Arcade & Attica #18: The Autumn Arcadian

The autumn season has finally arrived, bringing cool sunny days with brisk breezes, and dotting forests with spectacular displays of colorful foliage. For many, there's no better time of year to enjoy the unforgettable sights and sounds of steam locomotives, and in upstate New York, the Arcade & Attica Railroad is one of the many great places across the country to witness the power of steam in the beautiful fall colors. We paid a visit to the A&A on the second Saturday of October, where we found 2-8-0 #18 hauling a trio of sold-out excursions over the railroad's regular excursion route between Arcade and Curriers, NY, a distance of roughly 7 miles. A real surprise occurred on the day of our visit, as #18 was wearing a special guest whistle that is very seldom heard in the United States, a Japanese 5 chime whistle that was once used on the Japanese National Railways during the steam days. The whistle sounded fantastic as it echoed throughout the surrounding hills, and it was a great day to be trackside as #18 led the trains north through the rolling hills and forests of Wyoming County. It was a great start to an exciting season of shooting steam in the autumn! #18 was built by Alco's Cooke Works in 1920, and was originally set for export to Cuba, where she would be used in the sugar cane fields that dot the country's rural areas. With fluctuations in world sugar markets decreasing on an international scale after the First World War, the demand for locomotives decreased as well and #18 would soon find a home in Michigan at Charcoal Iron Company on the Upper Peninsula. For a brief time, she also served the Newberry Lumber and Chemical Company, but in 1929, she would be sold to the Boyne City Railroad in Boyne City, MI, where the vast majority of her in-service career would be spent. For the next two decades, she would be used extensively in freight service on the railroad's route between Boyne City and Boyne Falls, where the BCR interchanged with the Pennsylvania Railroad. By 1950, the railroad had purchased its first diesel locomotive, with #18 being relegated to backup use, although she would remain stored serviceable. In 1962, the Arcade & Attica went in search of a steam locomotive to provide the power for their newly introduced tourist trains, and soon after, #18 was purchased, finding her way to her new home in upstate New York. She hauled the first steam-powered trains on the A&A in 22 years in the summer of 1962, and one year later would be joined by former Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad 4-6-0 #14. Since 1989, #18 has been the sole steam power on the Arcade & Attica, and remains the only operational steam locomotive in New York state. With her bright orange lettering, along with the matching orange and black coaches and larger than life personality, she has gained the affectionate nickname "The Goddess of Fire"! Enjoy!