Al Milburn

Alder Milburn was a Live Steamer who lived in Milford, Connecticut. He was a member of the New England Live Steamers. He produced several fine locomotives, all created from raw stock without castings.

1940

From New England Live Steamers:

Upper-right: -- 4-4-2 3-1/2" gague. W. S. Van Brocklin, Jr., builder. Al Milburn running the engine with Billy as passenger.

1949

Lester Friend's home shop, Danvers, Mass., 1949. Front left to right: Art Wegner, Ray Peck, Lester Friend's daughter. Bending over: Lester Friend. At right behind: Al Milburn. Photo by A.W. Leggett.

1950

From IBLS Journal 1950:

Al Milburn's cut from the solid Atlantic a beautiful job to see.

Bill Leggett admiring Al Milburn's Atlantic (top) at BLS Meet at Danvers, MA, 1950. Photo by A.W. Leggett, provided by Jim Leggett.

• Keith Taylor posted on Chaski.org:

Al Milburn built a beautiful 3/4" scale Atlantic where everything was hacked from solid. The drivers were sawn out by hand with a jeweler's saw, then filed to the correct profile...then sand blasted so they would look like castings!

1951

From Youd Better Not Call Them Toys:

From "You'd Better Not Call Them Toys"

Many men who didn't know a drill press from a grape press until they started their first loco have found that the thousands of hours of trial-and-error shop work have made them competent machinists. One such is A. C. Milburn of Milford, Connecticut. Ten years ago he started work on a 1/2-inch scale freight engine in his spare time from a 4,000-foot coal shaft where he was a digger, today Milburn is a well-paid toolmaker-thanks to live steam.

From IBLS Journal 1951:

The former speed record of 26 MPH set at Danvers some years ago by Norm Robinson & his 3/4 inch scale Fayette, or our friend Al Milburn's record of 22 MPH on his own former home loop with his 2-1/2 inch gauge Lucy-Ann 4-8-4, would very likely raise the hair on the necks of these California steam boys. These records were watch timed and are actual miles per hour, not scale MPH.

3/4" Atlantic

Keith Taylor wrote:

Al Milburn built a beautiful 3/4 inch scale Atlantic where everything was hacked from solid. The drivers were sawn out by hand with a jeweler's saw, then filed to the correct profile...then sand blasted so they would look like castings!

1960's

Mark Bassini wrote on Chaski.org:

The 1 inch scale 870 built by Al Milburn & once owned by Pierre Mauer & then by my father, now in my possession.

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  Al Milburn's No 870 4-4-0 in 1 inch scale. Note that Brenton Barnfather's tote box is in the background. Photo was taken May 1961 at unknown location.

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  Adrian Buyse and Al Milburn with Milburn's New York Central and Hudson River Railroad 870 at PVLS. Milburn built #870 from solid stock. Circa 1960. Photo by Steve Bratina.

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  Al Milburn's NYC&HR RR #870 at Pioneer Valley Live Steamers, 1965. Photo by Sandiapaul.

Raybestos Article

Al Milburn in his basement workshop

We are very happy to include in our Hobby Show Case this week Al Milburn, who is pictured above working on the miniature of a large locomotive which is the second one he has constructed since starting his hobby in 1935.

Back in 1933, Al visited a sports show and saw his first miniature engine and decided at that time he would some day design and construct one of his own miniatures.

In 1935 Al started to work on his first engine. He was a book binder by trade, with no mechanical knowledge whatsoever, and through research and book learning he completed his first locomotive with two flat cars after 10 long years of work at his hobby. He approximates that the engine took him 4,000 hours to build.

This engine was designed by an Englishman who wrote a series of articles in an American publication. Al says that the knowledge gained the first year in working with his hobby through this self education enabled him to give up book binding and take a job as an instrument maker in a local plant, so actually he had a new trade, a hobby and a wealth of mechanical knowledge.

The engine shown above is about 80% complete, and is Al's own design. It is cut from solid steel with no castings used.

All parts are hand filed and cut. He figures that the four driving wheels took him approximately 400 hours to complete.

We could fill pages on interesting facts concerning Al's hobby and have only touched on some of the outstanding ones, but we feel it is worth mentioning that Al has been written up six times in Model Engineer, which is a London publication having a very large worldwide circulation.

Al has a photograph album which shows the construction of his first miniature from the beginning up to its completion, together with pictures of many outstanding personages who are fascinated by his hobby and have visited his home to learn more about it while other individuals who have the same interests are there to compare notes on his masterpieces.

In looking over Al's album it was interesting to note that he is considered a friendly rival to Dr. J. Bradbury Winter who built the finest little locomotive ever seen, and Al had the fortitude to follow the example of this fine craftsman in completing an engine comparable to Dr. Winter's.

Through his photography work in connection with pictures of each stage of his engine, Al has become a first rate photographer and this can also be added as another one of his accomplishments. Al welcomes visitors to see his engines and many of our readers will recall that he had his first miniature on display at Raybestos Family Day two years ago.

American No. 56

Al’s last locomotive was listed on eBay, April 2026.

This is a nearly complete live steam engine and elevated track stand hand precision made by renowned maker, Al Milburn. Also included is his handmade prototype of the link motion and blueprints. See last picture. The boiler needs to be completed. He passed before he could complete this, his last of many live steam, highly collectible trains. All his live steam trains were built in his basement machine shop in Milford, Connecticut.

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External Links

• "The Norman Mottshaw NYC Hudson in 3/4" Scale", Chaski.org