Does anyone know when the last steam engine was scrapped at Springfield? Also would it be possible to know the engine number? I ask because my sister and brother in law has a bell on a post in their yard that my brother in law got from his Grandfather. He also has the whistle from the same engine. He said his grandpa claimed he got it when he worked at the Springfield shops when they scrapped the last steamer. Since my Grandfather was a fireman for Frisco, I would be curious as to the number of the engine, hoping that it might have been one that he was on., a long shot I know. Thanks, Mark
I would say it was the 4519. After sitting for many years at Ft. Scott it was taken to Springfield and unceremoniously scrapped. I think early 60s?
Thank you, Don for your reply. My brother in laws Grandpa must have been mistaken that it was from the last engine scrapped. I looked at some photos of the 4500 series engines and specifically 4519 and they all had the bell mounted in front of the smokebox on a bracket. This bell has a curved base with clearance pockets in the base to bolt it down on the top of the boiler over rivets. I will try to get some photos of the bell and whistle and post them here. Thanks again, Mark
My brother in law brought me the whistle this evening. He said he would look the bell over to see if he can find any numbers stamped on it. The whistle has a couple of casting numbers that are visable in the photos, but just a quick look over I didn't see any other numbers. I will look it over more carefully in the next day or so. I am going to pick up a couple of pipe fittings and mount it on the tank of my portable air compressor and see what it sounds like. Here are some photos. Thanks, Mark
I mounted the whistle on my air compressor. I have a 60 cfm compressor made by Gordon Smith & Co from a Model A Ford engine. The tank has a 1 1/2" npt bung in the end , so I screwed in an ell and a short nipple with a 1 1/2" x 2" bell reducer to mount the whistle upright. The compressor is set at 120 psi. It is very loud and a deeper tone that I imagined. It does sound more like a boat whistle. My brother in law heard it from his front porch a little over a half mile away. Pretty Cool!
