No. 17

[stem]

Yikes gentlemen. We have an imposter or a conflict!

Evidence? Our 2 photos!
http://www.dardpi.ca/wiki/index.php?tit ... R0017a.jpg
http://www.dardpi.ca/wiki/index.php?tit ... R0017b.jpg

4 items that I noticed so far are NOT the same:
The smokestack
The headlight
The sidebrace is missing on the cab of the 17b photo
The main cylinders are different
The Bells are different!

Could it be that No. 17b photo is in fact, No. 18? We have no builder photos of No. 17 to determine what it looked like originally and I have only seen that goofy looking Vauclain main cycliner on No. 18. All the other details from the side match precisely down to the rivet too.

This could then lead to a new entry that No. 6 "Digby" became No. 18 "Yarmouth" and later returned to "Digby".

The question is, is this the only Vauclain fitted engine? Both 17 & 18 inherited from the WCR have the same build date. This most probably means that they were identical builds meaning both were most likely Vauclain fitted from the factory. If memory serves me right though, the Vauclain cylinders were unsatisfactory and were replaced within a short period of time. With the Vauclain or without however, this 1893 build with it's distictive smokestack, headlights and grab irons make this builds' details very distinctive.

Now being that No. 17 & No. 18 were probably identical builds (most likely) then that makes the Wilmot photo (17a) a mystery.

Your keen eyesight and best detective work is kindly requested!

[mountainrail]

Yarmouth & Annapolis (WCR) #5 (DAR 17) and #6 (DAR 18) were identical twins when turned out from Baldwin. The specification sheet shows every detail to be the same at time of construction. Both were of course Vauclain compounds, and were the only compound locos to be on the DAR roster.
With that out of the way we come to the photos.
#17b (rear view) is very early in the life of #17 - looks just like the builders photo of #6 in every detail. Probably taken in 1890s or shortly after.
#17a (Wilmot) is considerably later in life, I would guess maybe mid to late teens, certainly not 1900 as suggested on the photo. The 17 was converted to simple cylinders in 3-07, the 18 converted 11-07. By this time it has been fitted with a more modern headlight, replacing the old oil light, and the cab has gotten loose and was braced - typical of many older DAR engines at this time. Also the straight, capped Baldwin stack has been replaced with the tapered type. #18 had this stack conversion as well, which shows up in photos near the end of its life.
Therefore, my take on these two photos would be they are the same locomotive, only at different points in its life.
One question that I wonder about - These are the only two photos of #17 I have ever seen, but its identical sister #18 has many photos in existence, at least 7 I know of.

Jim O'Donnell

[stem]

You mean like "where did the builder's photo go" for starters!

[downeastrailfan]

Perhaps there is a Baldwin museum which would have a photo.

Has anyone on here gone through the Musquodobit Railway photo collection? There must be some jems in there, since they have the old Warden collection. I seem to recall seeing a W&A timetable in a showcase (which was PINNED in place!!!).