Model Railroading > A Roundhouse in East Oakland many years Ago ..

In the basement of an old Victorian home in the Fruitvale District of East Oakland, CA--
Four Southern Pacific steam locomotives quietly rest in their respective roundhouse stalls, awaiting the call to duty by the Roundhouse foreman.

Two P-4's, an MK-4 and a MK-6. SP 2-8-0 # 2753 and SP 0-6-0 # 1207 are already out on the line somewhere tending to required duties.

The P-4 at the far left of photo is currently on display in a glass case in my dining room--
it was built in 1929 (some 85 years ago)...

For some fourteen years, my bedroom was upstairs, right above this roundhouse !

KRK

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In this view, the Hostler is fueling the Mikado's tender with water. This was before the two "Mikes" were custom painted by the SP.

The Hostler is also the builder.. (Vic Shattock)
(Notice the formal attire-- including Vest and Tie.)

KRK



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/09/14 10:13 by KeyRouteKen.

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Here is SP P-4 # 2422 on the Turntable. Built in 1929, it currently sits proudly on display in a glass case in my home !

KRK

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That is some incredible modelling and imagine getting dressed up for the photo. Compare that to the beer gutted t-shirt photos we see from shows around the world.

What happened to the rest of his locomotives and rolling stock?

Rick

rschonfelder Wrote:
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> That is some incredible modelling and imagine
> getting dressed up for the photo. Compare that to
> the beer gutted t-shirt photos we see from shows
> around the world.
>
> What happened to the rest of his locomotives and
> rolling stock?
>
> Rick

Rick-- Vic did NOT dress up for the photos.. He dressed this way most of the time. Sometimes, in the basement, he would wear his shop coat-- a lot of times NOT.. Just his British upbringing I suppose!

Most of the engines and rolling stock were sold to interested parties.

KRK

I'm going to add to this thread with a photo of one of the locomotives that Victor Shattock built along with another live steamer who wanted a B&O President Class Pacific. I was lucky enough to acquire it about a year ago. Although Vic Shattock originally built the locomotive with his specially designed alcohol vaporizing burner, by the time I got it, it had been converted to burn coal. Coal is fun to burn, but the boilers that Mr. Shattock built were riveted and caulked with soft solder which one must not allow to overheat, and coal can cause overheating. So, one of the things that I did was convert it back to the original design by building an alcohol burner (following Vic Shattock's design). I might add, that design works incredibly well!. I also added a fuel tank to the tender and made some minor repairs.

Being a Western railroad fan, the B&O livery was not that appealing to me and upon closer examination, I noticed many details on the locomotive that did not accurately represent the President Class. The partial paint and partial brass also bugged me so I thought, since Vic Shattock also modeled Western railroads (Southern Pacific), he wouldn't mind if the locomotive became AT&SF. While it also varies from the AT&SF 3400 class in several areas, it does come close enough that I can live with it.

Like others here on trainorders.com, I was curious about what happened to all the fabulous equipment that those very skilled people built in the early days of the hobby and why we don't see them anymore. So I feel it is my duty to not keep this locomotive "under glass" in a private display cabinet, but to let all those interested see the magnificent workmanship that went into this loco. Therefore, anyone who would like to see this locomotive in person, has an open invitation to come to my house in the Los Angeles area to see it. Just PM me to arrange a time.

Warren Weiss

Photo #1: Current picture
Photo #2: About one year ago

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Hi Warren,

Nice job on the refurb. Glad to see an engine of that vintage operational.

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