Let's have a little respect! When LMB came out with the O1a back in the
60's, it was about the only CB&Q loco you could buy. When I saw it, I went
nuts over it. It was a sure enough O1a! If there was ever anything apple
pie about the Burlington, it was the O1a. That engine showed up everywhere
and did everthing. It was strictly Burlington. No other railroad had
engines that even closely resembled CB&Q engines. They had a very
distinctive look, and there was no disguising a Burlington steam locomotive.
It would have taken something much more drastic than making it 18" short to
turn it into anything other than a CB&Q mike.
As with any of my other brass, I have spent several hundred hours fixing it,
painting it, and making it run good. If 1 foot-and-a-half of length was
important to me, I would have made it a foot-and-a-half longer.
Incidentally, I bought it new back in about 1966 for $46. That was a heck of
a lot of money back then!
DRale Reeves
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