The Godchaux's Reserve Plantation, also known as the Mississippi River Sugar Belt RR, of Reserve, LA owned a 0-4-0 Whitcomb switcher from 1956 to 1959. The loco was a 38.625" gage built for Ford Motor Company of Dearborn, MI. It was either c/n 40055, blt 11/38 as a 16 ton diesel mechanical or c/n 40065, blt 11/39 as a 14 ton diesel mechanical. Their loco was sold to a Cuban Sugar factory in 1959. Does anyone know which loco, the 14 or 16 ton, the plantation had. Does anyone know which Cuban Sugar Factory it went to? Thanks

-- Mark Landgraf (mlandgr1@nycap.rr.com), March 26, 2000

Answers

Thanks for your help. One more mystery has now been solved. The railroads' second number 4 was made by Whitcomb Locomotive Company, of Rochelle, IL for Ford's Dearborn, MI facility. Factory information shows that it was delivered to Ford in November 1939, at a gage of 38.625 inches. It was a 14 ton Diesel Mechanical locomotive. The factory designated it as a model 14-DM-23. It bore the Whitcomb construction number (serial number) of 40065.

-- Mark Landgraf (mlandgr1@nycap.rr.com), September 11, 2000.

Godchaux's house organ "the Blue Band" dated Feb 1959 says the engine, shown loaded on a flat car, was sold to Olavarris and Companny, Inc. and was shipped to West Palm Beach Florida. Dont know which loco it was, but when Godchaux bought it they ordered it as a "narrow gauge" locomotive and assumed it was 36" gauge, as they were unloading it onto their tracks, Mr. Bill Jones was standing on one side guiding it onto the rail saying "come straight back." Mr Sidney Cambre was standing on the other side saying "its gotta come to you a little." It never did fit. Jones and Cambre wound up having to regauge the engine. They may not have purchased the loco if they had known that "narrow gauge" meant 39"!!!

-- doc donaldson (doctrains@aol.com), September 11, 2000.