The Engine Hall of Fame

All decked out so fine,
Standing in one big ring,
There’d be no head of line.
Then all the engineers
From far and near could claim
His engine was first ‘n’ best in that
ENGINE HALL OF FAME!

When Huber built an engine,
They knew just what to do;
From beginning to end
They built that return flue.
Now some would fault the Huber;
She’s slow to fire up,
But once you got her goin’,
You could easy keep her hot.
Out before the first light,
In the morning dew,
With a certain pride in knowin’,
‘Fore the day was through,
That ol’ gal could turn out more
Than a hundred men could do.
And all those other engines,
No matter what their names,
Will welcome that ol’ Huber to that
ENGINE HALL OF FAME!

There is Eddie with his mighty Keck,
I saw it spankin’ new,
Threshin’ out some long damp stuff,
barking clear and true.
Eddie threshed for fifty years,
fifty years gone by,
He’s almost threshed for fifty more,
somewhere in the sky.
Eddie used her in the sun
and he tuned her in the rain,
And he’ll stand proud beside her in the
ENGINE HALL OF FAME!

Big Russell on a sawmill,
the best I ever saw,
Was cuttin’ Burr Oak bridge planks,
down on the Mackinaw.
My fond memory turns time back,
to the singin’ of that circle saw,
mixed with barkin’ of that stack.
I dreamed about that Russell and the
ENGINE HALL OF FAME;
Delmar said she’d be there,
And Frankie said the same.

Nichols and Shepard’s
praises are sung
by the patriarch
of the Dalton gang.
Carter Dalton
is the old boy’s name,
and to ride the high iron
was his early aim.
But his Daddy said,
‘Boy, stay on the land.’
(Back then his Daddy
was the leader of the clan.)
So he satisfied
his love for steam;
he became top peg
in a threshing ring.
Now threshin’ today
just ain’t the same.
Shall we try it again in that
ENGINE HALL OF FAME?
Yes, let’s try it again in the
ENGINE HALL OF FAME.

Port Huron built an engine,
Wayne McManis’ joy and pride,
Said she’d out-perform the others,
And ol’ Wayne, he never lied.
Cause when pit against another,
She’ll put all the rest to shame,
And she’ll use less coal and water, in the
ENGINE HALL OF FAME.

Startin’ on five miles through,
Twenty plows strung out behind,
Mighty Reeves Cross Compound
Is what I’ve got in mind.
Now all down through the ages,
plowin’s been such a trick,
Since man first poked some seeds in,
With a crooked stick.
When it came to plowin’,
Reeves played an honest game,
Till she plowed that
Long last furrow to the
ENGINE HALL OF FAME!

There is J. D. with his mighty Frick,
Bustin’ out with pride . . .
Love for those ol’ engines
Is mighty hard t’hide.
Of all the engines Jim has seen,
This one is his pick,
He’s never heard an unkind word
Said about a Frick.
Jimmy threshed for many a year,
Down around McLean,
That should win for him
A niche in the
ENGINE HALL OF FAME.

Those under-mounted Averys
Stand so proud and tall,
Lookin’ just as haughty
As the Wabash Cannon Ball.
Is it true about the Avery?
‘Cause I’ve heard some folks tell
One thing ’bout a coal mine
And ‘nother’ bout a well.
Others say, ‘Why, that ain’t so
And it’s a cryin’ shame,
And we’ll prove it to
The rest of you, in that
ENGINE HALL OF FAME.

You would have to see that certain Case
To know what pains they took,
To restore that grand ol’ lady
Without that restored look.
If you’re lookin’ for a model
They’re not hard to find,
For the folks who built that engine
Must’a had models on their mind.
And when the roll is called up yonder,
To be there is her aim,
She’ll stand forth
In all her glory in that
ENGINE HALL OF FAME!

Those mighty Minnies were made for
work,
And me I know ’tis true,
‘Cause if you have a Minnie
And have a job to do …
That ol’ gal will mind you,
‘Till that job of yours is through.
When the work goes on up yonder,
Be it fancy or be it plain,
There will chug that
mighty Minnie in that
ENGINE HALL OF FAME!

Big blue-wheeled beauty barking,
Sounding mighty grand,
It’s just got to be a Baker,
Belted to a Baker fan.
Of all the engines that were
Built in the good ol’ USA,
Not a one could beat a Baker,
That’s what some folks say.
When all those mighty engines
Go a-chuggin’ up that lane,
There will stand that
Blue-wheeled beauty in that
ENGINE HALL OF FAME.

I’m an old-time engine man,
I’ve said not once but twice,
An ENGINE HALL OF FAME, I think,
Would be grand and nice.
But if there never is one,
Then my thoughts will have to do,
And this little book of memories,
I dedicate to you.

Old engines really live,
And engineers, they’ll never die,
While Wayne, J. D., Carter, and Eddie
too,
Within my memory lie.

Submitted by Marjory Coyle Gross, 11532 Massinger St.,
Lakewood, California 90715.