G&D No. 8 "Sgt. Ennis"
Sgt. Ennis was John’s second locomotive after 0-4-0 no. 9. Built in 1947 from a Mantua "Belle of the Eighties" kit, this engine starred in much of John’s early work on the first GD. On the later versions, the old soldier had been bumped down to excursion service, but the engine and its old-time coaches were still a regular presence on the layout right up to the end.
Like most of the GD roster, Sgt. Ennis was severely damaged in the fire that destroyed the railroad. However, its story has a happy ending: it was one of several GD engines restored by master modeler Kenichi Matsumoto, and is currently displayed in the Magic of Scale Model Railroading[www.nmra.org] exhibit at the California State Railroad Museum.
Sgt. Ennis comes outfitted with a wealth of details:
- Full livery support, built from the ground up for customization. Each and every part can be individually painted for eye-catching results.
- Realistic lighting. Headlight warms up and flickers like a real oil lamp. Press L+1 and the firebox lights right up. Tender includes a working backup lamp.
- Customizable! Comes with three smokestacks: Central Pacific-style balloon stack, straight capped, and a bonus 1870s-style diamond stack. Tender has three different fuel loads: two wood piles and a coal pile. (Note: to switch these around, be sure to delete the hard-coded "Wood bunker" mesh when you’re making a livery.)
- Built from scratch by Dark Derby
- Drivers modified from Ridge Rider Harris’s 4-4-0
- Sounds from Sid Meier’s Railroads!
