To Brad Smith re: Dawson City Porter

[Dick_Morris]

A response to Brad's note in the Live Steam that everyone else got a week ago, but I got today -

Number 4 was still outside about 17 or 18 years ago in Minto Park in Dawson. Several of us from the Alaska Live Steamers had piled into a motor home and performing our version of "the lost boys." First stop was Skagway to see #73 which had just gone back into service after many years of display at Lake Bennet. After following the train to Whitehorse we made our way to the yards. Seeing the crew cleaning the running gear for the next day's festivities for Canada Day, we all picked up a piece of waste and started cleaning. Our reward - cab rides for all when the locomotive took the trip to fill the tender.

Next we headed north to Dawson. While there, we cleaned the cinders from the smoke box of one of the locomotives (probably #4, but I don't remember). We also drew the interest of a very big, very attentive Mountie. After determining that we were crazy, but harmless, and weren't trying to pack the locomotive into the motor home, he left us alone. We noticed that the left piston rod was missing. Thinking that it didn't look right and something needed to be done, we commandered a short length of water pipe and put it where the rod should go. Several years later, most of our group made a trip to Vancouver, B.C., to attend Expo and the Steam Expo portion. Number 4 had been cosmetically restored was displayed with new paint and new fittings in the cab (unforturnately, they were soldered plumbing fittings). One of our group reached over and gave a little tug on the left piston rod. Yep, other than a coat of paint, the length of water pipe was right where we had left it a few years earlier.

Number 4 was one of a group of three locomotives bought together that operated a few miles outside of Dawson. IIRC, I've seen a photo of all three on a flat on the White Pass and Yukon in Whitehorse before there were shipped to the Dawson area. One is now in Dawson, one went to Vancouver in the mid-60s, and another is about 15 miles north of me. Another, slightly older locomotive in the same stable went to the Tanana Mines Railway (later Tanana Valley, still later the northern end of the Alaska Railroad until the narrow gauge track was replaced with standard gauge). That locomotive has been recently restored, including a new boiler, and was operationing for it's 100 birthday a couple of years ago.

Here's a web page of the Friends of the Tanana Valley Railroad with some photos.

[Al_Messer]

Does Jim Posey still run his 1-1/2" scale 60 ton Heisler, and did you all ever find out the information you were trying to find out about the "Munday"?