CN steamer 1395 cosmetic restoration at Coopersville

[GP30M4216]

Was anyone on the board involved with this project? It’s an impressive effort to turn a total eyesore into a nice showpiece for the village and the railroad. I’m looking forward to heading up to check it out sometime soon. Watch the video, you can see they recently added details like number boards and painted the Coopersville & Marne lettering and logo on the tender

https://www.woodtv.com/news/ottawa-coun ... ville/amp/

[GP30M4216]

I finally had a chance to get up to Coopersville to the monorail to check in on 1395 in its new cosmetic career. Looks great! it’s a great morning shot!

[GP30M4216]

Does anyone know the status/history of this little CMRY centercab critter?

Meanwhile, just around the corner, the Coopersville Museum looks like they are just wrapping up construction on their new building enclosing the Mona Lake GRGH&M interurban car. They’re also the caretakers for what is likely the best preserved interurban station/substation building in Michigan:

[SD80MAC]

#3049 came from the DuPont plant in Montague. It’s a GE 50 Tonner, not sure if it was originally built for DuPont or not.

[Tim]

by Firemedic Mike » Tue May 31, 2016 10:01 pm
The 3049 is a GE 50 ton center cab switcher. It was built in Feb 1957 in Erie, PA. Serial 32850 on the builder's plate. Class B-B-100/100-2GE763. 300hp. Railroad website lists it as having 2 HBI 600 Cummins Diesel engines and shows that it came from DuPont Chemical in Montague Mi.

[Tim]

by Raildudes dad » Wed Jun 01, 2016 7:28 pm
3049 was one of a pair at the DuPont Montague Works, No 1 and No 2. Both were red with white trim and built for Standard Oil. One left by rail, the second was landlocked when CSX pulled up the Montague branch. The C&M bought it when they sold their 50 ton 2 axle to Gordon Morris at the MSO. He repainted it, numbered it #14 and paired it with #15 an 80 ton center cab. There's a photo of the two in White Pigeon on this site.

[MQT1223]

Is the roof from the John Engler going to be put over the 1395 in some way? Also wondering if the headlight will get mounted.

[pudgy]

by Firemedic Mike » Tue May 31, 2016 10:01 pm
The 3049 is a GE 50 ton center cab switcher. It was built in Feb 1957 in Erie, PA. Serial 32850 on the builder's plate. Class B-B-100/100-2GE763. 300hp. Railroad website lists it as having 2 HBI 600 Cummins Diesel engines and shows that it came from DuPont Chemical in Montague Mi.

Can't tell you what engines were put in, but a few years ago the IHB Cummins were removed and newer units were installed, along with some other internal work. Might be caterpillar engines installed. Apparently they are overpowered now so it's kept in a small circle of hands to keep from burning up the generators...

[SD80MAC]

3049 formerly had a pair of 150 HP Cummins diesels rated at a combined 300 HP. A few years ago it was rebuilt with a pair of 300 HP Cats, making 600 HP combined. As pudgy said, its overpowered now and can easily slip or burn up the generator if you're not very careful.

[EWRice]

When 3049 was repowered, the original 150hp Cummins HBI600s were replaced with a set of Cummins NTC335s, part of the long lived 855ci Cummins engine family. The originals were naturally aspirated while the replacements are turbocharged. The 335s came from a scrapped center cab (65 ton?) in northern Indiana. At the same time the locomotives two low voltage wiring harnesses were replaced (custom built).

[SD80MAC]

Thanks Eric, couldn't remember if the new ones were CATs or Cummins.

[Manistique]

I think the history of the CN steam locomotive is that it might have been owned by a private individual located north of Vassar on the old NYC line who bought it from CN when it was decommissioned in the late 1950's. If it is, the story I heard was that he rebuilt it himself (he built a pole barn out behind his place for it) and got it running. It may have made a run or two on TSBY when they owned the line, I remember PJ DeWolf the president mentioning it was running and they were talking to the owner about using it for freight. If this is not the same locomotive I wonder if anyone else has heard of the one I am describing? I think was a small 10 Wheeler type locomotive like this one. CN ran a lot of them out of Palmerston, Ontario back before diesels.

[Dan Cluley]

I think the history of the CN steam locomotive is that it might have been owned by a private individual located north of Vassar on the old NYC line who bought it from CN when it was decommissioned in the late 1950's. If it is, the story I heard was that he rebuilt it himself (he built a pole barn out behind his place for it) and got it running. It may have made a run or two on TSBY when they owned the line, I remember PJ DeWolf the president mentioning it was running and they were talking to the owner about using it for freight. If this is not the same locomotive I wonder if anyone else has heard of the one I am describing? I think was a small 10 Wheeler type locomotive like this one. CN ran a lot of them out of Palmerston, Ontario back before diesels.

I think that would be Fred Steck who lived in Reese ( NW of Vassar) who rebuilt CN 91. It is a 2-6-0 & went to the Middletown and Hummelstown in PA in the late '80s.

The 1395 seems to have been part of the Steamtown collection in VT and come to Coopersville sometime after Steamtown moved to Scranton.

[SD80MAC]

Dan is correct, CN #1395 was purchased directly from Steamtown in the 1990s by the president of the C&M at the time. It came to Grand Rapids via Conrail on a flat car.

[MQT1223]

So is the headlight and bell going to be put on to finish 1395? What about a cover over it to protect the paint work?

[GP30M4216]

Is the roof from the John Engler going to be put over the 1395 in some way? Also wondering if the headlight will get mounted.

Photos recently posted on Facebook show that the roof structure (presumably from Engler) was recently installed over 1395.

[MQT1223]

Is the roof from the John Engler going to be put over the 1395 in some way? Also wondering if the headlight will get mounted.

Photos recently posted on Facebook show that the roof structure (presumably from Engler) was recently installed over 1395.

I'll have to drive out there, I can't see the pictures.

[GP30M4216]

Screenshot

Screenshot here.