Friendship Railroad Locomotives
Webmaster Note: In my quest to find a picture of the A. W. Miner, Locomotive #1 of the former Friendship Railroad, I received the following communication from the President of the Friendship-Nile Historical Society.
Friday, December 16, 2011
As of this date, no known photo of the Miner exists. The one image we thought was the Miner is actually a hand drawing of the “Dinky,” Friendship RR #2.
What we do know is that the Miner was a Mason Locomotive 2-4-4, also known as a “Mason Bogie.” This type of locomotive was a Single Fairlie. Fairlies were double engine locomotives, the boilers sat back-to-back, with the tender and engineer cab in the middle. The Single Fairlies removed one boiler, but kept the integrated chassis design.
Mason locomotives were also know for their superb engineering, and attention to details in their look. They were very highly regarded.
The name, A.W. Miner, was painted in gold below the engineer’s window. It was a narrow gauge engine, with a 3’ gauge.
The best I can do is the attached builder’s photo of a Mason, this is the closest I have come to discovering what the Miner looked like. As described, the Miner had a lot of polished brass.
I have also attached the drawing of the Dinky, and a photo of what it may have looked like.
All accounts point to the Miner having an ignoble end. After about ten years of use, it was parked on a siding, and left pretty much to rot away, until it was sold for scrap.
The dinky made its way to Hornell, I believe, where it became a yard engine. It was left one winter night with a full tank of water, but no fire. The temperature dipped below freezing, causing the tank to split open. As with the Miner, the Dinky was parked, and eventually sold for scrap.
Unfortunately, that’s all we have in the way of information right now. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask.
Richard Langdon - President,
Friendship-Nile Historical Society