TdM #344 in green & gunmetal

In 1910, the PV&T purchased 8 2-8-2s for light freight & passenger work along the line from Concord to Boston, and they spent the next 30 years being chased around the system as electification slowly pushed steam off the system. Their last duties were as LT&L lease units working over the entire LT&L system, but after the second world war they were all pretty worn out and went to scrap.

However, in 1938, the LT&L purchased 26 lookalike units (with superheat, higher boiler pressures, Baker valve gear, and Boxpok drivers), which not only survived the second world war, but remained in service until the PV&T merger (when the railroad was dieselised out from under them.)

Most of this 1938 order went to scrap, but the class leader – now #344 – survives as part of the historical fleet and sees regular service pulling excursions in Québec and the state of Maine.

When ordered, 344 came with a short 8-wheel tender, but as the Parsons Vale system expanded and some of the excursions became more ambitious, its tender had a section spliced into the middle to increase its water capacity, plus had the original freight trucks under it replaced with 3-axle passenger trucks (from a recently retired MOW coach) to keep the axle loading down (the vastly improved ride was lagniappe and was greatly appreciated on the rare occasions when the brakeman rode in the doghouse rather than the fairly cramped cab.)

Original number PV&T number disposition
PV&T 33-41 33-41 all retired by 1947
LT&L 200 344 excursion service
LT&L 201 wrecked & scrapped 1954
LT&L 202-206 345-349 retired 1963
LT&L 207 wrecked 1954, scrapped 1962
LT&L 208-211 350-353 retired 1962
TdM 1-6 354-359 retired 1963
TdM 7-16 never renumbered, retired 1962
  • Copyright © 2024 by Jessica L. Parsons (orc@pell.portland.or.us) unless otherwise noted
    Fri Sep 29 16:42:11 PDT 2023