Pennsylvania Live Steamers
1954
By J. Harold Geissel
125 Biddle Rd., Paoli, Penna.
The Miniature Locomotive, July-August 1954
The Pennsylvania Live Steamers are broadcasting an invitation to an operating meet to be held at the club track on Saturday and Sunday, September 11 & 12, 1954.
Location of the track is about two miles south of Paoli and the line is built on ground level and is laid to 1/2 inch, 3/4 inch and 1 inch scales. Friends are asked to bring the locomotive and riding car and have their boiler tested.
The firing-up tracks at two round-houses have electric, water and air service. A supply of buckwheat anthracite will be on hand.
Other members of the committee are Frank H. Moore Jr. and William Moorwood.
Regional Meet
by Percy Pierce
426 Greenview Lane, Llanerch, Penna.
The Miniature Locomotive, November-December 1954
Our regional meet was held on September 11 and 12, 1954 and much interest was shown. Live Steamers came from over a wide area of Pennsylvania and there were participants from New Jersey, Delaware and Massachusetts.
The following engines were shown in operation:
- Harry Quick and Bros., Mahanoy City, Pa., 1 inch scale 4-6-4
- Earl Allred, New Cumberland, Pa., 3/4 inch scale G-5 10-wheeler
- Carl Friedrich, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1 inch scale 0-4-0
- Harry Fischer, Westfield, N.J., 1/2 inch scale Northern Pacific Mallet 4-8-8-4
- William Moorwood, Doylestown, Pa., 3/4 inch scale American type 4-4-0
- Kenneth Souser, Berwyn, Pa., 3/4 inch scale Hudson built by Walt Russell
- Daniel Russell, Wilmington, Delaware, 3/4 inch Boston and Albany tanker
- Mr. and Mrs. Rickson, Springfield, Mass., 3/4 inch Atlantic and 3/4 inch 0-4-0
- Frank Murphy, Springfield, Pa., 1/2 inch scale Boston & Albany tanker
- Robert Thomas, Oakmont, Pa., 1/2 inch scale B&O President
- George Thomas, Oakmont, Pa., 1 inch scale Reading Camelback
Parts and engines under construction were shown by:
- Ken Souser,
- Karl Layer
- Roger Dudley
- William Marple
- Percy Pierce
1956
The North American Live Steamer, Volume 1 Number 6
Frank H. Moore, Jr
The Annual Meet of the Pennsylvania Live Steamers was held at the club track, the Paoli, Leopard and Sugartown Railroad, the weekend after Memorial Day. As is customary on PLS meets, the first day of the meet was rainy, but in spite of the rain, boiler tests were administered under the shelter of the old apple tree, and several of the visitors and members of the home team operated.
On SUnday, the weather was again following custom, bright and sunshiny, and the occasion was marked by operation from early in the morning until late afternoon. During the afternoon, a number of stationary engines were operated from a couple of boilers set up for exhibition on the loading dock. This is appropriate, for the name of the club is the Pennsylvania Live Steamers which includes stationary and marine engines as well as locomotives, and it is hoped that we will see some marine engines and traction engines in the future.
The total number of locomotives fires up during the meet was fifteen, making this the biggest meet in the history of the club to date, all of which were operated on the club track, except for Ed Hoefeld's one gauge engine. Unfortunately, we have no one gauge track, but we hope to see more of this engine in the future. This was the first time it had been fired up, and it was interesting to note that Fred Bohm loaned his blower from his gigantic Mallet to place on the stack for stimulating the draft.
We are all interested in seeing Carl Purinton's English engine, as it is the first time amny of us had seen an engine with inside cylinders. The only other such engine ever operated on the club railroad was Frank Murphy's 2-1/2 inch gauge 0-6-0 LMS 4-F which we saw several years ago.
If we can take the engines at the meet as a fair sample of the country as a whole, the most popular engine is Little Engines Hudson in 3-1/2 inch gauge; however, there are two local men who have Yankee Shops 4-6-6-T and had they been present, there would have been three of these interesting engines.
One somewhat surprising feature of the locomotives around here is the scarcity of representatives of the local big railroads, that is, the Reading, Pennsylvania, and B&C. However, representatives which do exist are superb pieces of work, and worthily carry the names of those companies (although G. Thomas' is lettered "Paoli Leopard & Sugardtown")
The list of locomotives present is as follows:
- Ed Hoefeld, 4-6-2 Southern Railway, 1-3/4 inch gauge
- Karl Frederick, 0-4-0-T, 3-1/2 inch gauge
- Bill Morewood, 4-4-0, 3-1/2 inch gauge
- Stanley Robinson, 4-4-2, 3-1/2 inch gauge
- Carl Purinton, 0-6-0-T (English inside cylinders), 3-1/2 inch gauge
- Earl Alared, 4-6-0 PRR G-5, 3-1/2 inch gauge
- G.W. Eisaman, 4-6-4, 3-1/2 inch gauge
- A.R. Bower, 4-6-4, 3-1/2 inch gauge
- J.A. Duke, 4-6-4, 3-1/2 inch gauge
- A.E. Bouffard, 4-6-6-T B&A, 3-1/2 inch gauge
- C.P. Nass, 4-8-4 lettered "Pennsylvania", 3-1/2 inch gauge
- Fred Bohm, Mallet 4-6-6-4 Union Pacific, 3-1/2 inch gauge
- George R. Thomas, 4-6-? Reading L-7 Camelback, 4-3/4 inch gauge
- Harry Quick, 4-6-4 and 4-8-2, 4-3/4 inch gauge
Among the unfinished engines exhibited were the following:
- Karl Frederick, 4-2-0 Crampton, 4-3/4 inch gauge
- Bill Marple, 4-6-2 G-2, 3-1/2 inch gauge