During World War I the Western Maryland Railway received 10 surplus 2-10-0 steam
locomotives all built by Baldwin Locomotive Works. These “Russian Decapods” were
originaly part of a larger order placed by Imperial Russia with American
locomotive builders Baldwin and Alco. But the onset of the Bolshevik revolution
in 1917, stranded nearly 200 of these locomotives either awaiting shipment or in
the process of construction. These locomotives were adopted by the United States
Railroad Administration (USRA), the body created by the Government to oversee
and control the railroads during the War, converted to American standards, and
put to use on American railroads.They were well liked by the WM crews for their
good steaming, easy firing, and good ride qualities. The “Russian Decks” lasted
until 1950/51 when they were finally retired and sold for scrap.
I’ve been a huge fan of the Western Maryland but it’s taken me a while to get
around to building a WM steam engine. I wanted to put as much effort into detail
on this engine as I could. I also wanted to incorporate the new Power Functions
system. The PF system allowed me to ditch a bulky more traditional 9v motor
under the tender and use smaller brick built trucks. The tender houses the
rechargeable battery box and the I.R. receiver. A medium Power Functions motor
is hidden in the fire box and geared to the drivers.
Your attention to detail is always amazing! This loco seems to be a great use for BBB medium drivers. I have to also say that it looks very impressive against Jeramy's Dark Red roundhouse. I had fun helping out with their layout and running my PF (...) (15 years ago, 16-Aug-09, to lugnet.trains)
(...) Another masterpiece. Cale, if you had any problems at BW, it was that you brought too many excellent works. Benn (15 years ago, 22-Aug-09, to lugnet.trains, FTX)
