LEHIGH & NEW ENGLAND E 14 REAR CAB 2-8-0
The L&NE's 300s, or E 14 class were front line freight power, dating from 1922. These locos belong to a group of heavy Consolidations which were owned by the anthracite railroads and the Western Maryland, a soft coal hauler. All such enormous final Consolidations were built to handle heavy freights at drag speeds up through 50 something mph. By the 1920s the 2-8-2 Mikado type was becoming the standard freight locomotive; however this final class of Consolidations had enormous tractive effort and a high horsepower rating; exceeding the capabilities of most Mikados. The L &NE 300s had a tractive effort rating of 68,200 lbs, and the booster could bring it up to 83,120 at start up, and in slow speed operation. As the other final (non-experimental) Consolidations did not have boosters, this was the highest output for all production Consolidations.
The L&NE 300s were offered in brass by Overland Models in the 1990s. Consumer demand exceeded production, and they rarely show up for sale. A long standing Eddystone customer requested E 14s, to break the log jam, and now they are available. They were tooled from scratch, and are purely L&NE machines. They combine urethane resin castings with a modified Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 mechanism. Their construction requires several milling machine operations; they are not available as kits. The construction process is both difficult, and proprietary. Here is your chance to own one or more excellent L&NE E 14s, completed to your own specifications.
The Eddystone E 14s exceed the Overland models in their realism, and include a Bethleham "auxiliary locomotive" (booster truck) under the tender. As always with Eddystones, they include a crew, full cab interior, glazed windows, two brakeman's lanterns, coal tools, and a broom in the tender gangway area. They represent the E 14s in their final stage of development. This includes sludge removers, booster, flue soot blowers, outside handrails at the front ladders, and footboards at the pilot, and rear of the tender. They come fully decorated, and road tested. Decoders, Digitrax or Soundtraxx T'sunami, and weathering are available as options. Automatic knuckle couplers are found at both ends. Since they share their drive with the Eddystone L&NE E 12 Camelback 2-8-0s, they can double head with them for some really interesting, quintessential L&NE steam working.!
By the mid-forties raised coal boards had appeared on the tenders. Initial offering is with the common straight sided coal board extensions. Back up lamp and road numbers available are coordinated with the straight coal boards. If five customers order curved coal boards, tenders featuring them will be produced. Similarly, the original lower coal boards, with arched slope sheet will be offered if five customers request same. If in time, all three style tenders are offered, than the entire class will be offered. Current offering is road numbers 304 and 305. If you order both, there will be variations in detailing, such as crew, coal pile, fireman's side window, coal tools, so that when they are near one another they will each clearly be somewhat different from the other. Realism always!
A third copy was ordered from Australia before this announcement of availability
was made. Be close to the head of the line-order yours soon!