Turning at Tate's Cut. The Valley Railroad's big New Haven Mikado #3025 has just cut off from her Santa Special consist at Deep River Landing and is now pulling forward past the yard's north switch in preparation for a run-around move. The rocky formation that surrounds her here is known as Tate's Cut, named for the Tate Family that has owned a massive white house that overlooks this location. Once past the switch, her Fireman will alight from the locomotive, throw the switch and then wait for his engine to back onto the passing track. Once clear, he'll re-line the switch for the main, hop on and the engine will back past the consist.
Although she's lettered as a New Haven Engine, it should be noted that #3025 is not an original New Haven loco, nor is she American in origin. This engine was built in China in 1989 as an SY-class Mikado and was imported to the US for use on the Knox & Kane Railroad in Pennsylvania. She was badly burned in an engine house fire in the 2008 and the scorched, rusty hulk was purchased at auction by the Valley Railroad. Under the leadership of CMO J. David Conrad, the Valley restored the engine and kit-bashed her to the greatest degree possible to make her look like a J-1 Class New Haven Mikado. While there are still some tell-tale signs of her Chinese lineage that are obvious to serious rail enthusiasts, to the public, she definitely looks like an American engine. She has now served the Valley faithfully for 4 full seasons and as the youngest horse in the stable, she'll be around for a very long time.
