Steam & Excursion > A day at the ATT&NW

Got invited to a weekend at the ATT&NW Ry near Steelville, MO. and was able to spend one day there. An incredible place with miles of track, and an 800' tunnel. The star attraction was the 801, a nearly 20,000lb. live steamer burning reclaimed jet fuel.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/14 11:44 by ddg.

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WOW! Beautiful. Is that 3" Scale (1/4 size)?

Also, what does the "ATT&NW" stand for?

15" gauge, operating signals and a double track mainline.

HotWater Wrote:
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> WOW! Beautiful. Is that 3" Scale (1/4 size)?
>
> Also, what does the "ATT&NW" stand for?


The Arborway, TT and Northwestern. Looks like there is a bunch of videos on youtube and here is the website http://arborwayrailroad.com/index.html

Whoa, that is incredible! If there is a line between live steam and narrow gauge railroad I guess this must be it!

I suppose my dream must be getting rich enough to build something like this! :)

I see the diesel has been saved from Glen Bell's (of Taco Bell Restaurants) Bell Gardens line in California.

Now I know where it went.

--Jim Baker LALS

The locomotive is closer to 4" scale, it's not a direct translation from standard gauge onto 15" gauge track. It's I believe the largest 15" gauge steam locomotive ever built. Was made by Darrel Klompmaker of Merrick Light Railway Equipment Works in Wisconsin.

before John Woods passed away, he was in negotiations to have a string of modern looking enclosed coaches built to go with it. each one would have been complete with heating and A/C.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

Spoony81 Wrote:
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> HotWater Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > WOW! Beautiful. Is that 3" Scale (1/4 size)?
> >
> > Also, what does the "ATT&NW" stand for?
>
>
> The Arborway, TT and Northwestern.

OK, but now what does the "TT" stand for? Hopefully NOT "Toy Train"! Those beauties sure are NOT toys.

I could be wrong, but I think TT was the mother of the late John Woods. She was known as TT.

"TT" stands for "Tee Tee" Woods...the late mother of ATT&NW builder John R. Woods. As the railway web site explains, Marjorie "Tee Tee" Woods greatly influenced design and construction of the railway.

David R. Busse, member of ATT&NW board of directors.

Posted from iPhone

Thanks David. Now THAT makes perfect sense.

Harlock Wrote:
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Was made by
> Darrel Klompmaker of Merrick Light Railway
> Equipment Works in Wisconsin.
>

Darrel also built this 18" 4-6-2 for the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad in Los Gatos, CA.

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A few more photos, including an upper and lower of the cab interior while they were building steam in the morning at the roundhouse. This engine has a steam air pump, air brakes, and they use reduction type air brakes on all the cars.

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I was there on October 04 with about forty other people. Truly an amazing place. What an extreme tragedy that owner John Woods was killed in a motorcycle accident. I never met him but he was an amazing man. The place would probably be about three times larger now as only Phase One was built before his untimely death. He had grand plans for more equally-impressive steam locomotives and Phases Two and Three were to feature huge cuts and fills, wood trestles and tall steel bridges.

Fun to ride behind 801, and listen to it go to work on those 2% grades. Coming down, the air brakes get a pretty good work out.

Posted from Android

In the 3rd photo, it looks like the trailing truck on that 4-8-4 does not carry any loco weight? I see a lot of space between it and the firebox?

Thanks!

I noticed that as well, but it is sprung, and supports some load at the front where it pivots, and looks like a bit more at the tail end.

The Confederate flag on the pilot pretty much rules out my wanting to visit.....

1. 801 and train leave Woodsvalley station for the run down the railway's scenic Meramec River Subdivision.
2. 801 and train, running uphill, emerges from the south portal of the 800-foot Ozark Mountain Tunnel, one of two bores on the railway's main line. Ozark Mountain tunnel is protected by ABS signal system, the same used by main line railroads.
3. 801 meets an uphill freight powered by one of the railway's ex-Bell Gardens "F" units at Miller Gate, where double-track becomes single track for the Ozark Mountain tunnel.
Three photos by David R. Busse



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/14 22:11 by Alco251.

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1. The railway's special guest for Friends Weekend, 2014 was 8 year-old railfan Jonathan Dockins of Jackson, MO. Several months before his visit, Jonathan made headlines when "Make-A-Wish" helped the young heart patient fulfill a dream of running Amtrak's "California Zephyr" over Donner Pass. He spent a day on the ATT&NW in main line train service, including several hours as engineer in Mojave Southern RR. #2, one of two 15" gauge diesels built in California and trucked to Missouri for a week of test running on ATT&NW's main line grades.
2. ATT&NW owns much of the rolling stock from Glen Bell's "Bell Gardens Railway" in San Diego County, CA. As a tribute to the Bell family, Bell Gardens rolling stock is painted and lettered as received from California.
3. ATT&NW's #27 switches a boxcar at Woodsvalley Station. Loco and car are products of Hillcrest Shops in Reedley, CA.
See http://www.arborwayrailroad.com for a complete railway roster.
Three photos by David R. Busse



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/14 22:11 by Alco251.

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