I acquired this 1-1/2 inch scale, 7-1/4 inch gauge live steam locomotive from my friend, Rick Rubino in early 2006. The engine required quite a bit of work to get it into running condition. The biggest problem was the boiler leaked at the front tube sheet. It is a copper boiler, so repair was possible rather than replacing it, but the boiler did have to be removed from the chassis. The plumbing had to be completely replaced. I made many new fittings from scratch. The tender required extensive re-building.
The engine was originally built as a free lance project. I wanted to find a historical prototype for detailing and lettering so I searched many photographic resources to find a close match (there is a prototype for everything!). The last three 4-4-0 type engines built by Baldwin in 1929 were for the Chicago and Illinois Midland Railroad. This model is not an exact match, but it is close enough for me (certainly closer than a CP engine a previous owner of the model had used).
