I received my N&W Y3 2882 and along with it, in the box, was a 'doghouse'. Nowhere did the instructions tell how or where on the tender to install it. What was the 'doghouse' used for and which Y3 railroads had them on the tender or were they used on all Y3's? Also where (or even if) should I install it? There doesn't seem to be any predrilled holes or special area to place it.
Here is a photo of a "doghouse" on a PRR 2-10-2. The "doghouse" is basically in the position as seen in the photo below. It was primarily used by the brakeman. Southern, N&W, ATSF & PRR are some examples of railroads that used doghouses on their steamers. Below is a PRR L-1s Mikado that used a dogouse. Have fun....
I've been through Iron Horses of the Santa Fe Trail and several other books and can't say I've ever seen an ATSF steam loco with a doghouse. From photos and drawings I've seen it would even appear they were removed from the Y3's in ATSF service.
The LL 2-8-8-2 had dog houses included in the original box. They could have removed the doghouses from the Y-3's in service, but they came installed with doghouses.
Seems I read on the Atlas forum that the interior of the tender is marked some way to indicate where holes should be drilled. I have not looked, however. Edit: Here is what I saw: "Walthers says if you remove the tender shell there are dimples that show where you can drill out the holes to put the dog house posts into. They said that only some lines had the dog house." Ben
