Re: Baldwin Builders numbers and a Bell mystery

Phillip,

You are no more speechless that I was when I saw the numbers. I knew instinctively that it was a narrow gauge 2-6-2, which left me very few to choose from to start with. I immediately suspected either 23 or 24. When I looked it up and saw it was the 24 I was flat out on the floor. Then we had to figure it out. I knew that it was the bell that was removed from the Meridian #202, since two of the men that removed the bells both told me the same story and identified which bell came off of each locomotive, and they had been correct on the first two, thus, in the end we came up with the idea that the bells had been substituted at Baldwin.

There is another story, but it is really a far out rumor. There has been some talk that the bell which was stolen off of the 202 was traced to a "collector" in Southern California, and with the Crowell family connections in Los Angeles, a couple of the family members, accompanied by local law enforcement persuaded the "collector" that it would be wise to return the bell to the family. Were that true, they could have simply been given ANY bell, which turned out to be this one. Unfortunately, none of the family members who are still alive (and would have been in their late 20's at the time of the theft) have any recollection of anyone going to California and retrieving a bell, thus it is more likely that they simply picked up the bell from #204 and put it on #202.