Semi-retired Consolidation number 29 rests beside the platform outside the Grand Canyon Railway (GCRY) depot at Williams. An extension cord runs from a building to the engine to illuminate the headlight and marker lights during the night. Built by ALCO in 1906 for the Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad as their number 14 the engine was then acquired by Marquette & Huron Mountain Railroad and renumbered 29. I'm unable to locate the date GCRY obtained the loco but they restored her in 2004 at a cost of US$1 million apparently. The rebuild also included a Lempor Ejector hence the odd shaped smokestack, or chimney, for any of you Brits reading this. The Lempor ejects differently from a conventional blastpipe. As one cylinder ejects, it creates a vacuum in the other cylinder, thereby requiring less power to drive the piston. The Lempor exhaust is claimed to deliver a 100 percent improvement in draughting capacity over traditional exhaust systems and a 40 percent increase in locomotive power. |