Brooks-Scanlon Corporation 1
Encyclopedia
Brooks-Scanlon Corporation No. 1 is a 2-6-2
steam locomotive
at Steamtown National Historic Site
. This type of locomotive was originally developed for use on the flat terrain of the prairie, such as the Great Plains
of Kansas
and surrounding states, thus it was referred to as a Prairie-type locomotive. The Prairie locomotives were later used by lumber companies which operated on flat forest terrain. This locomotive was built specifically for the lumber industry and served several lumber firms in Florida
, which completed it in 1914. Locomotive No. 1 was put into service at the company's Eastport, Florida sawmill. The locomotive, which could burn either coal or wood, was likely originally outfitted with a Rushton, or cabbage cinder catching stack, "If so, a later owner apparently replaced the Rushton stack with the 'shotgun' stack now on the locomotive".
After the United States entered World War I in 1917, The Carpenter-o'Brien Lumber Company was sold to Company. By 1928, Brooks-Scanlon was operation in four Florida counties and producing 100000000 board feet (235,973.7 m³) of lumber. This locomotive was probably used to haul logs in to the mill from the woods or to switch the yard around the Eastport plant, or both.
Brooks-Scanlon closed its Eastport mill in 1929 and moved its headquarters to Foley, Florida, which was named after the company's general manager, J.S. Foley. Locomotive No. 1 might have been moved to the new location. In the following years the locomotive changed hands four of five times between several interconnected Florida lumber firms.
In 1959, locomotive No.1 was taken out of service by its then owner, Lee Tidewater Cypress, in Perry, Florida. It was sold to F. Nelson Blount
in 1962 by the Lee Tidewater Cypress parent company, J.C. Turner Company. It was moved to Walpole, New Hampshire
and then, across the Connecticut River
, to Bellows Falls, Vermont
and displayed at Steamtown, USA
, where it stayed until the Blount collection was relocated to Scranton, Pennsylvania
.
The Steamtown Historical Study, which was last updated in February, 2002, made the following recommendation for Brooks-Scanlon No.1:
2-6-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, six coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels.Other equivalent classifications are:...
steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
at Steamtown National Historic Site
Steamtown National Historic Site
Steamtown National Historic Site is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located on in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, at the site of the former Scranton yards of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad . The museum is built around a working replica turntable and a roundhouse that is...
. This type of locomotive was originally developed for use on the flat terrain of the prairie, such as the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and surrounding states, thus it was referred to as a Prairie-type locomotive. The Prairie locomotives were later used by lumber companies which operated on flat forest terrain. This locomotive was built specifically for the lumber industry and served several lumber firms in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
Career
The Carpenter-O'Brien Lumber Company was incorporated in Delaware in 1913. The company, which operated in Florida, ordered this locomotive from Baldwin Locomotive WorksBaldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
, which completed it in 1914. Locomotive No. 1 was put into service at the company's Eastport, Florida sawmill. The locomotive, which could burn either coal or wood, was likely originally outfitted with a Rushton, or cabbage cinder catching stack, "If so, a later owner apparently replaced the Rushton stack with the 'shotgun' stack now on the locomotive".
After the United States entered World War I in 1917, The Carpenter-o'Brien Lumber Company was sold to Company. By 1928, Brooks-Scanlon was operation in four Florida counties and producing 100000000 board feet (235,973.7 m³) of lumber. This locomotive was probably used to haul logs in to the mill from the woods or to switch the yard around the Eastport plant, or both.
Brooks-Scanlon closed its Eastport mill in 1929 and moved its headquarters to Foley, Florida, which was named after the company's general manager, J.S. Foley. Locomotive No. 1 might have been moved to the new location. In the following years the locomotive changed hands four of five times between several interconnected Florida lumber firms.
In 1959, locomotive No.1 was taken out of service by its then owner, Lee Tidewater Cypress, in Perry, Florida. It was sold to F. Nelson Blount
F. Nelson Blount
F. Nelson Blount was president and founder of Blount Seafood Corporation, and as a millionaire collector of vintage steam locomotives and rail cars, he founded Steamtown, USA, which was operated by the non-profit corporation, the Steamtown Foundation. Steamtown was a steam train museum that ran...
in 1962 by the Lee Tidewater Cypress parent company, J.C. Turner Company. It was moved to Walpole, New Hampshire
Walpole, New Hampshire
Walpole is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,734 at the 2010 census.The town's central settlement, where 605 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Walpole census-designated place , and is east of New Hampshire Route 12...
and then, across the Connecticut River
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...
, to Bellows Falls, Vermont
Bellows Falls, Vermont
Bellows Falls is an incorporated village located in the town of Rockingham in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,165 at the 2000 census...
and displayed at Steamtown, USA
Steamtown, USA
Steamtown, USA was a steam locomotive museum that ran steam excursions out of North Walpole, New Hampshire, and Bellows Falls, Vermont, from the 1960s to 1983. Founded by millionaire seafood industrialist F. Nelson Blount, Steamtown was operated primarily by the non-profit Steamtown Foundation...
, where it stayed until the Blount collection was relocated to Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
.
The Steamtown Historical Study, which was last updated in February, 2002, made the following recommendation for Brooks-Scanlon No.1:
While a Prairie-type 2-6-2 of a common-carrier railroad might be preferable to represent that type in the Steamtown collection, as this is the only locomotive of the type in the collection, the NPS should restore it "cosmetically" but not mechanically to operable condition, and should exhibit it in a roundhouse. As with each locomotive acquired, a report should be prepared prior to restoration, and that document should include the decision regarding which of three ownerships to restore the locomotive to represent: Carpenter-O'Brien, Brooks-Scanlon, or Lee Tidewater Cypress. That document should include intensive research in Florida and elsewhere as needed to obtain documents and photographs relating to the history of the locomotive and illustrating its appearance while working for its three owning firms. That report, furthermore, should specifically investigate whether the locomotive ever had a Rushton stack and determine whether it is desirable or possible to either obtain and install a genuine Rushton stack or replicate one if the locomotive did once have one. It should also locate for replication brass flag stanchions, visible in various photographs, now missing from the headlight platform of the locomotive.