STEAMday Sunday 2/9/2025 edition

Boston & Albany 2-8-4 #1401 is a model of a Lima Berkshire freight engine – the first of its type to enter service. The “Berkshire” name was taken from the hills in western Massachusetts crossed by the Boston & Albany railroad where the locomotive was first tested and where fifty-five B&A production engines later ran.

It’s a recently released Lionel Legacy model (2231340) 26-½ inches in length that runs on O-54. The model’s details include a huge firebox, feedwater heater, superheater and piping, large B&A square sandbox, steam turret, booster engine on the rear truck, and booster exhaust stack just ahead of the main stack. The backhead detail also is excellent.

The Berkshire locomotives greatly outperformed the B&A Mikados and Consolidations that came before them. Berkshire #1401 was delivered from Lima in February 1926. It had 63-inch driving wheels, ran at 240 pounds-per-square-inch steam pressure, and weighed 389,000 pounds. Tractive effort was 69,400 pounds and 81,400 pounds with booster. #1401 was scrapped in February 1949.

Photos and video were taken on my 12’-by-8’ layout.

MELGAR

Here’s a Raritan  Copper Works #2 Porter steam engine hauling coal. With a Raritan Copper Works bay window caboose on the Tailend.

The 1st run of the Lionel Legacy 4-6-0s hauling giraffes for the Bronx Zoo this past week…..

Have a great and safe week, everyone….safe travels to all with this upcoming weather mess this week….

Peter

Switcher Saturday and STEAMday Sunday are my 2 favorite threads, and this engine is a steam switcher so I needed to decide which of those threads to choose for this video.

As you can see, I chose this thread.

This MTH PS3 Long Island B6 is the perfect steam switcher for my layout with its 031 curves. It never derails, has great smoke and sounds,  and also looks great. It also has very good heft for pulling power. Here it’s pulling numerous Lionel operating milk cars and others:

Arnold

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

The video below shows a K Line Boston & Albany tank engine hauling passenger cars:

I have it running on cruise and I’m please with its slow speed and smoke output.

Arnold, nice looking engine. I always liked the larger tank engine style, similar to my smaller 0-6-0t. I’d like to see a reissue in the future.

Gene

Hello StDaySun fans!  It’s snowing in Central MA this morning, so it’s a perfect time to sit on the couch with my iPad and enjoy seeing the steamers you guys have posted.  Snow cleanup can wait!

Arnold and Mel, seeing your B&A engines motivated me to postpone the content I originally planned today.  I decided to follow your lead and post my K-line B&A 4-6-6T instead; you may recall my engine has been converted to MTH PS3 from its original basic operating and sound system.  K-line used to offer two systems at different price points, much like MTH did with their Railking and Premier lines.

We don’t see many B&A engines on the Forum.  If any of you steam fans reading the Forum today have one, I’d like to see it!

John

@Steam Crazy posted:

Hello StDaySun fans!  It’s snowing in Central MA this morning, so it’s a perfect time to sit on the couch with my iPad and enjoy seeing the steamers you guys have posted.  Snow cleanup can wait!

Arnold and Mel, seeing your B&A engines motivated me to postpone the content I originally planned today.  I decided to follow your lead and post my K-line B&A 4-6-6T instead; you may recall my engine has been converted to MTH PS3 from its original basic operating and sound system.  K-line used to offer two systems at different price points, much like MTH did with their Railking and Premier lines.

We don’t see many B&A engines on the Forum.  If any of you steam fans reading the Forum today have one, I’d like to see it!

John

John, thanks for your above post. I did not know this K Line B&A tank engine can be upgraded to PS3 running on DCS, which is, by far, my favorite operating system.

My K line B&A runs OK but not great. I would love mine to be converted to PS3.

The K-Line tank engine is a beautifully detailed model.

I also noticed that you, John, also have yours pulling very nice B&A passenger cars.

Arnold

This is a repeat posting but, worth revisiting.

Below is a video of the unveiling and first run of the Great Northeastern Railway's (GNR) first road steam engine. It will be the motive power for our planned flagship, luxury passenger train, the "Chazanooga Choo Choo", named for the GNR's first Chairman of the "Bored", the late Chaz Harrison.

Arnold, right you are about the B&A tank engine being a beautiful model.  I believe K-line produced models that were the equal of, or better than, competing MTH or Lionel engines.  That includes a B&A 2-8-4 Berkshire - from which Mel’s model was derived - as well as a NYC Hudson, which some people regard as the gold standard of O gauge Hudson models (wish I owned one).

I guess, if you have the skill - which I definitely do not - you could install PS3 in just about any engine.  I use an MTH technician located in Oxford, MA.  He has also installed PS3 in my Atlas 0-6-0 and several MTH units.  I’ll send you has contact info via email.

John

@Steam Crazy posted:

Arnold, right you are about the B&A tank engine being a beautiful model.  I believe K-line produced models that were the equal of, or better than, competing MTH or Lionel engines.  That includes a B&A 2-8-4 Berkshire - from which Mel’s model was derived - as well as a NYC Hudson, which some people regard as the gold standard of O gauge Hudson models (wish I owned one).

I guess, if you have the skill - which I definitely do not - you could install PS3 in just about any engine.  I use an MTH technician located in Oxford, MA.  He has also installed PS3 in my Atlas 0-6-0 and several MTH units.  I’ll send you has contact info via email.

John

How nice, thanks John. Arnold

THIS IS STEAM DAY!

Well its 1948 and French Hornby (Mecanno) production is just about returning to normal.  One of the early offerings for after the war is shown below.  This is a French Hornby, Type O-E (the E stands for "electric") offerings, She is an 0-4-0 Tender Type locomotive using their 20 volt motor.  This color scheme (either dark maroon or brown, hard to tell) was one of the first but she came in other colors as the post war period continued.  She is "SNCF" (Societe' Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais) hence post dates the nationalization of railroads in France.  Even though 77 years old, she runs fine and can easily pull her 3-5 car passenger consist around my mostly flat layout.

Sorry, its Europe in 1948...No smoke & No whistle !  She is however a smooth runner and pulls easily.

Here she is on an evening run with her passenger consist.

Best wishes for "Steamday Sunday"  Hope you have a wonderful week.

Don

Arnold thanks once again for keeping the boiler pressure up and getting us steaming down the tracks this morning!  Your tank engine looks absolutely terrific, as does Steam Crazy John's!   I regret not purchasing one when I had the chance.  K line certainly hit a home run with this locomotive

Here's a group of photos showing my B&O Docksider working on the Mountain Division of the Free State Junction Railway.  

Rounding the bend at Hagert's Farm.

Crossing the grade at Hagert Farm Road.

Hobo Harry, must be really bummed for doesn't even notice the Docksider trundling by directly behind him.  

Crossing the Bollman Truss Bridge that spans Lake Christopher.

The CN Mountain steamer providing "full smoke" on this chilly winter's day...

Here's my Fathers turbine that was under the tree every christmas. I restored it several years  ago. The motor was rewound by Bob Hannon.