THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 30, 1995 TAG: 9504290107
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Long : 137 lines
THE CLACKETY-CLACK of steel wheels, the wail of whistles, the staccato hiss of steam: This is music to the ears and hearts of locomotive fans.
It's what lured 80 ``live steamers'' and friends to Chuckatuck last week for a run in which a dozen 1/8-scale steam locomotives chugged along a scenic track.
The hobby brings out the train-loving, soot-smudged kid in the most professional, mature adults - people with time and money for an expensive hobby.
Miniature rail buffs from all over Virginia and North Carolina showed up at the Bridge Point Farms home of Don and Carolyn Orr for the run on their home track, the Grasshopper Short Line Railroad. SEVALS - Southeastern Virginia Live Steamers - with members from South Hampton Roads and the Peninsula, helped sponsor the meet.
The first clue that this was not your typical weekend outing was the driveway, where guests stepped over a small- scale railroad track (seven inches between the rails). The Orr home is surrounded by 2,200 feet of track around their 5 1/2- acre property.
The track, a two-year project by the Orrs and fellow SEVALS members, is a gathering spot for Hampton Roads live steamers. Headquarters is nearby Mike's Trainland in Bennett's Creek.
The Orrs' track is one of two of its kind in Hampton Roads and about 100 across the country. Several steps up from the HO- and N-scale model trains, live steam engines range to 1/8- and 1/4-scale replicas of steam locomotives from the 1800's and early 1900's. The carefully detailed engines, handbuilt and priced up to $35,000, are fired by stove coal. Large enough to be driven by adults, they can easily pull a string of railcars loaded with passengers.
``It's like any other hobby that you buy in bits and pieces,'' said Randy Pratt. ``Before you know it, you have spent thousands of dollars. . . ''
Pratt, 38, is a member of the Blue Ridge Live Steam Club, one of the oldest in the southeast United States. A pattern maker for Mountain Car Co. in Salem, he brought to Chuckatuck several pieces of miniature rolling stock that the company manufactures.
Pointing to 1/8-scale tank car, custom painted in red and white with a Coca Cola logo, Pratt estimated its price at $1,200.
``I have been into trains continuously since I was in preschool,'' said Clarence Hines, 47, an electronic service technician in Raleigh, N.C. Like many other live steamers, he grew up playing with Lionel and Amercan Flyer trains and collected smaller-gauge miniature trains.
A dozen years ago, after browsing through live steam magazines, Hines visited a live steam meet in Roanoke. The bug bit, and Hines joined the Central Carolina Live Steam Club.
``It is one thing seeing something in a book,'' he said. ``It is another thing to smell it, to hear it hiss, and to be able to get your finger burned.''
At the Orr meet, most of the modelers were at least 45 years old, with children growing up, careers stabliized and some extra time and cash to spend on their hobby.
``I have been into this for 18 years since I wandered into a live steam meet and fell in love with it,'' said Joe Scales, a 57-year-old retired machinist from Ridgeway. He owns four engines, including a large Mikado model that took 14 months of 20-hour days to build.
He said the full-size original Mikado (a Japanese word for runner) was built in the U.S. in 1898 for the Japanese railroads. In 1900, the Southern Railroad started using the same engines on its runs from Washington D.C. to New Orleans to Cincinnati.
Michael D'Angelo, a 50-year-old computer programmer from Norfolk, said, ``You need to be really dedicated to do this because it requires a lot of concentration.''
Last fall, he enrolled in machining courses at Tidewater Community College three nights a week, learned how to operate a lathe and a mill, and started gathering plans and materials to build his own locomotive. ``I hope to have it finished in the next two years,'' he said.
Jim Lowe, also 50 and an electrical/mechanical engineer from Virginia Beach, is just a bit ahead of D'Angelo in building his own engine, a Northern, just slightly bigger than the Mikado. ``I have never built one from scratch before, but the club (SEVALS) really helps you learn how to do it,'' Lowe said.
Although most live steamers are male, a number of women are finding the hobby irresistible. ``Growing up, I had always wanted a set of trains, but I was 16 before my parents finally gave them to me,'' said Marti Newlon. A 45-year-old technical librarian from Burke, Newlon - and her husband Ron - are members of the Blue Ridge Live Steamers as well as SEVALS. The couple bought a locomotive from Orr last year, and they are buiding a passenger car for it.
Newlon's great-grandfather was a railroad man who lost his life working on the Eric Railroad. ``My great-grandmother lived on one of the first widow's pensions the railroad paid,'' Newlon said.
Bob Saul, 50, who owns his own business in Roanoke, recently became intrigued with the little engines. ``It certainly brought out the little boy in me.''
Now Saul and his two sons spend hours with their new toy, a large, khaki green locomotive, a Pennsylvania 46O that was built over 10 years by a Kentucky craftsman. ``The guys who build these things are machinists and artists; I'm not, but I love it,'' Saul said.
Don and Carolyn Orr's fascination with the live steam engines has expanded into a business venture since they became part owners of Little Engines of Manassas, manufacturers of live steam locomotives. ``I am hoping it will pay for my hobby after I retire,'' Orr said.
Orr, 55, is a civilian progam manager with the Navy. Where do the live steamers go after Chuckatuck? For some it will be weekend excursions, loading their engines into pick up trucks or trailers and traveling to as many as eight or 10 different tracks during the year, including a major meet this weekend in Raleigh.
Others with more time may follow Scales on the Round Robin Run he is organizing for the end of June. Strting from Virginia, he will lead a 10 day trek to Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, running a different track each day.
``When you are away from the smell of coal smoke for more than a few weeks, you realize how much you miss it,'' Marti Newlon said.
ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
STEAMING ALONG
ON THE COVER
Ron Newlon of Burke swings off his Mogul 260 steam engine at the
Southeastern Virginia Live Steam meet in northern Suffolk. Staff
photographer John H. Sheally II took the picture.
Staff photos by MICHAEL KESTNER
Ron Newlon of Burke drives a Mogul 260 across the trestle at Don
Orr's northern Suffolk home last weekend. He is wearing an
engineer's cap and gloves, as did most other model steam engine
enthusiasts.
Staff photos by MICHAEL KESTNER
Murray Wilson of Yorktown takes a train ride around the circuit at
Don Orr's home.
Tom Cranston, left in photo at right, watches as Bob Saul cleans the
coal dust from the steam engine in preparation for his first run of
the day. Both men came from Roanoke to attend the SEVALS meet. Model
fanciers from Virginia and North Carolina were invited.
by CNB