A Rare Painted Pine, Brass, Copper and Steel Model of the Locomotive Steam Engine Osceola Late 19th/ Early 20th century

found in Minnesota, 1970; comprising 2 cars - locomotive engine and tender rendered to scale with moving brass, copper and steel parts and fittings; the sides with gilt stenciled scrolls and leafage; together with a group of wrought-iron tools.

Tim Hill, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

some dings, chips in paint, and stress cracks to cars; windows taped inside; crackle-repaint evident on locomotive; structurally sound; imperfections consistent with age and use
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The locomotive is an "American type," which means, in railroad classification parlance, a 4-4-0 (that is, four small leading wheels, four big driving wheels, and the zero denotes that there are no smaller trailing wheels behind them, under the cab, say). This was a design used throughout the nineteenth century, but the Osceola has certain features that make it clear that it was built (or designed to look like an engine that was built) before the Civil War.

It is "inside connected"--which means that the driving rods that turn the wheels are on the inside rather than on the outside of them. If you'll look between the wheels you'll see a lot of quite elaborate running gear designed to transmit the power from the cylinders to the wheels. The English built inside-connected locomotives throughout the age of steam, but although they looked tidier, they were much harder to service and maintain, and Americans abandoned them after about a decade. That, and the brass-railed platform that goes around the boiler above the wheels--which railroaders called a "Dutch wagon" running board--indicate a locomotive design from between about 1850 and 1860. (This was also the time when lots of things were sentimentally being named for defeated Indian tribes, so the engine¹s name makes sense in this context.)

The Osceola is a live-steam working model; it was designed to burn coal and when it was fired up sometime early in the last century it was considered powerful enough to require a boiler inspection tag, which is affixed near the floor inside the cab. The locomotive is scratch built, and certainly one of a kind.