B&M #2805 Leased 4/1942; Returned 6/1942
The B&M referred to them as Class N-1. The thing I haven't figured out is why the B&M went through the trouble of moving the bell from the top of the boiler to the top of the pilot beam and put the B&M herald on the tender. As you can see from the above list, the B&M didn't have them for very long! I have seen a photo of this class of Mikado while still in Erie garb and the bell didn't seem to pose any clearence issues as they seemed to be below the steam domes, etc.
The B&M used them on freight service between Boston and White River Jct, VT on the New Hampshire Division. I have a friend who worked in one of the B&M Towers in Boston back in the day and he remembered the "Erie Mikes" very well. He said that you could hear them coming 15 minutes before they came into view, as the rods had a lot of slop in them. The other drawback is that they had the Vanderbilt tenders that necessitated the need to stop and water up more often between Boston and WRJ than a standard tender.
My interest in the "Erie Mikes" is that they used to ply the rails a few blocks from where I lived in West Medford, Mass. They were the only 2-8-2's that the B&M ever had and the only B&M locomotives that had Vanderbilt tenders. We have Albert G. Hale to thank for taking the only known photos of them while they were on the B&M. In fact all of the photos he took of the "Erie Mikes" were in West Medford. The only photo that Al Hale didn't take was the #2801, which was taken by John Kendall on the turntable at the Westboro (West Lebanon, NH) enginehouse, right across the river from WRJ, VT. Most of these photos are in Harry Frye's book, Minuteman Steam, which was published by the Boston & Maine RR Historical Society.
My question is what happened to the above 2-8-2's once they were returned to the Erie? Were they shopped or altered after they came back from the B&M? Where did they primarily run on the Erie? Are there any photos of the above locomotives in Erie livery especially of #3150? When was their final disposition? Are there any Erie 2-8-2's of this class still around or are they all gone? Any insights would be much appreciated.
Dave "eriemike"
