Dan Wilson wrote in 030903 MMDigest:

> ...  Popper & Co., presented an 80-ton mechanical player called
> the _Artist_  ...  The _Artist_ was most likely the prototype
> of the Welte-Mignon, ..."

and:

> The questions pile up, even if one reluctantly puts to one
> side that tantalizing locomotive-sized Popper machine.

It made me smile, visualizing an 80-ton machine playing a piano.

What did it look like?  How did they move it to the trade show in
Leipzig (or anywhere else)?  What sort of design evolution was involved
to transform a Wurlitzer theatre organ sized push-up player apparatus
into a Vorsetzer small enough to be called a (Welte) Mignon?

Sadly, the answer lies, or rather got lost in, the translation:
"80 Ton" in German translates to "80 note" in English.

So, to any Mechanical Music Indiana Jones' out there, don't rush off
to Leipzig in pursuit of a piano-playing locomotive.  It probably just
weighed 100 pounds in the end.

Jurgen Goering
Vancouver Island, Canada