35 ton Davenport

Special Thanks to Benjamin Maggi for providing excellent photos of one of the last remaining operational prototypes.  All photos copyright Benjamin Maggi.  Also thanks to the Catskill Mountain Railroad for allowing Benjamin to crawl all over their loco, and thanks to Sarah for putting up with it all.

I wanted to do something prototypical and unique without getting over my head on fabrication.  When I stumbled across photos of a 35 ton Davenport I knew I had my candidate.  The problem was that as far as I can tell there are none anywhere in the vicinity of Utah so I couldn't do any in-person research.  Most were originally purchased by the U.S. Air Force.  The Rock Island also owned more than one, and many worked on shortlines and industrial railroads.  The small size is perfect for a starter locomotive but it can haul a decent sized train, combined with a full wiring harness it will be MU capable to add capacity to your railroad empire.  I plan on doing a 3 axle version in the future.

The first chassis undergoing track testing.