PMLW PM Locomotive Works???

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Comstock-Friend
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PMLW PM Locomotive Works???

Post by Comstock-Friend »

The wife (SWMBO) was cleaning out some junk in the attic and came across a long forgotten box of 'rusty stuff'. Seems to be a 2.5" gauge Atlantic. The cylinders have PMLW cast into them. Anybody have a guess as to who 'PM' is??? I'm assuming the 'LW' is 'Locomotive Works'. Castings include drive wheels, lead truck wheels, tender frame, Commonweath trailing truck frame, spring hangers, cross members, journal boxes, etc. This came to me from the West Coast (LALS auction most likely), but I'm assuming these to be of New England origin.
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Any ideas?

John
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Re: PMLW PM Locomotive Works???

Post by Comstock-Friend »

A little bump here. Also found another two drivers, so it's a Pacific and not an Atlantic. Unmachined drivers are 3-13/16" diameter, 20 spokes, all six have the same counterweights.

Any old timers know of a 'PM"???

John
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Re: PMLW PM Locomotive Works???

Post by Comstock-Friend »

OK, checking other boxes, I had previously encountered some nice 2.5" patterns for Commonwealth tender trucks, and four wheel engine trailing truck, I have now found the first bronze castings off these patterns. I believe I have two similar 2.5" gauge locos, maybe intended to combine into one. The first is a Pacific and most of these parts are iron: cylinders, drive wheels, brake hangers and rigging, tender frame, etc. The second seems to be a Hudson where the previous owner was tooling the Commonwealth trucks and a one piece engine bed, all bronze.

Here are some of the castings mixed together:
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The tender frame is too small for the two three axle Commonwealth trucks.
100_9709 small.jpg
The Pacific may possibly be a Coventry P7 'President Washington', or some other Pacific.
Brian Hilgert
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Re: PMLW PM Locomotive Works???

Post by Brian Hilgert »

The one trailing truck looks like a Pennsy KW Trailing truck. So the Trailing Truck maybe for Coventry's K4... But the drivers are not.
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Re: PMLW PM Locomotive Works???

Post by Comstock-Friend »

Hard to find any prototype with 20 spoke drivers. 17 seems to be the magic number. Here are some of the master and production patterns that came with this stuff.
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Unfortunately, I don't have the pattern for the one piece locomotive frame.

John
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Re: PMLW PM Locomotive Works???

Post by johnpenn74 »

The 20 spoke drivers makes me think little engines. The Atlantic in Traveltown is the only 80 driver I have ever seen that had that many spokes in the united states. While you can find 80 inche drivers on some Northern n such, but they are usually box poc or similar. You do find a lot of prototype engines with 80 inch drivers in the UK with that many spokes. Maybe the blocks and cylinders came from different places.

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Re: PMLW PM Locomotive Works???

Post by Doug_Edwards »

Any idea what diameter the drivers would clean up to?

John P,

I think you will find the SP Atlantic actually has 21 spokes. This number does not seem to be uncommon for the early Atlantics built around the same time. I don't have pics handy, but suspect the Atlantic at St. Louis and the one in Michigan have the same number.

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Doug
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Re: PMLW PM Locomotive Works???

Post by 318J »

The St. Louis Atlantic has 18 spokes, if I recall correctly. Just saw it today.
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Re: PMLW PM Locomotive Works???

Post by Pontiacguy1 »

All of the Little Engines 1/2" drivers that I have are 16 spokes. There are light, medium, and heavy counterweights, but all of the ones that I have were the same number of spokes. I have some of the early 80's drivers that got cast in Aluminum to save money. Apparently for a couple of years there, about the only thing they cast in iron for the 1/2" scale stuff was the cylinders. I figured I could use them by putting some tires on them.
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Re: PMLW PM Locomotive Works???

Post by Comstock-Friend »

After finding drawings by E J Paul, I'm wondering if PMLW is 'Paul Model Locomotive Works'?
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