Enos Yoder
Enos Yoder was active in Live Steam since the 1950's. He is the father of Bill Yoder. Enos was a founding member and the first president of the Florida Live Steamers club.
Reading 4-4-0
Bill Yoder wrote on Chaski.org:
- This Reading 3/4 inch scale 410-419 class 4-4-0 was bought by someone through the Discover Live Steam webpage some weeks ago. I owned this loco for more than 40 years, in fact, its new copper boiler was built by my dad, Enos Yoder, in the late 1960s. Dad only built the boiler, and that was around 1967. We bought it in Miami 22 November 1964. Had once been owned by Gordon Varney of electric train fame. Excellent chassis was built in the 1930’s, I believe in New Jersey. These Reading 4-4-0’s from 1914 were the heaviest Americans ever built. It never had a tender. We sold it around 2007.
A 3/4 inch scale Reading 4-4-0, boiler built by Enos W. Yoder.
Mogul
Enos is quite a craftsman and has built 16 or so engines all of the style in this photo. Nice looking engines.
One of the many 2-6-0 Moguls built from Enos Yoder's drawings
Enos Yoder at the throttle of his 2-6-0 Mogul "Nicole".
Atlantic
Jeff Dute wrote on Chaski.org 13 October 2010:
- That engine was the design of Mr. Yoder of Sarasota, Florida. I know 3 of these engine built. Mr Yoder built 1 and I know the Mr. Charlie Fair of Ohio built 2 over the years. The first one, which I think is the one running at Apex in the video (not positive though) was sold a number of years ago. Then Mr. Fair built a second which I think was finished last year or year before.
- Based on my conversation a number of years ago, Mr. Yoder based the model on Redwood Valley Railroad #4. He used Allen Models wheels, cylinder and construction methods to build the engine. If I remember correctly he used Southern Valve Gear.
- Mr. Yoder had sketches for this engine but no formal drawing. I have copies of the sketches somewhere I will try to locate them. Hope the information helps.
Miniacres Railroad #5 built by Enos Yoder
A 2-4-2 Atlantic built from Enos Yoder drawings
Wildacres Railroad # 1 built by Enos W. Yoder.
Romulus
From Bill Yoder posted the following on Chaski.org 18 February 2016:
- Here’s a great chance to obtain a 7 ½”-gauge locomotive built by well-known craftsman Enos Yoder of Sarasota, FL. He built most or all of 17 locomotives and traction engines – this is #14. There won’t be any more - Enos is 88 years old. Assuming a 24”-gauge for the prototype, this works out to a scale of 1 to 3.69 or 3.25” to the foot. Loco can be completed in a North American or European style, has solid steel frames.
This 2-4-0 is a modified Romulus designed by Roger Marsh – originally a two-foot gauge quarry locomotive 0-4-0. The design is very prominent in the UK. It’s been improved here with an equalized leading truck and Southern valve gear, Enos Yoder’s favorite. Notice the slight, prototype incline to the cylinders, solid drivers. What you see here was completed around 2002. At that time, the chassis ran fine on air and the boiler was steamed to 60 psi (anticipated pressure 100-120 psi.) So this is a brand-new locomotive.
What you get: It’s an 8” diameter steel boiler with 13 ¾” ID copper tubes. The boiler was welded by a certified welder. No tender. No water pump yet, but the eccentric for it is mounted on a driver axle. Included will be castings for the firebox door, brake shoes, wood for the cab and blueprints.
Dimensions: Height to the top of the stack is 32”, length is 48”. Width: 20”. We have the exact box sizes if needed. Total weight is 400 lbs., but can be divided equally into two boxes.
Injector
Fred_V wrote on Chaski.org, 9 February 2017:
- Check out the injector. That is an Enos Yoder original design; a very talented builder. Enos had built many of them. It is very nicely made and by the size of the cones should put out a lot of water. I don't know how it would respond to hot water as in a saddle tank engine.
Biography
Enos Yoder’s (1927-2022) first steam project was a free-lance 1/3rd size traction engine on rubber tires with a V-belt drive started in 1955. Four years later it got a second, improved engine up on top by cutting an original upright engine from the 1930’s to fit. It was sold to Ohio around 1966. The marine-style boiler steamed poorly – we learn from our mistakes.
Visiting John Pugh’s 1 inch scale track at Grand Junction MI in 1958 and 1959 convinced Enos to try his hand at railroading. The first locomotive was a 4-4-2 from Little Engines castings, built between 1958 and 1966. It went to Pennsylvania in 1973.
An important interlude was a 16 inch gauge Canadian-Pacific-style 4-6-2 bought as a rusted hulk from Kenneth Stanaback (1915-88) in Grand Rapids MI in late 1959. Enos had it running within a year. He brought it along from Goshen, Indiana to Florida during the move of December 1960; he had hopes of setting up a small, commercial train park in Oneco, Florida. But he had bitten off more than a young family father can chew and sold everything off to Missouri in April 1961. It was later re-gauged to 12 inch and rejoined its sister at the Wabash, Frisco and Pacific. It was re-boilered and is now numbered #401. It has lost all of its CP appearance, but the sister at WF&P, #400, retains some of the original CP looks. These two British-built Pacifics had begun their careers running at the Canadian National centennial exhibition in Toronto in 1927. That makes them virtual sisters of the famous Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway locomotives.
After the move to El Dorado, Arkansas in 1974, Enos got into 2 ½ inch scale and Allen cylinders. The first result was a 2-4-2, #4, with a thin 8-inch boiler and inside Marsh gear. Completed in 1976, it was sold off to Texas the following year. This loco began his series of popular 2 ½ inch scale, 7 ½ inch gauge 2-4-2’s with Southern valve gear, of which at least four or five copies have been built by other parties. Enos retained the 10 inch boilered 2-4-2 #5 a good while. Completed in El Dorado in 1981, it was sold to the Baumgardners of North Carolina in 1996. Only #12, a 2-6-0 completed in 1999 and last in his line of 2 ½ inch scale, US-style locomotives, remains in the family.
An incomplete-but-running Romulus 0-4-0 is also in the family. It was brought up to running order by Fred Veenschoten of Pensacola in 2016-17. Florida water did a number on #12’s boiler and it got a new steel boiler from Tennessee’s Scott Reedy in 2018. Enos built around 15 locomotives and two traction engines; about five of the total remain in the family, in Florida. George Johnson from the Parrish, Florida club has Enos’ 0-4-4T Chloe.
Enos worked on the projects of a number of other people. They included a 1 inch scale 0-6-0 and a Minnie traction engine in the same scale.
Several of his last projects, a Little Engines 4-4-0, Romulus and a Wren 0-4-0, were done to use up castings long owned by a friend in Miami. The Wren, which has Hackworth gear, was completed and sold in 2008.
Returning to Florida in 1982, he set up a new layout on his property east of Sarasota. One creation during this period was a Swiss Crocodile electric. He was the founding president of Florida Live Steamers around 1970 and was a part of Larry Smith’s layout at Parrish, Florida from its inception.
Rest in peace, Dad, at least we still have fond memories and several of your grand locomotives.
27 March 2024
Obituary
From Dignity Memorial:
- Enos W Yoder
- November 15, 1927 – April 12, 2022
- Enos W. Yoder, 94, of Sarasota, Florida passed away very peacefully on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. Enos was born in Haven Kansas on November 15, 1927.
- Enos was known as “Traindawdy” to his beloved family. Enos and his family moved to Sarasota in 1960. He and his wife Fannie lived in El Dorado, Arkansas from approximately 1974 through 1982, working at a nursing home which was a Voluntary Service unit of the Rosedale Mennonite Conference. During those years they got to meet many VS workers serving there from all over the US. They returned to Sarasota in 1982. Enos was a member of the Bethel Mennonite Church, Sarasota FL.
- The oldest of 11 children, Enos grew up in a large Amish family. Due to severe respiratory allergies, he was the one who helped his mother around the house with the younger children, including cooking, cleaning and even helping sew clothes for the family. Though he only attended grade school, he went on as an adult to get his GED and even took some college level courses and taught at the local vocational school.
- He could fix anything, and had small engine repair shops in Garnett, Kansas, Goshen, Indiana and in Pinecraft. When he moved to Sarasota he worked for Sears Roebuck repairing small appliances, sewing machines and vacuums. In later years he was a machinist for a commercial pump company. Of course, he was always the one who was called to fix household emergencies – too many times at night and on holidays! He was a skilled craftsman and built his own home in Kansas, Arkansas and Sarasota. He was somewhat of an artist and always enjoyed drawing Dagwood and Disney characters for the kids!
- He enjoyed gardening, riding his motorcycle at one time, sailing, and of course, his all-time favorite hobby of steam trains and locomotives. Enos was a founding member and the first president of the Florida Live Steamers club. He designed the logo for the club. He built at least 15 steam locomotives and encouraged and assisted family members and friends to build their own locomotives. He willingly shared his narrow gauge plans and quite a few have been built with those plans. He loved to give rides and had his own personal tracks at his homes in Arkansas and Sarasota.
- He and his wife loved to travel and after retirement spent many summers traveling with a small camper to Colorado, Indiana and North Carolina. Despite never having a large salary, they lived frugally and were able to travel to Europe twice and to the Holy Lands once.
- He lived long enough to enjoy the fifth generation of three little great-great-grandchildren. He will be greatly missed by his family, especially the little ones who knew him as “Traindawdy”! “God is Great and God is Good” was almost a daily exclamation!
- He is survived by his children Lovina and husband Ben Keim, William Yoder and wife Galina, Sarah Slabach, and Clara and husband Orlin Gingerich; 10 grandchildren Kirby and Michael Keim, Brenda Noffsinger, Jeremy Yoder, Alison Kelley, Sherri Tennerino, Angela Slabach and Mario, Curtis and Craig Gingerich; and 2 Step-granddaughters Elena Tovstaya and Masha Vasilchenko.
- 17 great-grandchildren Jessica Bayne, Joshua Noffsinger, Nicole McGough, Erin, Daniel and Megan Keim, Isabella and Greta Yoder, Juliana and Colin Kelley, Cooper and Ava Tennerino, Delyla Rodgers, Davian Slabach, Marco and Sawyer Gingerich, and Camden Dillon; and 4 step great-grandchildren Masha and Emili Tovstaya and Vasilina and Denis Vasilchenko; 5 great-great grandchildren Dustin, Mason and twins Knox and Isla McGough (born 4/14/22) and Ellie Bayne.
- A brother Ezra Yoder, Shipshewana Indiana; two sisters, Martha Thomas, Bradenton Florida, and Sarah Marie Miller, Bremen Indiana; and a sister-in-law Ada Mae Yoder, Shipshewana Indiana.
- He is preceded in death by his wife Fannie and daughter Mary Ellen; parents William C. and Sarah Yoder; brothers Chris, Levi, William Jr., Rudy and Clarence Yoder; and sisters Elizabeth Brown and Katie Miller.