History of 3025 - "The Locomotive That Would Not Die" Part 1

Part 1 - Origins and Classifications

After deciding that my first project was going to be 3025 I needed to start on some research about the engine and how in the world was I going to create a working HO scale model of it!?!?

VALE 3025 has had a interesting and troubled past before its working life here in Connecticut and I think its one of the reasons I choose to model this engine. Believe it or not 3025 is the youngest steam engine at the Valley as well as one of the youngest in the USA. It was built in July of 1989 by the Tangshan Locomotive & Rolling Stock Works located in Tangshan, Hebei, China. Yes, you read that correctly the engine was make in China!!! Tangshan starting building steam engines during the 1880 and was the last factory in the world build brand new steam engines up until the year 1999.

In America and other parts of the world; steam engines are categorized into classes based on their wheel arrangement. Normally they are arranged by 3 numbers and the name of that class. 3025 has 2 wheels under it's smoke-box, 8 driving wheels under the boiler, and 2 more wheels under the firebox/cab. This would be called a two-eight-two (2-8-2) or a "Mikado" type locomotive.

Here is a chart showing other groups of
Locomotive wheel arrangements and their names.

 The Mikados were first built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for Japan and got their classes name from what the Japanese Emperor was often referred by during the late 1890's. The Mikado class of engines were a improvement of the 2-8-0 consolidation class locomotives. They proved to be great engines for fast and heavy frights during the transition era from steam to diesel power. With their power, versatility and smoother running this class of engine became a standard design around the world. Even today many tourist railways have this or similar classes of engine because of these factors.