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Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal 15

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Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal 15
Brooklyn East District Terminal 0-6-0ST no. 15 on the move to West Medford, Massachusetts in 1963
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderH.K. Porter, Inc.
Serial number5966
Build dateMarch 1917
RebuilderStrasburg Rail Road
Rebuild date1998–1999
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte0-6-0ST
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.46 in (1,168 mm)
Adhesive weight128,000 lb (58.1 tonnes)
Loco weight128,000 lb (58.1 tonnes)
Fuel typeNew: Oil
Now: Coal
Fuel capacity500 US gallons (1,900 L; 420 imp gal)
Water cap.1,450 US gal (5,500 L; 1,210 imp gal)
Boiler pressure180 lbf/in2 (1.24 MPa)
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size18 in × 24 in (457 mm × 610 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort25,817 lbf (114.84 kN)
Career
Operators
ClassST
Numbers
  • BEDT 15
  • NWR 1 “Thomas”
RetiredDecember 25, 1963 (1st retirement)
1968 (2nd retirement)
Restored1965 (1st restoration)
April 29, 1999 (2nd restoration)
Current ownerStrasburg Rail Road
DispositionOperational
References:[1][2][3]

Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal 15 is a ST class 0-6-0 "Switcher" type steam locomotive, owned and operated by the Strasburg Rail Road outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania, where it was significantly altered to resemble the children's television series character Thomas the Tank Engine.[1][2][4]

History

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Revenue service

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The engine was built in March 1917 by the H.K. Porter, Inc. for Mesta Machine Works before being sold to the Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal in 1935; it has a wheel arrangement of 0-6-0ST.[3] The engine originally worked as a dockside switcher engine, hauling freight trains for boats and ships.[1][3]

Preservation and changing ownership

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After years of service, No. 15 was retired and put out of service on December 25, 1963. It was purchased by the Southern Appalachian Railway in 1965, where it was rebuilt and operated in occasional service.[1][2][3]

In 1968, the Yancey Railroad offered steam trips between Micaville and Kona by using the No. 15 and two steel passenger coaches. This operation unfortunately was not a huge success and the locomotive along with the equipment was put into storage in Burnsville, North Carolina for several years before being sold. In 1975, the Toledo, Lake Erie and Western Railway purchased No. 15 and placed it on static display for the next twenty-three years.[1] The engine remained on display until 1998, when the Strasburg Rail Road purchased No. 15.[1][2]

Strasburg Rail Road

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When film producer Britt Allcroft asked permission from Strasburg to film on their railroad for Thomas and the Magic Railroad, they brought an idea to her, about which she was thrilled; they proposed to restore the locomotive and convert it into a full-size operating replica of Thomas the Tank Engine.[1][2]

Work subsequently began, and in the process, the railroad converted No. 15 from oil to coal firing.[2][4][5] No. 15 participated in its first public Day Out with Thomas events, on the weekend of September 25-27, 1998, but the locomotive was not fired up, and a GE 44-ton switcher moved the train from the opposite end.[6] No. 15 eventually underwent its first test fire with its Thomas livery, on April 14, 1999, and on April 29, it made its first public run for that day’s Day Out with Thomas event.[1][4][5]

The full-scale Thomas replica locomotive has been used for the semiannual Thomas activities ever since.[7] It also has been occasionally transferred to other railroads for the same purpose, such as the Illinois Railway Museum, the Greenfield Village Line, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, and the Belvidere and Delaware River Railway. Thomas' original face was replaced in April 2014 with an animatronic CGI face with the mouth’s ability to open and close, and a voice speaker, recorded by Martin Sherman.[1]

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  • No. 15 sitting in East Strasburg’s Yards in 2001
    No. 15 sitting in East Strasburg’s Yards in 2001
  • No. 15 pulling into East Strasburg’s Yards while pulling a Day out with Thomas train, c. 2011
    No. 15 pulling into East Strasburg’s Yards while pulling a Day out with Thomas train, c. 2011
  • No. 15 operating with the animatronic face it had since 2014
    No. 15 operating with the animatronic face it had since 2014

See also

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References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal 15.
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "S. Berliner, III's BEDT Page: BEDT #15". Archived from the original on March 16, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal - # 15". Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d "Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal 0-6-0 "Switcher" Locomotives in the USA". Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Molitoris, Cathy (September 6, 2014). "Thomas the Tank Engine bringing Percy to Strasburg tour stop". LancasterOnline. LNP Media Group, Inc.
  5. ^ a b "Equipment Roster" (PDF). July 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  6. ^ "Railroad News Photos - Thomas Comes to Life". Trains. Vol. 59, no. 1. Kalmbach Publishing. January 1999. p. 36. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  7. ^ "DAY OUT WITH THOMAS". STRASBURG RAIL ROAD. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
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