On August 3rd the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum in Sugarcreek, Ohio, safely unloaded its newest acquisition, a rare Reading Railroad “Camelback” steam locomotive #1187 constructed in 1903. It is the 23rd steam locomotive acquired for Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum’s collection, and is one of only three Camelbacks still existing, all the others being scrapped and melted down by the mid-1950s.
On July 15, the locomotive was sold in a closed-bid auction held at the Strasburg RR in Pennsylvania, with the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum placing the highest bid. The sale price was not disclosed. Moved to Ohio by three highway trucks, #1187 and its accompanying coal-carrying water tender were rolled off their trailers this morning. A third trailer carrying #1187’s parts was to will be delivered on August 4th.
“This Reading 0-4-0 Camelback is a unique, unusual and significant type of steam locomotive that is a welcome addition to the Age of Steam Roundhouse,” said William Strawn, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jerry and Laura Jacobson Foundation, Inc., the organization that provided the funds to build AoSRM. “This tiny switch engine rolled on just 4 driving wheels and was able to negotiate tight curves to move railroad cars at factories or waterfront docks. The #1187 was the last Camelback used in regular freight railroad service (1962), and in 1967, with a special Strasburg RR train, made its last run under steam. We are adding another one of a Jerry’s goals to our steam collection,” Strawn added.
Camelback #1187 is a former Philadelphia & Reading Railroad 0-4-0 steam switcher that was specially designed to burn the smokeless anthracite “hard coal” found in eastern Pennsylvania. The Camelbacks needed a special, wider firebox to burn anthracite coal with its lower heating value than found in other types of coal. Consequently, engineers had to operate these locomotives inside a separate cab that was mounted on top of the boiler. It was this hump-back appearance resembling the desert-dwelling animal that gave rise to their nickname, “Camelback.” Firemen shoveled coal into the wide firebox in the usual manner, but from their own small, open-sided cab located at the back of the locomotive. Therefore, the engineer and fireman had to work in two separate cabs on the same locomotive. Perched in his tight cab located atop a Camelback’s hot boiler, the engineer roasted during the summers, and working in his tiny, open-air cab during the winters, the fireman froze.
From 2008-2012, Jerry and Laura Jacobson of Sugarcreek constructed their historically accurate Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum. The late Mr. Jacobson was the owner and operator of the 550-mile Ohio Central Railroad System. Jerry loved old-time steam locomotives and acquired 22 of them for his private collection, believed to have been the world’s largest, privately-owned collection of steam locos. Mr. Jacobson sold his railroads, and spent the remainder of his life constructing his 18-stall roundhouse and back shop complex to restore and display his stable of iron horses. Today, Mrs. Jacobson kindly continues Jerry’s “love of locomotives” tradition and generous support as begun by her late husband.
“Even though #1187 appears in rough shape, AoSRM has all of its parts except for its wood cab that has rotted away,” said Tim Sposato, Chief Mechanical Officer at AoSRM and who shepherded #1187 to its new home in Ohio. “Luckily, included with the locomotive’s purchase is the original drawing of #1187’s cab. That will be a huge help in AoSRM’s cosmetic restoration of this rare little switcher.”
The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum offers summertime tours, occasional fire-ups of some of our steamers, and many other special events. We are a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Please visit our website at: www.ageofsteamroundhouse.org , or visit us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
-via Press Release