Strasburg Railroad #90

It's been to many years since I've been out to Strasburg.  Thanks for sharing!

Tony

Superb operation !  A shop tour is always good, too !

I posted some photos of #90 and other Strasburg steamers from past years in this week's mid-week photos thread.

thanks for sharing, great locomotive and operation.

Mike,

  Thanks for posting it. Nicely done.

Tom

#90 is a national treasure. And a real beauty. Perfect weight and tractive effort for Strasburg.

Small quibble.....I liked her a bit more (oh, say 2%!) when she had an extended smokebox that jutted out. My bet would be that 90 received that when she was rebuilt in the Burlington's Denver shop following a collision with a truck which caused extensive damage. Which would follow Burlington practice (for burning lignite coal).   Her whistle sounds suspiciously Burlington, too, but someone may refute that, source-wise!

mark s posted:

#90 is a national treasure. And a real beauty. Perfect weight and tractive effort for Strasburg.

Small quibble.....I liked her a bit more (oh, say 2%!) when she had an extended smokebox that jutted out. My bet would be that 90 received that when she was rebuilt in the Burlington's Denver shop following a collision with a truck which caused extensive damage. Which would follow Burlington practice (for burning lignite coal).   Her whistle sounds suspiciously Burlington, too, but someone may refute that, source-wise!

The only info I can find is the smokebox extension was added in 1940 for the burning of lignite.  Strasburg removed the extension in 1993 to improve drafting.  They're not burning lignite out there in the wilds of Pennsylvania after all. 

I'm with the 98%, I think it looks better without the extension.

At least, nobody's calling #90 a Russian Decapod (so far...)

Rusty

Rusty is correct. Having spoken with many employees who are friends of mine at SRC the extension caused the locomotive to draft very poorly.

Additionally, the whistle used on 90 is a Reading 6-chime. That whistle has been on her since I can remember and I've seen videos from back in the 80s and 90s and she still has that same whistle. Occasionally, she wears a PRR hooter, but that is rare.

Mike,

    In several other posts which asked "What should the next Vision Line product be?) I have suggested a Vision Line Strasburg Vision Line passenger set with a scale number 90 with steam whistle, blow down effects etc. and matching Strasburg passenger cars even a station sounds car with the announcements for the bridge (raise your feet) and the ghost train whistle. I think your video proves my point, thanks for posting. Strasburg is always on my summer plans.

JohnB

John,

I sure wish! I would definitely be a buyer for a Visionline or Legacy with whistle steam model of #90. Only thing I could foresee is that it is so particular to a certain railroad that there probably won't be lots of buyers.

Mike, Your video A+. I love number 90.  Thanks John

"Particular to a certain railroad"?...Just letter the model for the Great Western who originally owned and operated it, and hit the truck with it, and I will be a buyer!  (there are two roadnames , Strasburg, and Great Western, they could offer it in)  They can pack it with a good model of one of those former FEC cabooses the GW ran behind her and I will jump on it.  MTH did a Russian decapod...somebody do THIS Baldwin decapod...

Think #90 is a Baldwin catalogue 2-10-0, meaning a design built generally for short line/secondary railroad use. Examples beyond Great Western would include Alabama, Tennessee & Northern/Charleston & Western Carolina Ry/Durham & Southern/Georgia, Florida & Alabama Ry/Gainesville Midland Ry/Kansas City, Mexico & Orient/Gulf, Mobile & Northern RR (later, GM&O)/Midland Valley RR/Woodward Iron Co/Seaboard Air Line (500-519). Some of these cited were built by American Locomotive, but have very similar weight and dimensions to Baldwin's version. Hence a specific #90 and a generic version would have fairly wide geopgraphic dispersal, model-wise.

Interesting tidbit:  "Troughout the world, the 2-10-0 was probably the most accepted freight locomotive for freight service, with more then 30,000 built"  (excerpted from Robert LeMassena's "Age of the Decapods")

Great pics and video!  I was working at the museum across the road yesterday, and went across the road for my lunch break to see #90 head out for the last run of the day.  

It was great to see her out and running again!  The first steam locomotive I ever saw running was #90, when visiting Strasburg in the 1970's.  Always good to see her!

#90 holds a special place for me....

During a family trip to Amish country my Dad somehow got permission for me to ride in the cab of the #90 with the engineer and fireman. I have some great pictures of that day. They did make me earn my keep by shoveling coal.

Would absolutely love to have a scale model of this engine.

Paul

Well, hooray!  I am not the only one who likes this engine and wants a model of it....with all the attention it gets on the Strasburg, and across the road from the well visited railroad museum of Pa., it is surprising to me that it has not long since been created in three rail.  (even if they only did it in Strasburg, I already have custom Great Western decals for it)

Heck, Sunset 3rd Rail has already done N&W 4-8-0 #475 !!  And I could also go for a Canadian National 0-6-0 and 2-6-0, in addition to #90 !!

Railrunnin posted:

#90 holds a special place for me....

During a family trip to Amish country my Dad somehow got permission for me to ride in the cab of the #90 with the engineer and fireman. I have some great pictures of that day. They did make me earn my keep by shoveling coal.

Would absolutely love to have a scale model of this engine.

Paul

Wow that's definitely a memory to not be forgotten. SRC nowadays RARELY lets non-SRC workers into the cab of any locomotive. Personally, I would like to see them change that policy and offer full trip cab rides, but I completely understand why they don't.

The only way you can climb up into the cab is during the summer months on their early morning hostler tours.

Here's a bit more history on #90, gleaned from Gary Morgan's "Sugar Tramp, Colorado's Great Western Ry". She was one of 22 "light decapods" built by Baldwin for half a dozen railroads between 1924 and 1933. The first two class 12-42F decapods went to the Georgia, Florida & Alabama; #90 was 3rd one built.  One attractive feature of this design was that it could run on 56 lb rail, then in common usage on American shortlines. #90 was the most accident prone of GW's locomotives, having been involved in half a dozen accidents plus the fire that consummed the Loveland roundhouse. She was rebuilt so many times that she hardly resembled her appearance at the time of her construction. The extended smokebox, which all GW locomotives had, was the product of burning lignite during WW II. She was hit a number of times by trucks, one of which resulted in 90's fireman's death in 1944, and two truck drivers (1944 and 1956).

Fascinating Mark S. I never knew the Ghostly hauntings of #90. I wonder if there were haunting issues at her home in Strasburg. 

One never knows this could be the "Christine" of the steam locomotives.

Don't recall any accidents for #90 at Strasburg. There aren't too  many road crossings plus half the traffic is relatively harmless buggies!

Part 2 to the return of SRC #90: