Most Beautiful Locomotives

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Rufus, Cute ( to our eyes?) or beautiful (to their eyes, back then? I have no idea. Important milestones to consider in the conversation, though. IMO.

[rex desilets]

<snip>
Do you have any photos of the "Big Emma" engine you mentioned? I can't picture them from memory.
Murph

http://kohlin.com/L&N/l&n1991.jpg

[MurphOnMillerAve]

<snip>
Do you have any photos of the "Big Emma" engine you mentioned? I can't picture them from memory.
Murph

http://kohlin.com/L&N/l&n1991.jpg

Stunning. Yup. All muscle. But beautiful - which would be in the eyes of the beholder, wouldn't it, Rex. To me, with my steel mills background, seeing one of those come right through town would have been exciting, to me, a thing of beauty, if just 'cause it would have been so scary rolling by and rumbling the ground; at least, locomotives like it were. I don't know if I ever encountered one of those....yes….I'm going to say it......one of those "Big Emma" beauties!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Rufus, Cute ( to our eyes?) or beautiful (to their eyes, back then? I have no idea. Important milestones to consider in the conversation, though. IMO.

Pioneer was in service from 1851-1890 and thereafter was used as a historical exhibit, conveyed in 1960 to the Smithsonian and resides now on loan to the B&O museum in Baltimore.

Jenny Lind was converted to the 2-2-4 arrangement and ran up into the 1880's.

Both were Wilmarth engines

[E7]

In my mind, the older steam locomotives - before Art Deco designs and artists such as Raymond Loewy, streamlining, and "crack," named-trains zipping across the country - which were composed entirely of functional, practical parts that made the steam, provided the power, or propelled everything down the tracks, etc. I don't know that a consideration of an engine's "beauty" was part of the intention or design of them. Perhaps, there are plenty of us who consider them beautiful because they are such unabashed brutes and exude such an impression of raw power. Murph

I think the Niagara and A2 are both appealing to the eye (or at least my eye) and they both exude the look of raw power.

[Roy]

One of my favorite paint schemes on B&O 25, a.k.a. the William Mason (who built her):



Larger view: https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oNgLS2Xtzp8/WejsVbnx7GI/AAAAAAAABQg/zt0MX-OZjkcxk8BWCsmpnfaKvW-YPdnIQCLcBGAs/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/Mason-turntable-3.jpg

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Wow. Now that is good looking! It reminds me of a Lionel set I had as a kid, which had a couple coaches and a horse-carrying car, if I recall correctly, but its colors were red and grey, I think, nothing as hand-painted beautiful as that treasure you have in that photo, Roy.
Murph

[Roy]

Midland Great Western Railway of Ireland:



Larger Image: http://www.steamindex.com/media/celtic.jpg

[rex desilets]

I like it

[MurphOnMillerAve]

[Roy]

I do. I think Ward Kimball figured out the color scheme for the Jupiter, and U.P. #119.

[E7]

Murph, If you want to see a DRAMATIC change look for pics of the "Warbaby" which is a stripped version of the N&W J.

Rich

[Roy]

In later days, Mason became known for his "bogies" - so-called because the drivers were pivoted to allow running on shorter-radius curves.

[Roy]

The Eureka of the 3' gauge Eureka & Palisade R.R.:

[MurphOnMillerAve]