Reno at Carson City, Nevada, winter of 1877-1878, taken by Carleton E. Watkins. Photo courtesy of Nevada State Museum.
Baldwin Drawing No. 20 provides all necessary specifications to completely construct the engine cab from the detailed side and transverse elevations. By deconstructing or reverse-engineering the cab in Drawing No. 20, a complete set of component drawings has been generated that a skilled cabinet maker can use to fabricate a new cab according to as-built factory specifications.
From the original Baldwin order specification, Reno’s cab was made from black walnut, which, at the time, was abundantly available. Today is another matter altogether since old-growth trees would potentially need to be identified and harvested for no sapwood, un-steamed, kiln-dried at 8% humidity, and ultimately milled into the general sizes and shapes before final finishing. In addition, special routers would need to be fabricated to reproduce all the elaborate contours and fillets appearing in the drawing.
The total estimated material for this cab is 452 board feet. For the estimated 600 board feet to fabricate the cab, assuming 50% waste, the material cost alone is estimated to be at least $16,000 - $20,000. This cost is driven by the specification for old-growth black walnut, which is precisely how the original cab was built. Expert cabinet makers need to prepare and assemble the cab.
For inquiries on the cab drawings and specifications, please contact [email protected].
Replica cast iron corner bracket, brass handrail and ball end post brackets, steel hex bolt with bronze washer and rectangular nut, and bronze cord feed for cab signal bell by V&T Enterprises.
Bronze, steel, and cast-iron hardware is not specified in Drawing No. 20. However, during the excavation of the artifact, a number of assembly components belonging to the cab were identified and surveyed. Together with all wood parts, these internal hardware components provide the final mechanical assembly of the cab. In addition, specifications for the ornate exterior brass handles were taken from the Genoa and also appeared in the Watkins photo above.
Cab detail from BLW Drawing No. 20, by V&T Enterprises.
