NELS Track At The Box Factory

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FKreider
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Re: NELS Track At The Box Factory

Post by FKreider »

Thanks for posting that video Dan, I really enjoyed listening to the following comments:

Carl Purinton: "I think a lot of people today...seem to think that in order to build a locomotive you have to have practically a tool room and what they want to build is a precision built job. They don't realize that a locomotive, except for one or two parts in the valve gear, has to got to be a pretty crude piece of machinery."

"In the old days you'd hear a steam locomotive come into the station and the rods would be "clank-ity bang-bang-bang" well that was just simply because they had the proper clearance in the bushings and side rods so that it was a free running thing."

Charlie Purinton: "On the small engines Van Brocklin sized it up pretty well, he told me one day; "You know Charlie they dont really run well until they're almost worn out.""

Carl Purinton: "The old timers like Harry Sait, they had a lathe and a drill, a grinder and a few hand tools and that's all they had, they had the desire."

Old school wisdom to live by!
-Frank K.
JohnK
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Re: NELS Track At The Box Factory

Post by JohnK »

Keith, as far as I know the box company is privately & locally owned. It is no longer in the Friend family, however.

On the video that was posted above, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5rhjtoP7y4, Charlie Puriton's home track (in Byfield Massachusetts) is shown. I spent many hours here when I was a teenager and young man.

The Danvers track was not saved, for reasons mentioned here. However, Charlie Purinton's Byfield track (see the above video please) WAS saved, and, its future is ensured.

The track was built about 1970. It was moved off of Charlie's property around 2009 due to Charlie's declining health and his inability to maintain it or host meets anymore. So it spent about a decade at another location. When that owner could no longer maintain it, he offered it to me.

This past summer, I took it completely apart and in October it was moved to our property in New Hampshire. It will be rebuilt (much needed) and then people will get to run their engines on Charlie's track again, or, do so for the first time.

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Here's me at Charlie Purinton's track in Byfield Mass. in 1987. I was 15.


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Here's Charlie's track in Georgetown Mass. where it spent about a decade, just before I started taking it apart (2019)

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Here's the track being taken apart.

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Sections of track awaiting their vertical supports to be removed.

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Here are a few of the lengthwise sections of track, with several verticals leaned up against them.

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Here's much of Charlie's track in a 26' UHaul truck.


So some good things from "the good old days" ARE saved; Charlie's track being one of them. Another one is Yankee Shop/Friends Models. Danvers the track, and the NELS Club of Lester Friend are gone....but the entire Yankee Shop product line from 1938 is preserved at Beverly Mass., some 3 miles or so from its original address at High Street Danvers, Mass.
steamingdon
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Re: NELS Track At The Box Factory

Post by steamingdon »

My bet is that engine house came from the old WLS track on Norfolk St. in Holiston, ma. ? :D See PVLS Engine Houses, George Hidreth design. President of WLS for over 30 years. I`ll bet George might have visited NELS. :D
steamer
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JBodenmann
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Re: NELS Track At The Box Factory

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
Thanks for the video Dan, it was most enjoyable. And to John, are you going to add it to the tack you have now? Looks like a long run.
Jack
JohnK
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Re: NELS Track At The Box Factory

Post by JohnK »

Jack, our track is 95' back and forth and will remain where it is for now. Charlie's track is a 275' loop and is in New Hampshire now.

When the kids are grown and we sell our house, the 95 ft. track will be moved to whatever property we move to. It may be incorporated into a larger loop, or it may serve as a steaming track to service Charlie's track.
JohnK
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Re: NELS Track At The Box Factory

Post by JohnK »

Yes Don, it's a WLS engine house. It will receive a much-needed rebuilding and be incorporated into the layout.

1005191801.jpg
Here are some of Charlie's track sections, and a genuine Waushakum engine shed from the old WLS tracksite, at New Hampshire.

The concrete footings that Charlie's track pieces are resting on to keep them off the ground, are the original footings from the old Waushakum track.
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JBodenmann
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Re: NELS Track At The Box Factory

Post by JBodenmann »

Hello My Friends
John has some cool pieces of live steam history there. It's a good thing you saved them, they might have gone to the land fill.
Jack
JohnK
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Re: NELS Track At The Box Factory

Post by JohnK »

Jack, thanks....

This stuff was saved thanks to prior Friends Models owner Dick Boucher. He got the WLS stuff when WLS vacated its former site in 1996, and, he took Charlie's track back in 2008 ish.

Without Dick B. much of this stuff would likely be gone, or would certainly have taken different paths....
Steve Bratina
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Re: NELS Track At The Box Factory

Post by Steve Bratina »

These pictures are from the book" Trackside in the Northeast 1946 to 1959.
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LVRR2095
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Re: NELS Track At The Box Factory

Post by LVRR2095 »

I wonder what happened to all of that great Buddy-L steel rail?

Keith Taylor
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NP317
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Re: NELS Track At The Box Factory

Post by NP317 »

Australian edition. Inverted photos.
None the less, really cool to see. Thanks for posting.
RussN
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LVRR2095
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Re: NELS Track At The Box Factory

Post by LVRR2095 »

NP317 wrote: Tue Dec 17, 2019 10:56 pm Australian edition. Inverted photos.
None the less, really cool to see. Thanks for posting.
RussN
When I click on the picture to see the larger version....they come right side up for me.

Keith
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