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31

The Monson Blog / Neither Snow Nor Rain…Monson Railroad Carries the Mail

« on: January 26, 2012, 12:09:44 PM »

          “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” This inscription is on the James A. Farley Post Office Building which is the main post office building in New York City. Built in 1912, the building is famous for bearing this inscription.  However these moving words were an invention of the architects, and never was or is the official motto of the US Post Office Dept.
           What’s this got to do with the Monson? On September 26, 1918, Supt. Morrill wrote a letter to the Second Assistant Postmaster in Washington DC and he wasn’t pleased. The Monson had the government contract to carry the mail from the Junction to Monson Station for $24.58 a month.  But it seems the government expected the railroad to convey it from the Station to the PO on the Monson’s tab. Evidently the Monson had an agreement with someone local to carry it from the station to the PO.
           But the locals smelled a lucrative government contract. It is unknown how much the Monson was paying someone to carry the mail from the station to the PO, but whoever it was, they wanted a raise.  The carrier wanted $35 a month to carry the mail one quarter of a mile from the station to the PO after the Monson carried it 6.16 miles from the Junction for $24.58  a month. Morrill states that they “were unable to get a lower bid”. So the Monson would be in the hole $10.42 every month for the privilege of carrying the mail.
          Morrill goes on to say “It just seems unjust to ask us to lose money in this way.  We will haul the mail to and from Monson Jct. for the sum of twenty four and 58/100 dollars per month, but feel that the government should attend to the delivery to the post office.” He ends the letter with “We make the above as a definite proposition and await your reply to same.” 
          I wonder what the reply was?  It may be buried in the Monson archives.  I’ll keep looking!
          The Monson did pretty well living up to the second, third and fourth obstacles mentioned in the inspiring words on the Farley building. However at times they had trouble with the first one: snow.  I’ll address that later this winter.
          Back in the late ‘80’s a good friend of mine and I had a chance to buy the last known mail bag the Monson had.  My friend’s father was the owner of what was left of the Monson after 1945 and he remembered that mail bag hanging in the station.  He refused to buy it as he thought the bag may have been removed from the station somewhat suspiciously.  I still wish we had bought it though as it would be back with one of us where it belonged. I still kick myself!

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The Monson Blog / Re: Monson Railroad Lanterns: Shedding Some Light

« on: January 20, 2012, 10:48:28 AM »

Thank you all for the replies!  Very interesting!
There's a Sherburne & Co. letter head on e-bay right now which is a contract to supply the Sandy River, Phillips & Rangeley and Kennebec Central all their locomotive and truck driving tire needs.  Eric is right they were a Boston firm located at 53 Oliver St, Boston.  Also there is a website at
http://www.tagtown.net/sherburn.html

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The Monson Blog / Monson Railroad Lanterns: Shedding Some Light

« on: January 19, 2012, 12:05:41 PM »

   Ever wonder what the Monson used for railroad lanterns?  On October 16, 1911 Morrill sent a letter to the Sherburne Company returning two DOZEN lantern globes which the company had sent to the Monson.  Morrill explains very curtly that “we ordered “vesta” globes and the ones you sent us are the common railroad lantern globes.”
   Morrill went on to say that “our order was very plain” and assumes that the company (Sherburne) didn’t have them in stock but sent the wrong ones anyway.  Kinda sounds like today’s mail order!  Anyway he told them that he was “ordering direct from the manufacturers.”  So much for that business relationship!
   But the real little nugget in the whole letter is that evidently the Monson used Vesta lanterns made by R.E. Dietz Company.
        The "Vesta" was a popular line of brakeman's lantern manufactured by the R.E. Dietz Company over a period of many decades.  The name "Vesta" was applied by Dietz to a long series of lanterns. The original version was introduced in 1896 and by 1907 there were at least two different versions: some in the “hi-top” version, some in the “lo-top” version. However the vestas all had a very similar look.  I wonder what the Monson had before 1896…whale oil?  My father collected railroad lanterns and he had several whale oil railroad lanterns. Other major manufacturers of railroad lanterns were Dressel and Adlake.
        I seriously doubt if the Monson had their lanterns stamped “MRR”, knowing the thriftyness of the company.  And “2 dozen globes”?  Were the train crews hard on their lanterns?  If anyone has a bonifide Monson Railroad lantern, it’s sure a rarity! Some of you collectors out there I’m sure can shed more light on this subject!

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The Monson Blog / Re: Light Rail and Cedar Ties

« on: January 13, 2012, 01:11:23 PM »

Stewart, to my knowledge I don't believe the Monson ever used date nails.  I never heard of anyone ever having one.  Since the Monson was a poor road, and  Harold Morrill knew how to pinch pennies, I doubt he would of ever spent money on such an item.
Wayne, an adze man who really knew how to use one was a sight to behold.  I can understand why you gave hell to your crew....a sharp adze is a dangerous tool, but a dull one adze to the danger of using this tool several fold.
Bill, that fill north of the Willimantic Road (Steven's Crossing) was a trestle when the railroad was first built.  See the Monson Railroad forum above this blog.  Cliff Olson talks about it.  Also there are some nice pictures of it in Gary Kohler's new book on the Monson.  It was eventually filled in with waste slate.  In it's day, I believe the Monson was the only railroad in the state which had stone (slate) ballast it's entire length.  That's one reason why you can still see right where the ROW went.  And yes, there's still spikes to be found along the row.

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The Monson Blog / Re: Light Rail and Cedar Ties

« on: January 13, 2012, 08:41:35 AM »

Thanks Richard!  I wish I had thought of that!  Wayne, according to the book mentioned in a previous blog "By Brain and By Brawn", section crews used an adze even in modern times to hew parts of a tie when necessary.

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The Monson Blog / Light Rail and Cedar Ties

« on: January 12, 2012, 12:39:30 PM »

        The Monson Railroad was originally built with 30 pound Bessemer rail with a small amount of 35 pound Bessemer relay for some of the yard trackage.  Records don’t say why some of the heavier rail was used for yards and the lighter rail used for the main. Probably the relay was cheaper.
   Bessemer steel started as molten iron which went through the process (invented in 1856 by Henry Bessemer) of having a strong blast of compressed air forced through the molten iron in a crucible, called a Bessemer Converter, thus removing the carbon and silicon impurities making the iron into much stronger steel.  Later, limestone was added to remove still other impurities such as phosphorus, improving on the steel.
   By 1884 wrought iron rails ceased to be made in favor of the new higher strength Bessemer steel.  In that year, over one million tons of Bessemer steel were sold at or around the price of $32 per ton.  A little math results in some interesting figures….
        It took 325 tons of rail to lay Monson’s mainline and 152 tons to lay the sidings, yards and branches.  These added figures comes out to around 477 tons of rail to build the Monson. Cost of $32 per ton comes out to $15,285.
   Now for the ties…..the original Monson ties were hand hewed cedar measuring 5x5x 4 ½ feet long.  They were laid down in the usual fashion, without tie plates, about every two feet for an average of 2662 ties per mile.  In later years when they replaced 1000 ties in 1913 they were probably sawed.  Imagine taking an adz and hand hewing railroad ties……. and for a mere 12 cents each!  But it all adds up.  In 1897 and 98,  2200 cedar ties were replaced. That is $ 264 worth. A small fortune then…..but one heck of a lot of work!

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The Monson Blog / Re: I have a piece of slate under my coffee cup

« on: January 06, 2012, 08:08:31 AM »

Mike, Monson slate was shipped all over the US.  The shingle may well be Monson slate, however slate was quarried in many other places in the US also and has a different color.  Monson slate has the distinctive black/purplish color.  Most gift shops around here have slate items made into coasters and other items as well as painted slate shingles to hang on your fron door.  Cliff, your theory on the name of Williamsburg siding on the CP is intrigueing!  I always wondered why it was called that.  Bob Roberts who was a long time section foreman for that section on the CP may have some insight.  He lives in Monson and co-wrote the book "By Brain and Brawn" about maintaining that section of the CP track. VERY interesting book and a VERY interesting individual.

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The Monson Blog / I have a piece of slate under my coffee cup

« on: January 05, 2012, 12:29:10 PM »

   I have a thin piece of slate under my coffee cup.  It came from the Hebron Pond Quarry immediately west of Monson and I use it as a coaster.  Lets look at what this slate is and why it was so valuable to the Monson Railroad and the area’s economy.
        The slate itself is very dark gray, with a slightly purplish hue.  The make-up of this slate (probably only the geologists will love this),  arranged in the order of their decreasing abundance are: muscovite (sericite),  quartz,  chlorite,  biotite,  pyrite, carbonaceous or graphitic matter,  magnetite,  rutile and apatite. A cubic foot weighs in at around 178 pounds.  It can be relatively easily cut, planed and polished.
        Before WWII, Monson slate was used for just about anything from electric switch boards to register borders, blackboards, refrigerator shelves, sinks and bathroom fixtures.   However one product that you still see quite often are roofing shingles.  Hundreds of buildings in Maine still have those slate shingles.  Most of them started their journey on the Monson.
        Monson slate shingles varied some, but generally they were 3/16"  to 3/8 thick with varying widths of  8" to 14" and a length between 18" and 24".  Each slate has a rough beveled edge and pre-punched nail holes.  One slate shingle I own is 3/16 inch thick, weighs one pound 9 oz and measures 8 ¼ by 12 ¼ inches.
        There are numerous pictures published of crated slate products as well as uncrated shingles.  On page 86 of the Jones book, Albin Johnson and Elwin French are annoyed by a minor derailment of a load of uncrated shingles and on page 124 Superintendent Harold Morrill inspects a shingle from a flatcar load.
   Also there are several interesting websites concerning Monson Slate. There is a lot of info at  http://quarriesandbeyond.org/states/me/me-slate_1914.html  and the Monson Maine Slate Company (2005) produced a short video.  It is at
http://www.monsonslate.com/history.html and is a nice video however it mentions slaves coming to Monson to work the slate (which I never heard of).  Unfortunately it doesn’t mention at all the hundreds of Swedish and Finnish people who came to quarry the slate for generations, leaving behind an awesome legacy.  Many of their descendents still live in the area. 
   The slate companies really were the reason why the Monson Railroad existed.  More on that in a future blog.

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The Monson Blog / Re: Merry Christmas, Mrs. Pullen

« on: December 29, 2011, 06:36:48 PM »

That's a neat story Cliff!  That is at least the 4th time I have heard of snowbound MRR passengers staying at the Pullen Farm!  J. Record Pullen wrote and Madeline Pullen edited a neat little 16 page book called Growing Up On The Pullen Farm.  Not sure when it was published.  Also Winston E. Pullen wrote The Pullen Farm Revisited 1916-1937 in 1996.  It sold for $12.00.  Some of them must still be around.  Both these books include wonderful stories of the way life was in rural Monson Maine in the first part of the 20th Century. These books are on loan to me by my cousin Wayne Bennett whose historical collection and knowledge of the area is beyond awesome.

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The Monson Blog / Merry Christmas, Mrs. Pullen

« on: December 29, 2011, 01:16:48 PM »

        The “up” train squealed to a stop with a hiss of air and a cloud of steam.  Conductor Len Gerrish sang out “Monson Junction!  All folks off for Monson Junction!  If you’re goin’ to Monson this is your stop! Watch your step, its getting’ dark!”
        Dece Pullen got up from her seat and followed the few passengers out to the coach platform, down the car steps and onto the station platform.  She could see station agent Giles Fogg through the frosted up station windows attending to customers. 
   It was just a few steps around the right side of the Junction Station, through the door and then into the station. 
        “Hello Giles!” greeted Dece.  “How’s the family?” 
        “And how are you Mrs. Pullen?” replied the station master.
   “I’m just coming back from Livermore Falls visiting my Mother.  I imagine Fred is needin’ me about now with our three boys. He’s just finishin’ a bobsled for the boys for Christmas. He’ll be meetin’ me there with the team”, Dece replied.
   “Well you’ll be home in about fifteen minutes” replied station master Fogg.  “That will be 25 cents, seein’ you’ll be getting off at Days. And a Merry Christmas to you Mrs. Pullen!”
        “ And a merry Christmas to you Giles!” replied Dece.   
   From the station it was a short walk to the waiting Monson train.  She noticed it was just the locomotive and the combination car tonight.  It was easy getting on the narrow gauge coach. It took only one step up on the car platform, through the door and then a seat on the long bench type seats.  It was warm with the stove in the other end of the passenger compartment.  A kerosene lamp mounted on the baggage compartment wall, shed a dim but warm light through out the compartment.
   Dece spotted her friend Barbara Flanders and sat down beside her and immediately dove into conversation.
   Two toots of the whistle and they were off.  The engine crew blew for the Greenville road crossing and then there was some pretty heavy puffing from the locomotive.  It was a heavy grade from the junction for quite a spell.  But this didn’t concern Dece.  She was already in a deep conversation with her friend exchanging the latest on their families.
   “Good evening ladies,” greeted Harold Morrill conductor.  “Looks like we’ll make it to Monson this time!” This was a good-natured joke familiar to all who rode the train. Some of them had even spent a night at Dece Pullen’s when the train got stuck in the snow at Day’s Crossing. Both ladies surrendered their tickets for punching and Mr. Morrill moved on to the other passengers. Most of the passengers on board had at one time or another not made it to Monson due to heavy snow.   
          It wasn’t long, or so it seemed to Dece who was still in deep conversation, that the train was slowing down. The crew stopped the train right at the crossing where Fred was waiting with the sleigh.  Dece got up, worked her way down the isle and out on the coach platform.
    “A Merry Christmas to you and Hattie, Mr. Morrill!” greeted Dece.
   “And a Merry Christmas Mrs. Pullen and to Fred and the boys!”  called Morrill from the platform.
   Two toots from the locomotive and the train was on its way, disappearing in the dark and swirling snow.  It was good to be home.

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The Monson Blog / Brief Flurries of Wanderlust Talk: The Extension to Wellington Part 2

« on: December 22, 2011, 12:17:10 PM »

   Last week’s blog discussed Monson’s proposed extension to Greenville and Wellington.  The grand scheme failed. Lets look at some of the reasons why this may have failed and explore the possible routes to Wellington.
   In the Robert Jones’ book, he stated that not all of the original $70,000 worth of stock was bought. That original issue of stock fell short, however on April 1, 1884 another $70,000 was issued but this time sold quickly. There must have been a huge debt from the original construction which the company was struggling to pay on. In fiscal 1885 the railroad lost $3197.00. And then while this was going on, they wanted to issue another staggering $700,000? Sounds like a good investment? The investors may have thought that if they were struggling to pay on the $70,000, how could they pay back $700,000? Maybe the directors went ahead anyway…..could this be the father of the “holy tearing funded debt” that the Monson managed to accrue that Moody speaks of on pages 147 thru 150?
         Another major problem was that the Monson had to cross to the west side of the Bangor & Piscataquis (later the B&A) at some point to get to Wellington, since the Monson was on the east side of the B&P. The B&P was well established by 1886, the time of this proposal.  I doubt that the B&P would have gladly given permission to have the new Monson extension cross their tracks, especially when the new extension would take away from their business.
         The Panic of 1873 still may have been fresh in the minds of investors. During that period, a series of recessions happened: The New York Stock Exchange closed for ten days; of the country's 364 railroads, 89 went bankrupt; a total of 18,000 businesses failed between 1873 and 1875 and unemployment reached 14% by 1876. However recovery happened in the early 1880’s. Economist Milton Friedman states that “in the 1880’s the highest rate of growth for a decade of real reproducible, tangible wealth per person from 1805 to 1950 was apparently reached in the eighties.” So by 1886-7 they were back on a roll again financially. Maybe optimism was the only real commodity in this extension proposal. Any, all, or none of these reasons may have been what really happened. 
Route to Wellington.............
         Looking at the historical topos, and even the modern ones of today, a route west from Monson Jct. was problematic due to the Walker Ridge/Brown Hill mass on the west side of the river valley. There was no practical way out of the Piscataquis River Valley for a reasonable railroad grade going west.
        The only solution was to go south, cross the B&A and the Piscataquis River fairly soon and continue about 1.8  miles to Kingsbury Stream in Abbot Village.  From here it could have turned south west and run along the banks of Kingsbury Stream, entering the northwest edge of Parkman before turning more northwesterly and then westerly to Kingsbury.  From Kingsbury the route could turn southerly around Foss Hill, skirt Wellington Bog and follow the bog outlet valley down to Wellington. It’s an interesting exercise tracing this possible route. For anyone who has tramped around in the Kingsbury Stream area, it’s pretty rugged country.  There would have had to be numerous bridges and culverts. $20,000 a mile for construction?  I seriously doubt it.  I’ll leave the possible S&M route from Wellington to Harmony for someone else.

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The Monson Blog / Brief Flurries of Wanderlust Talk: The Extension to Wellington

« on: December 15, 2011, 12:05:41 PM »

   Most railroads, in their beginnings, had grandiose dreams of expansion to far away places.  Probably a lot of this came from a little greed on the part of the railroad’s financial fathers.  The Maine two-footers were no exception.  Linwood Moody states that the Monson had these “brief flurries of wanderlust talk” also.
   A promotional pamphlet published by Mitchell Construction Company described Monson’s proposal for expansion in 1887.  It was printed by the Monson Weekly Slate, the local newspaper.
   In late 1885, the Maine Legislature authorized to extend the Monson Railroad in two directions. The northern extension would run from Monson Village, through Shirley and then Greenville, connecting with the CP.  There doesn’t seem to be as much information concerning the northern extension as there is with the south. The southern extension however would be built from Monson Jct. to Parkman, Kingsbury and into Wellington 15 miles away to the south.  It was supposed to hook up with the Sebasticook & Moosehead Railroad (S&M) which was laying rail up from Pittsfield and had already arrived at Hartland.  The idea was to build a shorter, more direct route between the CP and MEC.  Of course this would have diverted traffic from the B&A.  The proposal would have created the hypotuneuse of the triangle, so to speak. I’m sure the B&A took a dim view of this!
    The plan was to standard-gauge the road using 56 pound rail, sell off the two foot equipment and use the existing 30 pound rails for sidings and yards .  The Monson stockholders voted to change to standard gauge on December 29th 1886.  Mitchell Construction was contracted to do this work.  They projected construction costs to be less than $20,000 per mile.
   It just so happens that the James Mitchell & Co. of Pittsfield was building the S&M from Pittsfield.  The same Mitchell as involved with the Monson proposal?  Coincidence?
        The booklet goes on to say how rich the area is: 1300 farms, a population of 12,500 people (hard to believe in 1886) and 36 “manufactories”, all of course needing transportation services, creating an estimated 86,300 tons of freight per year .  Their first financial estimate was that they would gross $86,300 in freight and $42,000 in passenger receipts.  They were to increase the capital stock to  $700,000 (!) with 6%interest, which, they figured would be $42,000 per year payment on this debt.  “This leaves over 2/3 of the gross earnings of the road for current expenses” points out the proposal.
   Sounds too good to be true?  It was.  The whole scheme collapsed. Moody says that “several miles of road bed was actually graded south from Monson Jct. toward Wellington 20 miles away” but that was all that was ever done. In Moody’s words “that ended Monson ideas of spanning the world”
   In part 2, lets look at some of the reasons why this may have failed and explore the possible route south to Wellington and the S&M.

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The Monson Blog / Monson Railroad Feels The Competetion

« on: December 08, 2011, 04:46:25 PM »

        November 5, 1912- Supt.Morrill writes to Mr. Geo Houghton PTM  of the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad concerning the number of automobiles in Monson. 
   Morrill states “There are five automobiles owned here and one of these is used for public conveyance.”  Rather terse comment.  Notice he emphasizes the public conveyance part. He goes on to say that he estimates that the Monson Railroad loses “something like 25 fares each week that the railroad would otherwise get if it were not for the automobile.”
   To drive it home a little deeper Mr. Morrill reminds the B&A that “your line would lose the same amount”.
   Henry Ford’s invasion of Monson happened soon after 1908.  By 1912 there were five autos in Monson. So how much loss to the railroad is that in dollars and cents?   According to Bob Jones, the price of a ticket in 1906 was 50 cents, an “unusual high rate” for Maine narrow gauge railroads.  A little math shows that, assuming the ticket cost the same in 1912, the Monson was losing $12.50 each week, really quite a sum for those days. 
         My grandfather probably contributed to this state of affairs as he ran a garage in Monson repairing cars for a short time.  I have documents that auto parts were shipped over the railroad to his business, so he may have made up the difference after all!

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The Monson Blog / Hancock Inspirators vs Sellers Injectors Part 2

« on: December 01, 2011, 07:21:21 PM »

   In the last blog Superintendent Morrill changed his mind on what type of feed water injection system he wanted on the new Vulcan No. 3 which was near completion in Pennsylvania.   He chose the Sellers Injectors over the Hancock Inspirators due to frequent cronic problems with the Hancocks.  But what was wrong with the Hancocks? What’s the difference between an injector and an inspirator?
   This gets a little technical, which probably only the steam crew will love…..    
        An injector has a single chamber with a combined suction and delivery nozzle that creates a vacuum and then discharges a jet of water at high velocity(into the boiler).
        An inspirator has two chambers which are individually adjustable. One chamber has a nozzle for suction, which feeds a second chamber with a nozzle for discharge. The steam supply to each chamber is individually adjustable, although usually “tied” together on the same handle.
         I found several forums where engine crews who have actually used the Hancocks commented on them.
         One of the advantages of the Hancock Inspirator they claimed, is that it delivers water at a higher temperature than an injector.
         However they seem a little harder to get started than an injector but once you “get used to them it is no problem”.
         In their experience with the Hancock, the problem was the mechanical overflow valve. On the Sellers, the overflow either uses a check valve or relies on a gap and fluid flow principles. On the Hancock, the overflow is closed by a linkage to the handle, and it frequently closed before the inspirator had developed a good vacuum and flow. Also when worn, the linkage introduces lost motion. Was this the real trouble with the Monson Hancocks?  Design flaws? According to those in the know, the operator had to be really sensitive with the handle to develop a good flow before completing the handle movement.
         Superintendent Morrill solved the problem in his no-nonsense manner by switching to the Sellers.  Trivia….are the Sellers still on the Monson Vulcans today? Many thanks to Keith Taylor for his assistance on this topic.

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The Monson Blog / Hancock Inspirators vs Sellers Injectors Part 1

« on: November 25, 2011, 09:04:24 PM »

My apologies for not posting on Thursday due to storm related router problems.....here it is today, Friday.....

Hancock Inspirators vs Sellers Injectors Part 1
   The year 1912 saw a lot of correspondence between Vulcan Iron Works of Wilks-Barre PA and Superintendent Morrill.  They were to build a new locomotive for the Monson, as the two original Hinckleys were rapidly wearing out.
   In a letter to G.F. Barnard Gen Mgr of the Monson dated January 15, 1913, (shortly before delivery)  Supt Morrill pointed out to Barnard that Vulcan specified using Sellers Injectors rather than Hancock Inspirators.  However earlier in the negotiations, Morrill changed that to Hancock Inspirators, his reasoning being that since the original engines (Hinckleys No. 1 and No. 2) had the Hancocks “it would be better to have the new ones interchangeable with the old ones.”
   However someone must have been talking to Morrill about changing back to the Sellers, and was successful. The last paragraph of the letter confirms that he had been talking with “those who used the Sellers”, probably not his own engine crews as they were long time employees of the Monson.
In this letter Harold is asking that his decision be reversed and that the new locos come with Sellers injectors.
   Harold went on to state that “We are continually having trouble with the Hancock Inspirators and they always have to be sent to the manufacturer to be repaired, and frequently after being returned to us, they do not work well.”  They currently have two “new ones” which have had to go back after very little use.
   The change was made in the specs for Vulcan No. 3.  But what was wrong with the Hancocks???  What’s the difference between an injector and an inspirator???  More on the next blog…….