Steam & Excursion > Fantrip Steam... Wouldn't You Want To Be There?

Wouldn't you love to have been along for this trip?

We have arrived from Chicago at Clinton, Illinois, with a railfan excursion.  Riders are detraining and fanning out through the Illinois Central's yard and engine terminal.  Imagine the sweaty brows and hand-wringing in the legal department at the mere suggestion of such a thing toady!

Pulling our train to Clinton has been a Paducah rebuilt locomotive that is nearly brand-new: 4-8-2 Mountain #2500.  This locomotive was released from the Paducah shops in March, 1937, after being rebuilt from 2-10-2 #2953.  It has had six months of testing and service by the time of this trip on September 26th.  In addition to the I.C.'s newest dual-service power, Consolidation #774, Atlantics #1018 and #1014 and Pacific #1092 stand by on the adjacent tracks, awaiting inspection by a trainload of admirers.

From Clinton, a pair of Consolidations would take the train over secondary trackage to Champaign, where 4-6-4 rebuild #1 would take over the train for the third leg of the excursion back to Chicago.

While that Hudson would be a one-off experiment that met with only limited success, #2500 would be followed by another 55 such rebuilds and 20 refined Mountains built from the ground up at Paducah.  As for #2500 herself, she would become one of only five Illinois Central road locomotives to be saved.  She sits undercover and well cared for in a park at Centralia, Illinois.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

---

The first photo was scanned from the original negative; the following are from prints of the same day.

1.  Consolidations #718 and #774 have been coupled to the train for the run to Champaign.

2.  Hot Rail!  Here comes the Green Diamond on the northbound run.  This green articulated streamliner was latest thing in 1937!  Who knew the internal combustion onslaught that would follow in another 15 years.

3.  Now at Champaign, Hudson #1 (rebuilt from 2-8-4 #7038) takes water before taking her place at the head of the excursion.

What a way to spend the day!

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

---

---

---

Those are some classic photos. Thanks for posting. The unique Hudson has an appropriate number! What is the large pipe runnig back along the boiler from the smoke box on #1?

Tom

UP3806 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Those are some classic photos. Thanks for posting.
> The unique Hudson has an appropriate number! What
> is the large pipe runnig back along the boiler
> from the smoke box on #1?
>
> Tom

Probably superheated steam supply to the turret.

Superior steam posting! Add in the "Green Diamond" and this is a set to remember for a long time.
Bob

Is it too late to buy tickets?
Steve Lee, a huge IC steam fan told me years ago that someone was tweaking on the 1 spot and just about had her dialed in when IC gave up on her.
She started life as a Lima "superpower" 2-8-4. Surely a different looking Hudson.

Oh, for a time machine!

All nice, Mary.  Thanks very much.  Love them.

Craig Hanson
Vay, Idaho

Frisco1522 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is it too late to buy tickets?
> Steve Lee, a huge IC steam fan told me years ago
> that someone was tweaking on the 1 spot and just
> about had her dialed in when IC gave up on her.

That would be John L. McIntyre, road foreman engines at Clinton.

#1 had a factor of adhesion of 3.63 when she was first rebuilt, along with a tractive effort of 68,288 lbs.  The equalization was adjusted, which helped some, but the main change to reduce the locomotive's slippery tendencies was to reduce the cylinder bore from 27" to 24".  While this greatly improved the adhesion factor to 4.6, it reduced tractive effort to 53,956 lbs; roughly the same as one of the railroad's heavy Pacifics.  The railroad decided that a rebuild in-kind would be a better allocation of resources, and the remaining fifty Limas were rebuilt as the 8000 series 2-8-4's.

Renumbered 2499 in 1945, the lone Hudson finished up on Kentucky Division passenger trains before being retired and scrapped in 1949.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

Thanks Mary, its been a long time since Steve told me that and he included the name of the guy.  Sometimes I get afflicted with CRS.

Frisco1522 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sometimes I get afflicted with CRS.

That why I tried Phillips' "Milk of Amnesia!"

Now if I could only remember where I left the bottle...

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

Milk of amnesia?  Betcha lost a lot more than indicated.  However, what is left if pretty darn good from what I read.  You musta been something else in the old days!