Just three years ago, someone sent me pictures of a 3ft guage Porter 0-4-0T formerly owned by Levinos Shipping; that was found in a warehouse in Philadelphia. It's builder's number is 7032/1926; after carefully studying J. David Conrads
Directory of North American Steam Locomotives, Wes Barris and my own list; I can only conclude that this is a new discovery. In a warehouse. On dry land. Near a major urban area. (It was also a complete locomotive; and not just a partial wreck.)
I do believe that some lost locomotives, like the one Clive Cussler searched for awhile back, were later recovered and scrapped. Others may be old observations who details have been obscured over time; and the engine in question has since been found and scrapped or moved elsewhere. Others were nothing but stories weaved by their tellers around a campfire or over a beer.
But to assume even in this Internet day and age that all have been found; and that all those lost locomotive stories are urban legends, is to make a mistake.
I have also been shown pictures taken of the remains of former New York Elevated Forney on the shore of Lake Verret, and told about a firsthand encounter with what was probably a Garyville Northern RR ex-NYE Forney in the woods of Louisiana. The person telling me about the last one saw it as child; his father who took him to see it while hunting is not able to get about now; and he has no idea just where it was. I hoped to get a glance of a Garyville Northern shay said to be sunk in Hope Canal E. of Hwy 61, nr. Garyville; but even during a recent drought, you would need a boat and maybe some diving gear to find it. There have been many other confirmed discoveries I have found out about over the years.
And one falsehood -- an Erie Railroad Pacific, sent to South Korea during the Korean war, and said to still be plinthed near the DMZ in Korea. Repeated efforts to find it have all turned up empty.
-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a
Surviving World Steam Project- New Address!
International Stationary Steam Engine Society
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/09/2009 02:07PM by survivingworldsteam.
