Mamod New Orleans Special
The American Styled Mamod that Never Was?
So what exactly is the story behind the Mamod New Orleans Special? Have you ever seen one before or is this the first you have heard about such a model? I would love to hear from anyone who has more info about this rare Mamod engine. Please contact me if you know more.
The images are from a US auction that took place in 2014. The engine was part of an estate sale and the seller did not know anything further about it. What looks like a special edition Mamod loco and carriage, sits on 32mm gauge track on a wooden plinth. The inscription reads "BERN My appreciation for your efforts. Sandy. 21 September 1984". "WE MADE THE TRAIN RUN ON TIME. I KNEW WE COULD. I KNEW WE WOULD!".
Mr Dream Steam: Alan Dunster, founder of the Mamod oriented business 'Dream Steam', had amassed a tremendous knowledge of the Mamod railway system developed by Mamod in 1978-79. He had also put together a wonderful collection of Mamod SL engines and models. For the 30th Anniversary of the Mamod railway system, Alan contributed a series of 5 superb articles celebrating '30 Years of Mamodry' to Garden Rail magazine published by Atlantic Publishers. Articles appeared from Jan 2009 through to June 2010 (magazine numbers 173, 177, 182, 183 and 190).
New Orleans Special: Garden Rail#177 featured article 2 in the 5 part series. This included reference to the rare Severn Valley Railway liveried SL1 locos. Alan also makes mention of "...a few maroon SL3 locos and passenger coaches dressed in an American theme such as the 'New Orleans Special' as promotional examples but it is not clear if this was done by Mamod or a distributor in the US off their own back". Alan had one of these loco's in his own collection and a picture of it can be seen on page 37 of Garden Rail #177, May 2009. Alan sold that loco and carriage to another collector in 2014. Coincidentally this was the same year that I found the estate sale of the New Orleans loco mounted on the wooden plinth.
Logo/Branding: Something very curious about the two New Orleans passenger coaches that might give a clue to their origin, is the rather distinctive 'W' shaped logo in red and blue. This looks very much like the Valvoline logo. So what's the connection with trains? I don't know. Valvoline Instant Oil Change℠ was founded in New Orleans in 1986. A tenuous link perhaps. Maybe these engines were promotional items?
Update: A steam friend over on the UMAOSF pointed out that in 1984, Louisiana hosted the World Exposition. So this may be a promotional locomotive as already suggested. It's also possible that the engine on the commemorative loco plinth mount was something to do with a full size steam train being operated in 1984 in connection with the Louisiana World's Fair. See here "In 1984, 4449 pulled an all-Daylight-painted train from Portland to New Orleans, Louisiana and back, to publicize the World's Fair, with UP 8444 there too. The 7,477-mile (12,033 km) round trip was the longest steam train excursion in the history of the United States".