A major problem I have with our hobby now, is the same problem I have with miniature wargaming... That is the greying of the hobby. Younger people are not getting into and staying in the hobby. Research shows they will get a train for Christmas, or a birthday, and play with it for a little while, or a few years. Then it is consigned to the back of the closet. There are many contributing factors. Children live in cyberspace now because parents let them. We have all seen the child playing on the parent's phone at the mall, doctor's, grocery, etc. Electronic games have replaced the television as the baby sitter of choice in the 21st century. However, the main problem is the hobby has become cost prohibitive. In my grandfather's, and father's childhood, trains could be purchased at the Five and Dime stores. Children cannot afford trains anymore. That was before current inflation. The hobby was do it yourself, and have fun on a tight budget. The problem is now trains are expensive, collector's items, wall displays.

So, what does this have to do with a fireless locomotive? I really like the now-discontinued Bachmann 0-6-0 Porter. I have an addiction for Porters and camelbacks. The Bachmann model Porter is easy to fix, already DCC, and did not cost an exorbitant sum. A good DCC locomotive cheap! I wish it was still in production. I love building something that looks good and is unique cheaply. The Bachmann 0-6-0 Porter used to be sold by my hobby shop for $99. That's with DCC! However, I am always looking for some cool bit of 1900. I then accidentally stumbled across Apogee Locomotive Works' website by Mr. Aaron Piotraschke. He designs and prints locomotive shells. He started with industrial fireless locomotives.

Okay, so, why a fireless locomotive? Those who love steam locomotives, like myself, imagine a big, powerful, steam engine belching smoke and sparks with the fire box aglow thundering down the track. Well, that is just the problem. Imagine that powerful locomotive shoving a few boxcars too hard filled with dynamite at the explosives plant. Imagine those sparks and cinders showering down on the piles of coal at the coal mine or the chemical plant. Imagine a locomotive having a boiler explosion next to or inside the factory packed with employees. All these are very bad and, sadly, have happened.

How does it work? Basically, instead of a firebox and boiler like on a regular steam locomotive, you use a pressure vessel to hold the propellant. This replaces the boiler. In the 1870s, railroads and locomotive companies began to experiment with compressed air, steam, and even soda (made from ammonia) as propellant for a reciprocating locomotive, basically creating a reservoir of fuel that will not cause problems in industrial applications. It would only need limited range. So, it would have to be refilled with its propellant. The soda method did not really catch on. However, compressed air and stream did. Compressed air turned out to be perfect for using underground in mines. Steam fireless engines were perfect as they run on the same steam pounds per square inch as an industrial steam turbine. Thus, the fireless locomotive could be charged with steam from the plant or factory itself. Fireless locomotives have been described as the cockroaches of the steam locomotive world. This is because they were last used industrially in the United States in the 1990s, and are still used industrially in countries, like Germany, today.

Very much to my chagrin, I originally thought fireless engines were stupid. Sorry Aaron... Then, I found Apogee online. I looked at the shells, watched his video above, and did some research. The more I did, the more interested I became. Aaron converted me. So, I spent $50 on my locomotive. It had been savaged by the pet dog of the man I purchased it from. the shell was destroyed. The motor and DCC were fine. I just took off the shell, removed all the details that could be reused like the grab irons, bell, etc. Then, I put the shell in the parts box to be used to model a damaged locomotive. Now equipped with a perfect chassis working perfectly, I purchased the 1920s Porter shell from Aaron at ALW. At that time, they were $50.

Building my Covid locomotive. Yes, I had Covid (the first time I had it) when I built this fireless. It came in a great box, and was a perfect print. I was a little nervous, as the other prints I have ordered from other companies needed cleaning up. All I had to do was clean the shell. Great details on these models. Even rivets, I love rivets!

I cut some cardboard strips, and squares from my Cornflakes box and painted them black, then gunmetal blue. I then super glued them on to cover up the crack and one small patch on the other side. Then, I glued on a Cal scale bell, and the grab Irons from the original shell. I then found an old junk oil lamp in the junk box and made a front lamp holder out of more pieces of that Cornflakes box. Then, weathered everything in.

Indian Princess Mine No.1

Purchased as an experiment in 1901, the fireless engine proved to do very well until it was buried in a mudslide in the fall of 1908. No.1 was recovered in late spring 1909 and found to be in very good condition. Her pressure vessel had to be patched in 2 places due to cracking from the slide, and her windows had to be replaced. Nothing else major was found to be wrong. With those things fixed and given a good wash down she continued her work. She works very hard at the mine every day. She was even given an old head lamp from an outdated engine that is converted from oil to battery power.