Weaver Hudson SF Blue Goose ?

Hi Floyd. I had this locomotive many years ago when they first came out - a beautiful piece!

Would suggest adding PS2 and a MTH smoke unit if available as the original smoker is poor. The PS2 would allow you to download a soundset of your choice as well.

The PS2 kit should able to be found for less than $200 and there are many qualified people here who can install it for you.

Nice present!

when you state it like that "in honor of (your)  father", and he is no longer with us, i am curious if you remember him actually referring to that locomotive as the "Blue Goose", a name that has been attributed to rail fans later on and not used by Santa Fe employees at the time.  rumors tell that some crews referred to this engine as the "Blue Bird" and other stories have it called the "Mae West" by some.

i still have the Weaver model and it is a very nice piece.  i installed QSI sound long ago but it still has the original suethe smoke unit.

Thank you so much for this great pic.  I have forwarded it along with a question to my 94 1/2-year old Mother.  My guess is that she will not remember but I will definitely post a response if she can shed any light on your question about what the railroaders of the time called it.  

Yes!  You can Add RailSounds for Less!  The basic RS Kit is $99, MSRP. It requires Power & speaker and probably can use the existing wiring.  Look at electricrr.com and select installation for a dealer in your area.  In honor of your Father, since Father's Day is soon, I will install it for you no charge(when you purchase the kit), if you send it directly to ElectricRR.

Thanks to all of you that have responded to my question this morning.  You were very generous.  I'm pretty sure that I would like to stay with L Railsounds hardware and software since I'm running with Legacy and Cab 2.  I'm sure that the MTH equipment would work fine but would be one more hurdle for me.

Jon, I'm deeply moved by your generous offer to install "Railsounds".  I talked with my Mother today and she is deeply moved to tears also.  I accept your offer.  Hopefullly, you won't mind if I send you an email or two to clarify the road map for moving forward.

I'd like to tell a little more about my father, Eldon Sturgeon 1919-1967.  He joined the AT&SF in 1943.  Before working long he joined the U.S. Navy and served in WW II.  He resumed his carreer with the AT&SF after the war and worked long enough to become an engineer on freight.  His assigned route was Ft. Madison IA to Kansas City for passenger service and Ft. Madison to Marceline MO for freight.  He absolutely loved railroading.  The only thing that I ever heard him complain about were the union strikes.   He never complained about the hours or the 60-mile drive from our home in Wyaconda, MO to Ft. Madison.   

He was promoted to a company official (Road Foreman of Engines) in 1965.  He was transferred to Argentine, KS.  In 1967 he was transferred to Colovis NM.  He died suddenly at work of a heart attack a few months after the transfer.  He passed away while on the road in Roswell NM. 

About the Blue Goose... My Mother claims that she never heard the railroaders call it anything other than "The Blue Goose".  It's possible that when it was introduced in 1937 that some of the earlier railroaders used other nick names for it.    

Jon,   You're a top-notch guy!

I second that!

AT&SF #3460 ("Blue Goose") has been packaged and has begun its long journey from West Des Moines, IA to Santa Clara, CA.  It will undergo renovations to the boiler, whistle and bell.  Thanks to a Jon, a talented and generous man, I predict it will sound even better than when it rolled out of Baldwin's shop in 1937.  

AT&SF Locomotive 3460 successfully completed its round trip from West Des Moines IA to Santa Clara CA yesterday.  Many thanks to Jon and the folks at The Electric Railroad Company www.electricrr.com for the great job in upgrading the "Blue Goose" tender to a customized version of Lionel Railsounds.  It's GREAT!!!  My Father would have been proud indeed.

Nice story and very nice offer by Santa Fe Fan!

Here's an old publicity photo.  Thanks for posting your story Floyd!

Great story.  I have the Williams version pulling a very early aluminum MTH set that is a head turner.

Does anybody know if any color pics exist?

Thanks

Great story Floyd I hope you enjoy your locomotive.

Steve

This is the only color photo I've been able to find.  I have the MTH version and the RK 60' cars.  I've tried to find out if there really were any cars painted to match the engine and so far the results are inconclusive.

Photo by Allen Dale

The only pictures I have ever seen in color (maybe 5 or 6) are all like the one above which was taken after heavy use during WWII and with the original shrouding removed.  I would love to see a color picture of 3460 in its early days looking new with original shrouding in place. 

No color photos with the shrouding, but Constance Smith has a lithograph she drew with the shrouding intact.

I can't believe there were ever cars to match as this engine was a backup for the Super Chief. Don

Few more pix.

   -Glenn