Age - 106 by bmac62
Open full image in new tab Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
Here we have a Baldwin Consolidated Locomotive, built in February 1902.
Imagine working on this powerful, old engine..., sitting in the right seat, hand on the throttle, keeping one eye on the steam pressure guage so it doesn't go too high, black smoke pouring forth from the smokestack as you pull a steep grade, the fireman with the boiler fire-box door open and shoveling coal as fast as he can, wind blasting in your face and your other eye on your railroad watch to keep a tight schedule. Got to make Denver on time...
This is a 2-8-0, so labeled because of the configuration of its' wheels. The 2-8-0 came into prominance in the late 19th century and was designed to haul heavy freight trains. These were used world-wide. 33,000 were built in the USA. 12,000 of these were exported.
Today this locomotive sits outside at the Railroad Museum in Atchison, Kansas. Young and old kids love it and can climb in the cab and make believe they are engineers of old.
An old kid myself,
Bill

Comments (21)
Fastastic!!!!!!!!
Wonderful photo.
I can hear the whistle echo through the mountains. See the puffs of smoke in the valleys... Those were the good old days... Great capture, Sir. Wish I had been with you on your trek... Did Mandy carry your camera bag... Give her a pat from Burt.
Hear the lonesome whistle blow....lots of folklore and history in these...
Great capture Bill. I am old enough to remember the sounds and sights of locomotives, and I loved them.
Beautiful compo and interesting information :)
Great shot and angle!
Wonderful capture and train, Excellent well done..
Love those old engines - The woods rails here in NH were surfed by Baldwins and Climax for the most part by my reading. Excellent capture of this well preserved giant.
What a great shot! And a great history to go with it too. Reminds me, must be time to sort out another train picture..... Keep em' coming, my friend. Top work. Rob.
I love trains...I've always been fascinated by them...this one is a beauty!
Wonderful photo of this old locomotive. I too would love to climb aboard and pretend to be an engineer.
Great picture Bill, gotta love these old trains.As a child I assumed the 'cow catcher' was there to ram blockades set up by robbers.Didn't the Atchison Topeka Railroad feature in a song ?.Thanks Bill.
Great capture Bill, what a magnificent locomotive.
From a time when rail travel must have so much more of a mixed experience than it is now. Terrific capture Bill.
WOW Thats OLD and STRONG...We buy couple one like this in Canada and I saw this model in FREE STUFF once...but not remember where, Thanks for the Info.
How regal these engines look, I didn't appreciate them when I was young but now I have a bit of sense. A lovely capture.
Great looking engine - hefty catcher on front.
What a beauty! "Imagine working on this train".... after riding the Silverton train, my husband, who was a machinist, said he'd work in their machine shop for a week ...for free! :) Nice shots, enjoyed viewing your gallery that I have missed lately, Bill.
a real beauty, and a fine capture, the angle giving us a view of the sweep of these old beauties. From the front, I see that there were cars attached to the coal car, and there's color! But the engine is a melange of all kinds of stuff, perhaps familiar to you (and to train lovers in general) but just amazing 'stuff' to me. When these beasts rolled into town when I was a child, I remember barely coming up to the top of the biggest wheels; and the clanging & roar of the steam was superseded by the dripping steam & water from its gaping jaws, making me think it was gonna turn around and eat me up! I was terrified & thrilled at the same time. Even when it sat still, it huffed and grunted and spit out hot water. Yes, I've heard about sitting in the engineer's seat and seeing all the land shoot by, with the dash to keep the engine stoked and all that heat & soot. It has real power & beauty. And you know what else I love? The little sprig of greenery behind one of its wheels. Nature embraces these old beasts, no doubt about it. Nice to see this in b&w and then color. Same creature, but wholly different sides to its personality. Fine work.
Believe it or not, I like this one better than the black and white shot you just posted 4/18/09.