This article was published by Trains Newswire... [TABLE] [TR] [TD="align: right"][/TD] [TD="align: right"][/TD] [TD="align: right"][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [h=1]Mining crew uncovers buried 4-4-0 in Florida[/h]Published: June 25, 2012 [TABLE] [TR] [TD]MULBERRY, Fla. – The Mosaic Mining Company has unearthed a buried 4-4-0 steam locomotive near Mulberry, TheLedger.com reports. The locomotive appears to be a 4-4-0 built by Manchester Locomotive Works in the 1880s. At first glance, miners thought they had uncovered an abandoned pipe. But when a backhoe couldn’t unearth it, the mining crew began wondering what they had found. They pulled out shovels and kept digging, and iron wheels began to emerge. “That’s when I knew we were onto something,” said Travis White, a superintendent with Moretrench American Corp., a subcontractor for Mosaic. “I just didn’t know what.” As the earth gave way, the discovery began taking the shape of a large cannon. “We hooked a strap on it and pulled it out,” White said. “Once we got it out, we could see it was a train.” Though the basic framework remains intact, many elements of the locomotive have been lost. “It looks like a Manchester 4-4-0,” said Joe Spann, manager of the Polk County Genealogical Library and a local railroad historian. “These are very rare, so this is an amazing find,” he said. Spann and Myrtice Young, the county’s historic preservation manager, said they’d like to keep the locomotive in Polk County, perhaps displaying it at Homeland Heritage Park south of Bartow, Fla. Mining companies like Mosaic work with the state when anything of historic significance is unearthed during the mining process. The discovery of the artifact is complicated because the land fell into bankruptcy when Mulberry Phosphate shut down, bringing the land’s ownership into question. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is controlling the reclamation activities on the land, and Mosaic is managing that work, said Callie Neslund, spokeswoman for Mosaic. In the end, those involved said it’s likely the locomotive will remain in Polk County. “It should stay there locally somewhere,” said Laura Kammerer, deputy state historic preservation officer for review and compliance. “We certainly wouldn't want to bring it to Tallahassee.” The state would want the locomotive’s history documented and recorded, Kammerer said. Meanwhile, the locomotive is sitting alongside a dirt road about 100 yards from where it had been buried.[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]
I found photos....it looks like she was stripped before being abandoned http://www.theledger.com/article/20120623/NEWS/120629722?p=1&tc=pg
No wonder I like the CB&Q, I read the first locomotive MLW built was for the "Q". Somewhere I have pictures of a MLW B&M 4-4-0, it would look similar.
Here we go, I got this back before I moved home. Boston and Maine #494 a 4-4-0 American type locomotive sits in her shelter display in White River Junction Vermont. She was originally built in 1892 for the Eastern RR by the Manchester (NH) Locomotive Works, before working for the B&M. She was retired in 1938 and put on display here in 1957. Interesting note, there is a group that is trying to restore her to the original 1892 specs. That would be really neat.
WOW...Thanks Guys, for the Ledger link, and the photo of B&M #494. Jim, didn't the B&M have a locomotive similar to #494 that was called "Proud Mary"?
