Battle Lumber Company No. 5

Southern Iron & Equipment Co. # 645

Grant 0-4-0t-t

   

        Here is a rare example of a Grant three foot gauge 0-4-0 tank engine still with the original  four wheel tender. There is no record of previous ownership and the very incomplete Grant builders list is no help. Sold as sale number 645 on May 25, 1912 the little 9x16" went to an equally rare Florida narrow gauge logger, the Battle Lumber Co.

        Battle Lumber Co. of 1912 was located in Lake County, Florida, at Sorento east of Mount Dora and they operated a six mile long tram road which was extended an additional mile by 1915 and another by 1917. The sawmill was rated capacity was 20,000 feet a day and was located on the Atlantic Coast Line branch from Sanford. The mill closed somtime before 1920. The original mill was located at Pasco, in Pasco County on another ACL branchline which operated from 1905-1912. Then the mill was torn down and rebuilt in Sorrento. For some odd reason the original railroad was listed as 3'-2-1/2" gauge, but maybe the owners miss-understood about gauge and measured their 40 pound rail from the outside instead of the inside.