Flagg Coal Company 75

Flagg Coal at Train Festival 2009 in Owosso, Michigan

Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Builder	Vulcan Iron Works, Wilkes Barre, PA
Serial number	3972
Build date	December 1930

Specifications
Configuration	0-4-0ST
UIC class	B
Gauge	4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.	38 in (965 mm)
Adhesive weight	82,000 lb (37.2 metric tons)
Loco weight	82,000 lb (37.2 metric tons)
Fuel type	Coal
Boiler pressure	150 lbf/in² (1.03 MPa)
Cylinders	Two, outside
Cylinder size	14 in × 22 in (356 mm × 559 mm)
Valve type	Slide valves

Performance figures
Tractive effort	18,325 lbf (81.51 kN)

Career
Operators	Flagg Coal Company, Solvay Process Quarry
Numbers	FCC 2, Solvay Process Quarry 75
Locale	Michigan
Retired	1954
Restored	1991–2002
Current owner	John and Barney Gramling Steam Railroading Institute
Disposition	Runs daily train rides and occasional excursions, occasionally based on Owosso, Michigan, at Steam Railroading Institute

Flagg Coal Company 75 is a 0-4-0 saddletank steam locomotive built for the Flagg Coal Company in 1930. Restored and owned by John and Byron Gramling, the engine was loaned in 2002 to the Steam Railroading Institute where it is used for demonstrations and for powering train rides and excursions. Originally numbered Flagg Coal Company 2, the locomotive's number was changed to 75 when it was sold to the Solvay Process Quarry in 1935. It never actually wore "Flagg Coal Company 75" during its service life.

History

FCC 75 went into service in December 1930 as #2 for the Flagg Coal Company of Avoca, Pennsylvania, where it was used as a switch engine. In 1935 it was sold to the Solvay Process Co. in Jamesville, New York, and renumbered 75. It was then used to push 4-wheel hopper cars from the steam shovel to the crusher at the rock quarry. In the early 1950s the Solvay Process Co. replaced the 0-4-0s like # 75 with trucks and dieselized the handling of finished crushed stone with two GE 80 tonners, #5 and #6. (#6 now belongs to the Central NY Chapter, NRHS along with former Solvay Process Co. Alco 0-4-0 # 53). In 1954, #75 and twelve other locomotives were sold to Dr. Groman and his planned Rail City Museum in Sandy Pond, New York. The locomotive sat there untouched until 1991 when John and Barney Gramling purchased it with the intent to restore it to operating condition. The father-son duo painstakingly disassembled the locomotive, moved it to their shop in Ashley, Indiana and over the course of the following ten years returned it to service. In 2002 John and Barney loaned the locomotive to the Steam Railroading Institute where it was used for demonstrations and to power steam excursions.

Demonstrations

Flagg Coal Company 75 has traveled around the country to operate, give demonstrations and educate the public about steam locomotive operation and history. The locomotive has made a few historic appearances, such as being the first steam locomotive to operate in Port Huron, Michigan, since the early 1960s.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.