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Date published: 8/16/2005 By LEE WOOLF REFLECTIONS of Stafford County's past And now that list may include "Dinky," a vintage steam engine that was part of the county's mining industry almost a hundred years ago and may soon finds its way back onto Stafford soil. For the time being, Dinky is a rusted heap of metal sitting in the woods off U.S. 17 near Bealeton. Its owner is Jim Baird, a collector and a member of the Rappahannock Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society and a Fauquier County group called the Antique Equipment Club. The engine probably was built in the 1890s by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia. It was called a "dinky," a name applied to a variety of miniature engines. This one is roughly 10 feet tall and 20 feet long. It weighs about 12 tons. And it has not been seen in Stafford for more than 30 years. Baird acquired Dinky in the 1980s from a scrap yard near Richmond. He said he was told the locomotive had been buried and was uncovered during a construction project along U.S. 1 north of Fredericksburg. That all fits with Dinky's life history, which I'll explain in a moment. The important point now is that Baird says he would like "This is great news," said David Gayle of the county staff last week after learning that Dinky had been located. Gayle is the assistant director of legislative affairs, and has sought for several years to recover the missing locomotive. By the next day, he had discussed the matter with other Stafford officials and contacted Baird at his Bealeton home. "We're excited and very interested," Gayle said. "We're looking forward to seeing the engine and having a conversation with Mr. Baird. I think we're willing to look at all of the options."
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