Never turn down a gift

Here's a quick clean-up.  There's a guy hanging out the front door of the baggage car.  I can't make out the lettering on the engine, but it appears to be numeric.

Ponz

This very cool

I see a simple (not cross-compound) air brake compressor. Each car has a stack for a coal-fired heating stove. Under-car trusses indicates wood frames. Based on these bits I'm thinking turn of the century.

I can't tell if the headlight is electric or kerosene.

The locomotive has a Belpaire firebox.

That's all I got.

The Belpaire leads me to propose either PRR or B&O or a predecessor, although other RR's had Belpaires at times, including GN.  If turn of the century, probably an east coast image?

Illinois Central had Belpaire fireboxes, too.  And 4-6-0's (ala Casey Jones).

This is a really cool find and I hope you can find more information on it.  With a quick Google image search I found several images of Canadian National 4-6-0s with similar sand/steam dome, headlight placement and stack style.  The tender styling with the sloped edges is also similar.

Seeing the few visible trees are evergreens (pines, maybe) might be another clue as to location.

The first car is obviously a baggage/RPO based on the four windows and stack for a coal-fired heating stove. With a heated RPO I think we can eliminate the Deep South as the location.

@geysergazer posted:

The first car is obviously a baggage/RPO based on the four windows and stack for a coal-fired heating stove. With a heated RPO I think we can eliminate the Deep South as the location.

You mean they never have winter in the "Deep South"???? Some of the coldest winters I've ever experienced was in Jacksonville, Fla, when we lived there (Sept. 1967 thru Nov. 1971). When it's 37 or 40 degrees F, with a humidity of about 90%, it felt colder than the nice dry winters in the Wyoming coal fields.

Just a thought, scanner would not focus on the glass so if you have access to a light box, or use white paper behind the negative that is back lighted, use a digital camera to take a photo of the negative, post it here if you don't have reverse software. Cameras with over 12 megapixels make fast great scanners.

I'm not seeing any eccentric crank, so Stephenson valve gear. I'll agree with the 4-6-0 wheel arrangement assessment. Would the sloped sides of the tender be indicative of a wood burner, or converted wood burner? I also do not see any tell-tale exhaust stream on top that would indicate an electric generator. But that could be located elsewhere. I'll guess kerosene lamp.

Chris

LVHR

Just a thought, but perhaps the details of the passenger cars would give an additional indication of the decade or time period, as they seem a bit clearer in the photo than the engine.

By the way, what are the turn-wheels for that stick out of the tops of the cars?  Are they for breaking, or coupling and uncoupling.

Mannyrock

If you are talking about the "T" shaped items on top of the first 2 cars, they are smoke jacks for stoves inside the cars. Brake handle wheels are typically on the bulkheads of the cars, or the platforms of older cars. Given the turnbuckle style tension bars underneath the floor, I suspect these are wooden cars.

Chris

LVHR

It's obvious the cars are wooden. The locomotive is clearly a 4-6-0 (common passenger power in the 1890s), and it’s burning coal, because it has a shotgun stack and an extended smokebox. It has Stephenson valve gear, and square steam chests housing D slide valves. The domes are “teapot” style, which first appeared in the early- to mid-1880s, and were in use through the early 1900s, but were most commonly associated with locomotives built in the 1890s. It’s doubtful the headlight’s electric. Even if it was, it probably wouldn’t be on, therefore no generator exhaust. However, I’ve never seen a generator on a locomotive with teapot domes, so I’m going with kerosene. And whoever thinks it’s warm all the time in the South in winter is nuts.