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[MOC] Oregon Pacific & Eastern 19 - "Emperor of the North"
Glenn Holland posted a topic in LEGO Train Tech
My Favorite Be forewarned, this post will undoubtedly be lengthy. On April 9, 1915, Baldwin Locomotive Works completed serial number 42000, a 90 ton, 2-8-2 mikado locomotive (class 12-34-1/4-E-30) for the Caddo & Choctaw Railroad Company, subsidiary of Caddo River Lumber Company in Arkansas. Originally numbered 4 and named "R. L. Rowan," the engine served the logging industry until 1920 when it was converted to burn oil (instead of coal) and sent to Mexico. Upon arrival at the Compañía de Real del Monte y Pachuca, it was renumbered to 105. 105 operated northeast of Mexico City where silver mining was the main industry. In 1924, 105 was sold to the McCloud River Railroad, which would be home for nearly 30 years. Upon arrival at McCloud, shop forces found bullet holes in the boiler jacket. The rumor formed that the engine served with Pancho Villa during the revolution, however the revolution was over before the engine arrived in the country. The story stuck, and earned the engine the nickname "Pancho." McCloud renumbered the engine to 19 and upgraded the engine over its time there to roughly its current appearance. The 19 was involved in a three-way tender swap before leaving McCloud, and it ended up with the tender from the 18. 19 still uses this tender today, identifiable by a plate with welded letters reading "T-18" affixed to the tender frame. The original tender was scrapped along with the 16. The Yreka Western purchased 19 from McCloud in 1953 (and would later purchase the similar 18). The engines operated between Yreka and Montague where the road interchanged with Southern Pacific. In 1971, Yreka Western owner Willis Kyle purchased 51% of the Oregon Pacific & Eastern in Cottage Grove, Oregon. 19 was leased from Yreka to the OP&E and in 1971 began operating the "Blue Goose" excursion trains over the line using a large variety of passenger equipment. In 1972, "Emperor of the North" was filmed on the railroad, using a mix of OP&E equipment and some purchased specifically for the film. 19 carried the iconic "State of Oregon" herald on the tender, designed for appearance in the film, during this time and into as late as 1974. It was then repainted to use the "Blue Goose" logo used by other Kyle-owned roads. 19 continued to pull Blue Goose trains into the 1980s when Hollywood once again came to the line and parts of the coming-of-age classic "Stand By Me" were filmed. 19 appeared in the movie in the scene where Corey Feldman plays chicken with an oncoming train. In 1987, 19 returned to Yreka and continued to pull Blue Goose trains on this line, and was occasionally used in freight service. 19 stayed in Yreka into the 21st century. It became the subject of several legal battles where some work performed on the engine was never paid for. Eventually, it was auctioned off in a sheriff sale where it was purchased by Jerry Jacobson. 19 is currently in the backshop at the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum undergoing its 15-year inspection work for return to operation. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I can't quite remember when exactly I began this model, but it came together digitally in late 2019, and I began ordering parts and assembling the locomotive in early 2020. It's taken a while to complete, mostly due to the refining of several details, not the least of which being the running gear and artwork. The details on this engine are particular, especially given my familiarity with the real one. I modeled 19 to accurately portray the engine as it appeared in Emperor of the North. I'm using a Power Functions L motor driving custom wheels at a 1:1 ratio. It gives the engine a good speed but enough power to pull a realistic number of cars. I'm using a Power Functions I.R. receiver and a 7.4v 700mAh battery due to limited space. I'll write more about every detail on the model in accompanying photos of the model. I say it every time, but this time, I really mean it: I'm incredibly happy to have the model complete. I should call it version one, as I'll undoubtedly build another copy of this model with new techniques in the future - I already have a few ideas. I've learned a lot between the time I started designing this and now, and I'd love to have more than one model of 19 anyway. It may never be as big or technically impressive as some other models I've built, but 19 will always have something the others don't. It is, by far, my favorite steam locomotive. I'd write about why here, but I'm already putting a lot of words under this photo, so I'll invite viewers to see the next photo for why 19 is my favorite. As always, I've shared more photos to my Flickr in this album: And I've uploaded a video to YouTube detailing the model here: *** I have omitted a large chunk of this post for sake of brevity. If anyone would like to know the reasons why 19 is my favorite, I invite you to enjoy this photo and its description: Thank you for reading. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year. Glenn Holland