V&T Survivor: #21 "J. W. Bowker". Here's a forward quarter view of V&T Locomotive #21, the J.W. Bowker, one of 9 original V&T engines which survive in preservation. Originally named for the railroad's Master Mechanic, this 1875 Baldwin 2-4-0 was renamed "Mexico" just 4 months later, when Mr. Bowker was fired from the railroad for being drunk and disorderly. Somehow, it has always managed to be known by its original name. The engine primarily worked as the yard switcher in Virginia City and was with the railroad for just over 20 years. In 1896, it was sold to the Sierra Nevada Wood & Lumber Co., which operated it as their #3 until its retirement in 1917. Donated to the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society in 1937, it was restored to its original configuration and exhibited for many years as a V&T engine and appeared in numerous movie roles. Last operated in 1953, it was eventually donated to the California State Railroad Museum, which owns it today and where it has been on display in the train shed for many years. In 2022, as part of a 2-year loan agreement with the Nevada State Railroad Museum, the J.W. Bowker was brought to Carson City to participate in the "Great Western Steam-Up". She will be exhibited here for a couple of years before going back to California.
One notable feature on the J.W. Bowker is the curious contraption located between her steam and sand domes. This turns out to be a powerful Knowles Fire Pump. Around the time she was ordered, much of Virginia City had recently burned in a large fire, so this locomotive was equipped for fire suppression duty. Just as #18 eventually became known as the V&T's "snowplow engine", the J.W. Bowker became know as the "fire pump engine."
Not
just heritage schemes, not just commemorative schemes - this album is devoted to some of the world's most interesting paint schemes, past or present.
