Tradition has it that American steam locomotives burn wood. As the early white settlers built their way across the country, digging coal out of the ground wasn't a priority and there were plenty of trees to burn so that's what they did. Of course the trees were supplemented by arrows donated by a population who thought they had colonised the country quite effectively and didn't see why anyone else should have a go.
You may notice my entire grasp of US history has been learned from cowboy films, but as these are certain to be accurate this will do.
Anyway, the Porter locomotives needed fuel and that means I can't use my stocks of Welsh Steam Coal. Instead I spent an hour chopping up artists matchsticks to get enough for 5 locomotives. As well as cutting to length I carved and split corners so nothing looked to regular. Mind you, if you've ever split wood with an axe (ax for US readers who apparently have an aversion to vowels) it's amazing how square cornered the results are.
I did wonder about weathering the resulting wood but the colour is pretty good and the fuel wouldn't stick around long before ending up on the fire so it surely wouldn't get that dirty ?
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