Finch Lumber Co

The road name of my MDC Roundhouse Shay is actually a joke. My surname, Vink, is Finch in English. The road number was even easier: it is simply the first locomotive kit I finished, so a real number one.

To my surprise the Finch Lumber Co actually existed! But I doubt whether it actually had a Shay. The Finch Lumber Co is mentioned in several legal documents on the internet. At one moment I even found a scan of a postcard dating back from 1914. I haven't been able to establish the years in which the Finch Lumber Co started or ceased its operation. The 1914 postcard is the earliest source I could find and I found references to law suits as late as 1924 and 1927.

I found the aforementioned postcard on eBay with the following description:

Real picture postcard of the c. a. Finch Lumber yard Litchville, n.d. has a poor Litchville postmark and I believe it is 1914. Written from a Tom Boyd to mr. Thos. Munhall at Manawa Wisconsin. Top left corner is missing. Lower right corner is creased. Very minor crease in upper right and lower left corners. Also small crease in center. Still an excellent old historical piece for the Litchville collector. Picture nicer than scan. Very sharp lettering on the lumber co. bldg.

Litchville North Dakota Finch Lumber yard, 1914