I stumbled across this Baldwin/Alco WWI War Department 2' locomotive on a UK site ...
How difficult would it be to find plans for this class? Since it was a War Department Loco would the plans be in the Library of Congress? I like the layout of the design and would like to find the plans for it.
Hi Rob,
Modeller's plans have been published in a few, hard to obtain publications. Plans for the Baldwin 4-6-0Ts were published in the book, "The Ashover Light Railway" by Gratton & Band. This is the best published history of the line and has been out of print for several years. You might find a second hand copy with a web search, but it won't be cheap..
Drawings of the 2-6-2Ts were printed in the book, "Narrow Gauge to No Man's Land", by Dunn. This book is also out of print and likely to be expensive on the second hand market.
A number of authors report that they have been unable to find actual builders drawings for these locos, but I would never say never.
It's interesting to speculate how these locos would have done in Maine, but with roughly 5,200 lbs. of tractive effort, they would have been the rough operational equivalents of an 18-ton Forney. Driver-size would be a bit of a challenge as the WWI locos in large part had 23.5" drivers. But I've seen films of these locos in service and they were quite peppy. Its interesting to note, some of the WWI railroad battalions actually rostered enginemen with RR experience gained on the Maine Two Footers.
An ALCO 2-6-2T, named "Mountaineer", has operated on the Festiniog for many years. While it has been massively rebuilt, it has given good service.
Best Regards,
Glenn
The locos would
