PRR #4483 in the 1990's

Back to #4483 Main Page

#4483 in the 1990's

Before digital photography was able to produce quality photos, serious railfans captured history on Kodachrome©, Ectachrome© or black and white film. Unfortunately, only a very small percentage of those photos were scanned into high resolution digital format. Thankfully, Mr. Arnold H. Morscher has shared over forty years of railroad photography on his easy to navigate website. Here is a rare view of the fireman's side of the locomotive taken in 1986. These photos are unique

in the fact that they show #4483 on a siding only used when the "Erie County Fair Train" would cometo town in August and later in the year, moved back to its current location. The PRR Business Car the "OHIO" was still in Hamburg and it also shows some early paint preparation on the boiler. After the locomotive's arrival in 1983, the decaying boiler jacket was removed over the summer of 1984.

Mr Morscher was back in June of 1993 to capture some touch up work being done on the tender and plywood covering the engineer's window after its last complete repaint in the late 1980's. Notice that "PENNSYLVANIA" is located at the rear of the tender. This is only on the right side of the tender and was done sometime prior to 1979 when the locomotive was still at Westinghouse Air Brake Company. This photo shows #4483 on the west side of the Buffalo Southern main line which is now it's current location.

In 1996 a new engineer's window and fireman's door were fabricated out of pressure treated yellow pine with as built mortise and tenon joints. Polycarbonate glazing was used to deflect ballast. However, after years of coal dust and leftover sand from blasting lying the cab floor, water had taken its toll. Patching was not an option and the 8 gauge thick steel would have to be replaced.

Thanks to a generous donation by Society member William Dudley, two new cab sides and floor sheets were fabricated out of 8 gauge cold rolled steel. The lower one foot of 3"x 4" angle iron was also replaced and welded into the existing frame work. Over 100 "button head" 1/2" rivet bolts were used to fasten everything into place using the old sides for a drilling template. Finally, the seams between the old and new metal were welded together.

When the Society took ownership of the locomotive in 1983, both rear cab windows were gone. The engineer's side still had a rotted out frame but the fireman's side was completely missing. Using pressure treated yellow pine, two new windows were made using old school "mortise and tenon" joints, polycarbonate glazing and primed and painted with Sherwin Williams© "Safety Orange" Industrial Enamel.

Remnants of the fireman's window can be seen hanging in the cab. We used the original brackets to remount the window. With all the windows repaired or replaced, attention was again turned toward the exterior restoration. This 1998 photo shows the tender almost ready for paint.

By the end of the summer 1999, the tender was painted and ready for reverse stenciling. A broad band of "Buff Gold" was applied in the center of the tender. Vinyl masking stencils were made using the original lettering as templates. Once the letters were correctly spaced and the vinyl masks rubbed down, fresh "Dark Green Locomotive" Enamel was applied over the stripe. When the paint started to set up, the stencils were removed.

Back to #4483 Main Page

This page was last updated: December 7th, 2021
Web Site Hosting by TRAIN WEB

The WNYRHS, Inc. 100 Lee Street, Buffalo, NY. 14210 is an independent organization and has no affiliation with any other local or national group.
The Society is a fully qualified organization under 501 (C) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code and all donations to the Society are tax deductible.
©Copyright 1999 , WNYRHS Inc. all rights reserved

Web Design & Hosted by - Scott H.