In early April, the Glenbrook operated under the steam for the first time in more than 80 years.
“The last big push to complete the restoration was completed by a paid staff of three, several volunteers, several specialized contractors and a host of supporters,” says museum Chief Mechanical Officer Chris DeWitt.
Baldwin Locomotive Works built the wood-burning, narrow gauge locomotive in 1875 for the Carson & Tahoe Lumber & Fluming Co., a timber-hauling railroad connecting the once-profitable sawmills of Glenbrook with the Tahoe Basin of Spooner Summit in Nevada. In later years, following the closure of the Glenbrook sawmill, the locomotive was used to supply parts to its sister locomotive, the Tahoe.
Glenbrook No. 1 was presented to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in 1943, where it sat on display outside of the museum until 1980.
The locomotive will be unveiled to the public on May 23 in Carson City. Both the Glenbrook and the Inyo will be under steam for the event.
“It will be an extraordinarily rare opportunity to see two wood burning, 19th century locomotives, one narrow gauge and one standard gauge, operating at the same time,” says Curator of Education Adam Michalski.
The Glenbrook will be on public display for photographs from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. with the dedication ceremony to begin at 11 a.m. The ceremony is free and open to the public.
Trains Magazine will cover the Glenbrook restoration in the September 2015 issue.
This is , on quick recall, not an exhaustive search of my brain's memory banks, is the handsomest engine of that diamond stack era I've ever seen.
Would I change anything?
I'd cut about a quarter off the pilots length off, then rebuild the shape..
I'd try to find a way to abbreviate the space between the 2nd and 3rd pair of drivers without compromising the firebox's heating surfaces.
Damn the restoration's faithful affinity for historical duplicity….
The engine is a visual gem, virtually a Hope diamond….
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What an absolute jewel of a locomotive! From the era when even the most utilitarian of machines was made as an aesthetic piece of art, something sadly lacking in most products today.
Beautiful engine! I hope to see it some day!
Nice addition to the restored McKeen car.
Beautiful job! I'm reminded of a saying they had back in the 19th Century, quite profound when you think about it:
"What works well, looks well, because beauty and utility are one in the mind of God!"
The Inyo should be repainted to an elegant paint scheme with gold leaf trim and pinstripe. Brass should be allowed to shine on the boiler rings and elsewhere are applicable.
It would be wonderful to compare the cost of Dan Markoff s wonderful rebuilding of The Eureka and the final cost of this rebuild of Glenbrook by a government organization. And to be fair, to also list the different problems that were in countered of the decay of the two locomotives. It may show what a fantastic job was done by one remarkable man, even if you rate his time at $50 an hour. I hope the Uintah (one side) and EN (other side) is the next locomotive (2-8-0) project of Nevada. All this fantastic work was done in Nevada.