HE LION ROARS - Lionel Collectors Club of America

We Hope by Late July.the breakdown occurred. “We filledbuckets full of metal pieces from thecylinder, rod and piston,” he said. “Wetowed her back to Grapevine with ourGP-7 diesel and assessed the damage.”The City of Grapevine was not willingto give up on Puffy and charged Villardto locate the necessary parts for a repair,if possible. The alternative was tocustom-make new parts copied from theoriginals – an expensive process. Aftercombing the country for static engineswith interchangeable pistons and rods,he discovered the parts in neighboringplaces and carefully bored out withmanual tools brought to Grapevine toperform this precise, meticulous work.The cylinder sleeve was then replaced,the piston put back into place, and therod re-attached.A Colorful HistoryPuffy has been owned and operated bythe GVRR since 2000. The engine pullsa set of heavyweight passenger cars toand from the Fort Worth Stock Yardsseveral days a week. Before becomingGrapevine’s “Puffy,” the engine wasowned and operated by the Fort Worthat his first theme park, Disneyland. Butthe train was determined to be too largefor the park and was moved to the TexasState Railroad.Status ReportAs this issue of TLR went to press,Brent and his team were still doingthe painstaking repair and reassemblywork on Puffy with the hope of havingthe historic steam engine ready forboarding for an excursion run for LCCAconventioneers. If they are successful,those who climb aboard the GrapevineVintage Railroad in late July amid a swirlArkansas. Paris is locatedin western Arkansasbetween Fort Smith andLittle Rock, 339 milesfrom Grapevine.Villard and his crew waited for amoderately warm winter day in Paris andcarefully removed the parts they neededfrom the “parts donor” locomotive foruse in rebuilding the GVRR steamer.According toVillard, rebuildingan old steamlocomotive isalmost a lost art,so he turned toexperts at PortableMachine Works ofBaton Rogue, LA,to do the work.The casing waswelded in several Disneyland.F A C T O I DPuffy originally served as aSouthern Pacific engine andwas bought by Walt Disney forservice at his first theme park,and Western and was namedthe “Tarantula,” a nicknamefor the Fort Worth railroadsthat spread throughout thetown in the shape of thiswell-known arachnid.Puffy was formerlyowned by the TexasState Railroad,which operatesexcursion trains toand from Rust toPalestine, TX. Puffyoriginally served asa Southern Pacificengine and wasbought by WaltDisney for serviceof puffing smoke and blowing steamshould offer a “Thank You” to the crewat the GVRR. And remember the “partsdonor” – an old steam engine in a publicpark in Paris.Photographs by Mike McLintockand Bob ReedEditor’s Postscript: If Puffy is notrepaired in time for our Convention, aback-up diesel locomotive will be on thepoint.The Lion Roars 17