Scrapped J's

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Here is a copy of the message I posted last August 20, 2004 in 
connection with builder's plates:

"When my brother and I were driving thru Portmouth, Ohio in 1958, we 
noticed  a scrapper right next to the N&W was scrapping steam 
locomotives.  In 1959, my brother and a friend drove down (Chicago area) 
to Portsmouth in my 1956 Studebaker, and purchased as much as they could 
fit into that vehicle.

They got the following BP's (At $1.00 each)  #268 (Y6 - 2120 - Sept 
1936 - 1st of Y6 series.), #279 (A - 1208 -  May 1937.), #394 (Y6b - 
2191 - Nov 1950.), and #411(S1a - 213 -  Oct 1951.).   The bell off of 
Y3 - 2073 and a Clinchfieid top mounted bell of unknown origin, at 
$75.00 each.  My brother requested, and they did torch around the Pyle 
National Headlight on  "J" 605 and took the marker lights off of 606, 
all at $75.00.  Those BP's were already gone.  The last item was an air 
horn.  He had his eye on a N&W whistle, but worried about the car 
springs. When everything was loaded it looked like the the Studebaker 
would "Bottom out".

After he got home, we thought about renting a truck, driving down, and 
loading it up, but sorry to say we never got to do that.

I have that roughly cut out section of 605's nose (~32" dia.) mounted on 
the wall in my basement shop along with the markers.  It's a shame he 
could not have gotten the whole nose mounted on top of that 
Studebaker.   BP's are relatively easy to copy, and I have done this 
with these and other BP's, but headlights and marker lights are almost 
impossible to copy.   I'm in the process of making a copy of the bell 
off of 2073, but that's for a future email."

Ron Peisker