Rotary #99200

[Mike Trent]

With all the weather mayhem crippling a good part of the country this weekend, it seemed appropriate to get out the rotary for the first time this year.

This model was built in 1986 using the frame, cowling, wheel, and trucks from an On3 Durango Press RGS Rotary #02.

I used both the C&S Folio for #99200 and the plans and a few parts like the scribed siding and some other odds and ends from the kit. After a long and meandering journey through the wilderness, it turned out pretty well.

During construction, I scoured every photograph I could find, and that anyone else could find for details, and discussed various aspects of how various things were, how they appeared, and could have or should have been built and maybe were over Saturday breakfasts with my barnyard friends at JJ McCabe's in Boulder for months. Sadly, one of the most valuable resources for this project were a couple of photographs taken the day after the 1935 roundhouse fire which burned off the wood body that appear in the Pictorial Supplement. In the end, like #537, I pretty much went through it making every effort to duplicate what I could find or see in photographs.

Within a week of finishing it prior to the 1986 Narrow Gauge Convention, Todd Hackett, with whom I had commiserated on too many aspects of this to be counted, found a rare 3/4 rear view of the rotary heading out of  Como on a run to Boreas, and that photo showed that the cover over the coal bunker was actually slightly peaked. In every angle and view we had seen and studied before that, we had been convinced that it was flat. Oh, well. So, Darel, take note!

Many helped with various things along the way. Old Doug Schnarbush's contribution was that he told me that the interior of the cowling and wheel were not painted, rather they just gooped up graphite and oil because snow and ice wouldn't stick to it.

The tender wrapper is from one of the PSC tender kits that were available at that time, similar to one I used on #537, and also on my new #73. which I bought on ebay without a tender. All three of the wrappers are different lengths, and all are very close to what each needed. The PSC tender kits do appear on ebay, so if anyone is looking to build one of these in 1/4" scale, keep your eyes peeled for them.

   

[Mike Trent]

Here is another view, from the rear, looking toward the enginehouse she calls home.

 

[Mike Trent]

And here is my first attempt to photoshop anything like a winter scene here at Dickey.

On occasion, the rotary was run on the passenger train, as is seen here leaving Dickey to plow up into heavy snow at Dillon. Afterward, the train backed down to Dickey and headed off into the teeth of the storm toward Leadville.

Train No.88 Engines #6-#75, Rotary #99200

 

[Darel Leedy]

Bravo Mike! Bumped as a blog article. Thanks!

[Derrell Poole]

Murphy's Law on building accurate models:

"You cannot obtain all of the information you need before completing the model"

Amendment to the above law; "The only way to find out what you did wrong is to show it to everyone else." (Derrell's mitigation of this law; "Embarrass yourself on purpose so no one can tell when you do it accidently".)

[Todd Hackett]

Mike Trent wrote

...Within a week of finishing it prior to the 1986 Narrow Gauge Convention, Todd Hackett, with whom I had commiserated on too many aspects of this to be counted, found a rare 3/4 rear view of the rotary heading out of  Como on a run to Boreas, and that photo showed that the cover over the coal bunker was actually slightly peaked....

Is this the photo?


Here are a few others that you may not have seen before building the model (although most are from earlier time periods).

This one is from an anle not often seen. An "ADO" is visible above the side door, so I'm farily sure this is early C&S era:


And a close up:


This photo has been used by the DSP&PHS, but I don't think it's been published anywhere else:


This close-up shows how crisp this glas plate negative is:

[Mike Trent]

Thanks, Todd, you know it is!

Thanks too, for the other great pictures. I'd forgotten that the roof of the pilot house was round before it was replaced with that angular one. And the closeup that shows the flaired tender. All of the PSC ternder wrappers in the kits were flaired. The remant of the flair on the 99200's tender is original to the wrapper.

And that interesting flange on the stack. Lots of cool stuff in the history off that rotary.

Derrell, you may have just penned what could be my own epitath with that comment.

Thanks, Darel. Let me know if you'd like any closeups or however else I can help with yours. And don't forget to get Derrell and Todd involved early. I don't know if McCabes in Boulder is still there, but they sure put out a great breakfast back in the day. Fueled a lot of good stuff.

Couldn't get any really good pictures as they all went back through Dickey Eastbound today. Too much snow. The Rotary will be back tomorrow, they are clearing Boreas and Kenosha today.  

[Tim Schreiner]

That has always been one of my favorite models that you have done. I remember when you started on it many years go. So glad that you still have it.

[Mike Trent]

Thanks, Tim.

Actually, I have it again. Thankfully Rob Smith took excellent care of it in the long years he had it and was willing to trade for it so I could have it home again after so long. Obviously, maintaining this collection has been thanks to a pretty expansive team over the years.

[Mike Trent]

OK, I was able to get a good one after all this morning.

Very little snow here in Dickey, but the passes got hammered. This morning the rotary came in early from Leadville, with #75 and #537, which was on the freight Thursday, and two cabooses. They spent some time clearing the yard, then headed East toward Breckenridge and points East, like Boreas, Como, and Kenosha. Eastbound Train No.71 with Engine #6 was following about 90 minutes behind when they went through here on time this morning. This photo was taken clearing the Leadville siding.

This train will return here tomorrow, and the rotary will be put away for the next storm. March and April usually bring the heaviest snow in the Rockies, so it's likely that we'll see #99200 again soon.

Rotary 99200-Eng #537-#75 East

[Derrell Poole]

Todd, can you tell what engine is behind the plow in the second photos?

[Derrell Poole]

Actually I'm going to say this is likely the 1899-1900 winter season. In fact, it would have had to have been after Nov. 2nd 1899 as it has been relettered for C&S. At this point former DL&G 064 was now C&S 01. That winter was particularly brutal and the C&S was awaiting the arrival of their new plow from Cooke Loc. works (due to arrive in Dec. iirc.) That plow was 03 and would be Broad gauged a few years later. Of course the Jull was numbered 02. The engine behind the plow might be 68 - I'm sure it was a Baldwin. It would retain a McConnell /diamond stack until after 1904.

[Robert McFarland]

In the photo containing the Pacific Hotel,check out the MOW car with an end door and roof overhang-like the cars in one of the U&N photos.Is that the ice house in between the Hotel and Depot?

[Todd Hackett]

Derrell Poole wrote

...The engine behind the plow might be 68 - I'm sure it was a Baldwin...

I agree that it looks like one of the newer Baldwins (B-4-D or B-4-F). It doesn't have the air tank on top of the boiler yet, but the steam pipe on the front of the steam dome may be a clue. It looks like 68 had a similar fitting in the teens.

[Robert McFarland]

There is a companion photo in PARK COUNTY ARCHIVES photo section under the topic BOREAS PASS-photo 1799.In fact the whole Boreas Pass section is full of Rotary and Fanger action.

[Jim Courtney]

Superb model building, convincing photo-shopping, fantastic new prototype photos that I've never seen and great comments.  This post and discussion is definitely A+++++!

[Derrell Poole]

Todd, the valve on the steam dome was actually pretty common for most of the railroad's existence. I've seen these valves from the late '80s until the end of the line - at least when 69 left the road. Most of the 1890 Baldwins had one. Most of the Cooke 2-8-0s had them. Even the un rebuilt Cooke Moguls and the Brooks 2-6-0s had them. I think I've seen one or two of the Rebuilt Cookes with them. But I've never seen an 1897 Baldwin with one. So in the above photo it could be any of the D Class (B-4Ds) except maybe 65. I think I see a very vague "8" on the headlamp side number panel in the above photo you posted. Of course I'm looking at a much higher resolution copy of this print than provided here.

Check out the dome on No 63 about 1906 - 7

[Mike Keplinger]

Derrell, I'm sure it is the 63 based on the depth of the bottom cone of the stack - see page 146, Robt. Grandt's Narrow Gauge Pictorial Vol. VI. Not what  you'd call a 'standard' version of the McConnell stack?

[Derrell Poole]

Good call, Mike, but unless you've established that no other D Class 1890 Baldwin had this stack at the time I don't think we can be certain. If Todd would put up the other view of the plow train you would see that 2 out of the 3 engines had this non standard stack - can't read any of the numbers. Here is No. 66 with just such a stack a few years earlier;



And what was the standard McConnell anyway? There were definitely 2 versions and maybe even 3 that we could call "McConnell stacks";



Perhaps the pancake style was the standard and the version(s) that followed were not?



It was this deep "McConnell" that made a  re appearance about 1909 on 3 C&S locos after the fire-starter "shotgun" proved to be too costly (to the new CB&Q ownership?). Apparently the original McConnell wasn't all it was cracked up to be and the Railroad set about tinkering with it right away. Perhaps this deep version was expected to draft the best on a long smokebox?

I've found that each part of the TOC engines is a study of it's own right - stacks are one of the most interesting...

[Todd Hackett]

Derrell Poole wrote

...If Todd would put up the other view of the plow train you would see that 2 out of the 3 engines had this non standard stack...

Here is the other photo of the plow train. I can't make out any details on the locomotives.







Okay - you're probably talking about the photo at Frisco. Not many details (other than the stacks) can be seen from this angle. I have five Clinton Scott negatives of the rotary on the line, and I don't know that all are from the same train or even the same season.