Mr. Charles A. "Carl" Purinton was an early live steamer and founded the Brotherhood of Live Steamers in the USA in 1932. Many of the first "live steam meets" were held on 130 feet of 2-1/2" gauge "up and down" track in his driveway at Marblehead, Massachusetts. In this photo, taken some SIXTY years after those "driveway meets" of the 1930s, he's seen running a 1-1/2" scale 4-4-2 at a private track in Danvers, Mass. (photo by John Kurdzionak). Mr. Purinton's son Charlie's memories of the "Early Days" of the 1930s are now preserved in book form, available below. You'll see the Purintons, father, son, and grandson....plus many of the other "names and faces", and their locomotives and tracks, of those early days.
"Live Steam of Years Gone By", by Charlie Purinton. Edited by Larry Urbanski and Richard Symmes.
137-page book containing Charlie Purinton's written recollections of the early years of live steam with more than 100 photos from the era. Charlie (1922-2010) was the son of Brotherhood of Live Steamers founder Charles A. "Carl" Purinton. Compiled and edited by live steamers Larry Urbanski and Richard Symmes, both of whom were longtime friends with Charlie Purinton and members of the same live steam club.
From the Purinton family's photo files, you'll see the first "back and forth" tracks of the 1930s, and early live steam meetings held there; you'll see the formation of the Brotherhood of Live Steamers in 1932, and the larger "backyard loop" tracks that soon followed; and also you'll read about some of the large early clubs of the 1940s and 50s. Plus you'll meet builders of the era, and see their locomotives. Charlie was there for all of it (he was aged 10 when the Brotherhood of Live Steamers was founded in 1932), and editors Urbanski and Symmes have compiled it perfectly in this superb telling of the story of the "early days".
$20.00, plus $14.00 USA shipping. For other countries, please inquire.
Charlie Purinton in his home shop in October, 2008. I was the last visitor to Charlie's home shop, and this is the last photo of him taken by a live steam visitor to his home. He had a heart attack 2 days after this photo was taken, was hospitalized, moved into "senior housing" after his recovery, and passed away on Veterans Day 2010.
32-page booklet covers various aspects of the construction of the Yankee Shop 3/4" scale Boston and Maine "Atlantic" locomotive. Originally published in the 1940s as a compilation of Lester Friend's construction articles in "The Model Craftsman" magazine, this is the second printing, from 1953. With this booklet you can sit in your easy chair and have Lester Friend (1895-1962) describe to you in his own words, how to build this live steam locomotive.
With 2 exceptions I can think of, most of the booklet's content from 1953 applies today. Exception #1, Lester Friend mentions that the locomotive can be built for less than $100. This is not so anymore. Next (#2), more modern & safe insulation than the asbestos that's called for (a common, "hardware store" item back in the 1940s) should be used for boiler lagging. The days of walking into the local hardware or plumbing store and buying "asbestos sheet" are long gone. Other differences between 1953 and today might be noted, but most are minor in nature; a matter of "semantics" or technique; or not critical.
Other than those 2 things that our modern era has made obsolete, with this booklet you can enjoy having it be 1953 again for several enjoyable minutes in your easy chair!
This booklet's no-nonsense and homespun style is great reading, and it may perhaps be considered a predecessor of the more-thorough "step by step" instructions that other designers and authors published in the decades that followed. You'll be delighted to read it over and over.
Contents include:
Introduction; Tender Trucks, Tender Frame, and Tank; Engine Truck; Chassis; Axle Pump; Trailing Truck; Cylinders and Valves; Baker Gear and Timing; Smoke Box and Boiler; Oscillating Disc Throttle.Includes photos of the 4-4-2, and of various scenes at the old "Yankee Shop" at Danvers, Mass.
Cost is $25, plus USA shipping. For other countries, please inquire.
36-page booklet covers various aspects of the construction of the 3/4" scale Boston and Albany "tank" locomotive. Originally published in 1948 as a compilation of Lester Friend's 1930s and 1940s construction articles that were in "The Model Craftsman" magazine, it has been reprinted in exactly the same form as it was published prior, so as to preserve its content and integrity. This way, you can sit in your easy chair and have Lester Friend (1895-1962) describe to you in his own words, how to build a 4-6-6T live steam locomotive....without any changes or updates by me. You can read the very same words that all the "old timers" read back in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s.
With 3 major exceptions I can think of, most of the booklet's content from 1948 still applies today.
Exception #1, Lester Friend mentions that the locomotive can be built for less than $100. This is probably not so anymore. Next (#2), the then-common (but now-oddball) size of copper boiler pipe (5-1/2" O.D.) that was called-for in 1948, will now have to be purchased overseas (or "rolled from flat stock", screwed at the joint, and soldered); as it's no longer manufactured in the USA. And finally (#3), more modern & safe insulation than the asbestos that's called for (a common, "hardware store" item back in the 1940s, but now known to be unsafe) should be used for lagging. The days of walking into the local hardware or plumbing store and buying "asbestos sheet" are long gone.
Other differences between 1948 and today might be noted, but most are minor in nature; a matter of "semantics" or technique; or not critical.
Other than those 3 things that our modern era has made obsolete, with this booklet you can enjoy having it be "1948 again" for several enjoyable minutes in your chair!
This booklet's no-nonsense and homespun style is great reading, and it may perhaps be considered a predecessor to the more-thorough "step by step" instructions that other designers and authors published in the decades that followed. You'll be delighted to read it over and over.
Contents include:
Introduction; Engine Truck; Chassis; Axle Pump; Tender Truck; Cylinders and Valves; Baker Gear and Timing; Smoke Box and Exhaust Nozzle; Boiler; Oscillating Disc Throttle.Includes photos of the 4-6-6 under construction, and of various scenes at the old "Yankee Shop" at Danvers, Mass.
Cost is $25.00, plus USA shipping. For other countries, please inquire.
I have a limited supply of N.O.S. (new old stock) Friends Models print catalogs from 1972. This was the last print catalog that was produced, before Friends Models went out-of-business in 1979. Cost is $25.00, plus $9.00 USA shipping. For other countries, please inquire.
