Steam & Excursion > Western Maryland H-7 Class

What are the specific physical differences between a real Western Maryland H-7 class vs the Western Maryland #734 in Cumberland Maryland?

The single largest difference is the tender. The WMRy H-7's only ever had 4 axle tenders. The H-9's were the only 2-8-0's on the WM roster to ever have six axle tenders. H-7's as built, had slide valves - later rebuilt with piston valves and super-heaters. There are other many other small differences that only a rivet counter is going to see (i.e. cylinder dia., boiler dia., curvature of the cab roof, exact location of air reservoirs, etc.) But 734 is a damn good stand in for a real WMRy 2-8-0.

Lerro984 Wrote:
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> What are the specific physical differences between
> a real Western Maryland H-7 class vs the Western
> Maryland #734 in Cumberland Maryland?


Railfan & Railroad magazine, November 1997, pp. 30-31, comments by Steve Barry: "The original 734, an H-7A class 2-8-0, was built by ALCo in 1911 and sported 60" drivers. By contrast, WMSR's 734 is a 1916 Baldwin product riding on 50" drivers, but the cosmetics . . . make it 'look right' even if it's about 20% too small."

http://photoswest.org:8080/cgi-bin/cw_cgi?fullRecord+27573+594+19768+7+0

http://photoswest.org:8080/cgi-bin/cw_cgi?fullRecord+27573+594+19850+19+0

http://photoswest.org:8080/cgi-bin/cw_cgi?fullRecord+27573+594+19857+21+0

> Railfan & Railroad magazine, November 1997, pp.
> 30-31, comments by Steve Barry: "The original
> 734, an H-7A class 2-8-0, was built by ALCo in
> 1911 and sported 60" drivers. By contrast, WMSR's
> 734 is a 1916 Baldwin product riding on 50"
> drivers, but the cosmetics . . . make it 'look
> right' even if it's about 20% too small."

734 rides on 57" drivers, not 50".

Another difference is in the cab numbering and tender lettering. The WMS 734 has larger and thicker numbering and lettering than the Western Maryland used back in the day. Hopefully, when 734 is due for a repainting, correct stencils or lettering diagrams can be obtained. The striping seems to be on the thick side as well when compared to WM steam power.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/10 22:01 by RBMN-ENGR.