Re: Waimanalo Sugar Co #2

Ted,

Waimanalo Sugar #3 (later 2nd #2) was built in 1907 with c/n 30340 and received a new BLW boiler in 1937 under XO-295. The boiler carried this XO plate when Ward acquired the locomotive. See Sugar Trains, 1973, by Jesse C. Condé with Gerald M. Best, section on the Waimanalo pp364-376. Page 374 has a series of photos of this locomotive in the years 1923, 1946 and then early in Ward's ownership. Ward numbered the locomotive Grizzly Flats #1.

Ward wanted an older looking locomotive and he had the locomotive remodeled. The boiler was placed higher above the frame, the saddle tank was removed, the sand dome replaced, and a rear tanked added. Then to go along with the remodeling Ward and his friend Gerald Best created a boiler plate using the number of a similar looking engine from the 1880s. This plate carried the c/n 6944 and the date September 1883.

This plate and the information given out fooled a generation or more of locomotive historians:

U. S. Steam Locomotive Directory, 1967, by Victor Koenigsberg.
The Steam Locomotive Directory of North America, 1988, by J. David Conrad.

And even today on the page of for this locomotive on Steam Locomotive Information carries the erroneous information. And this even though a correction was posted under the notes section.

Brian Norden



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2017 10:58PM by Brian Norden.