4-8-2 - 1500 Class Series - Locomotive Front Coonskin Number Board Headlight Bracket Faces - Inquiry

Does anybody know how many and which numbers of the SLSF 1500s never carried a coonskin number board under the smokebox headlight?

Ken

 

I have pictures of all of the Frisco 4-8-2 1500s, and multiple pictures of most of them. I been collecting them for years.

Following Tom's excellent lead above, I quickly scanned through my collection while watching the World Series tonight. Without magnification, some of them are small, so I cannot say I have all the answers. I did not look through books or my web photographs, which no doubt include images other than those I have.

Perhaps Mike could move the last few postings on this matter to another thread topic - "1500 Faces" or something like that. Then those of us with a good collection of 1500 class pictures could list the date of each picture, if known, the smokebox door size, and if a square or coonskin number plate for each 1500 picture in our collections.

I assume that each of the 1500s came from Baldwin with the rectangular number plate, and then the Frisco applied the coonskin to many of them during subsequent tripe to the shops.

Regarding the number boards, I show the following for the 1500s:

(N = rectangular number plate, Y = coonskin number plate)

SLSF 1500 - Y
SLSF 1501 - N, Y
SLSF 1502 - Y
SLSF 1503 - N
SLSF 1504 - N, Y
SLSF 1505 - N
SLSF 1506 - N, Y
SLSF 1507 - Y
SLSF 1508 - Y
SLSF 1509 - N
SLSF 1510 - N
SLSF 1511 - Y
SLSF 1512 - Y
SLSF 1513 - N
SLSF 1514 - Y
SLSF 1515 - N, Y
SLSF 1516 - N
SLSF 1517 - N
SLSF 1518 - Y
SLSF 1519 - N, Y
SLSF 1520 - Y
SLSF 1521 - N
SLSF 1522 - Y
SLSF 1523 - N, Y
SLSF 1524 - N
SLSF 1525 - N
SLSF 1526 - N
SLSF 1527 - N
SLSF 1528 - N, Y
SLSF 1529 - N

Perhaps more information to follow.

Back to the ball game.

Ken

 

Per Ken's suggestion, I am going to attempt to move the messages from the earlier thread.

I am going to copy and paste so that the originals are preserved in case something should go horribly wrong.

Best Regards,

 

Tom,

I do not have the exact unit numbers handy, but I believe numbers SLSF 1500-1514 were all in the original order with Baker valve gear and air reservoirs mounted under the running boards.

The second order, numbers SLSF 1515-1519, that were delivered in 1925, along with the subsequent locomotives ordered, had Walschaerts valve gear, which necessitated moving the air reservoirs topside.

The SLSF 1515-1519 batch came from Baldwin at the same time as Mikado 2-8-2 types SLSF 4135-4139, which had similar features. Ssee page 2 from the Frisco Employees Magazine of October, 1925.

http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/frisco/magazines/fem_1925_10/fem_1925_10_06.pdf)

Don Worth or others can likely confirm the exact orders and order dates. I am not sure if any of the original series would have been shopped later in life and given Walschaerts by West Springfield.

Regardless, it seems that it was a rather systematic approach to the placement of the air reservoirs.

Best Regards,