February 1997
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swhsfrbsb /8" t; * Vn I-JTTLE ROCK CHAPTER B4jsTLs.@i%1E@\ FEBRUARY 1997 MISSOURI PACIFIC #1634in theNorth Little RockYards in the early1980's (John Hodkin, Jr photo) ONE.AXLE LOCOMOITYES by: cene TlUII Soonafter the steamlocomotive appeared driving wheelscould be added.This in the United Statesthe designersand increasedthe pulling power by asmuch as 60 builderswere producingengines with only percent,and at the sametime saf*y and one pair of drive wheels.These were riding comfort alsowere increased,Thus, the mountedon a singleaxle directly behinda 4-2-0 type enginewas replacedby lhe 44-0 verticalboiler. At the Baldwin Locomotive type. Worksthe secondengine to roll out of the In Europeand Britain the "singles"had plant wasthe E.L MILLER, built in enduringpopularity. This was due principally February1834. It hadfour smallwheels to more level terrain, aswell as to the underthe front end, andtwo driving wheels preferenceby the railroads'mechanical 54 inchesin diameter.It wasput in sewice departments.Railroad cars, freight and on the Charleston& HamburgRailroad at passenger,in Americawere muchlarger and Charleston,South Carolina. This design heavierthan their counterpartsoverseas. provedto be very popular,and the American With a load compatiblewith their desigq a Singletype oflocomotive was begun. For "single"could not be beat for speedand aboutl0 yearsit wasconsidered very elegance.Enginemen in the U.S. thoughtthe suitablefor ordinaryservice on American engineswere "slippery"and lacked power. railroads. The performanceofthe "single"engines Then,rails beganto leavethe river valleys got a boostin 1834by a patentgranted to andflat-land country, and to probeinto the E.L. Miller, who designedthe engine rolling foothills, then they climbedover the Baldwin built for the Charleston& Hamburg mountainsto seewhat was on the other side. Baldwin boughtthe patentfor $9,000in Locomotiveswith only two driving wheels 1839,It was for a methodof shiftingpart of just didn't haveadequate adhesion to lift the the weight ofthe tenderto the enginedriving trainsthrough this kind of country. wheelsto increasethe adhesion, Locomotivedesigners soon found that at a relativelysmall additional cost two more ERfiA]VSASRATTROADER J A few "singles"were built by other a platform behindthe cabto feedthe big manufacturers,but so manyrailroad officials firebox. He was exposedto all kinds of had dweloped a mentalblock againstthem weather. there soonwas no marketfor them.No The fellows at Baldwin were proud of their practicalrailroader would acceptone for two-leggedengine, and they gaveit regularservice. constructionnumber 5000. It was completed This situationcontinued until a new in April 1880,and the P&R gaveit number gen€rationof raihoadmen came along. They 507 It had 1894-inch cylinders,78-inch see,medto learnnothing from the experiences drivers,45-inch trailer wheels,and the steam of the prwious generation.This bearsout cylindercould increasethe weight on the the truism - if we ignore history, we will driversfrom 35,000pounds to 45,000 repeatits mistakes. pounds.Baldwin got a patentNo. 227,778 for this cylinderdevice on l8 May 1880. By 1870there were new champions ernbracingold ideaswith the convictionthat On 14May 1880,the P&R madea testnrn they could makethe ideasbetter. Theywere from Philadelphiato JerseyCity with the younger,therefore, they were smarter. new engineand a four-car passengertrain of Perhapsthey were impressedby the fine 84 tons. On tbis 89-milerurL the enginehit servicerendered by thoseone'ade engines 80 milesan hour severaltimes, and averaged on foreign roads. 54.7m.p.h. In the 1870'sa new railroadwas built The "single"locomotive desigrr was givan betweenPhiladelphia and Bound Brook, new life, and seernedto havea great future, New Jersey.It was leasedby the Philadelphia The railroadsneeded faster motive power, & Readingrailroad to provide a direct and now it was available.Advocates ofthe connectionto JerseyCity. FranHinGowan, "singles"said the enginewas saferthan the P&R president,wanted to makethe traveling standarddesign, by the elirninationof danger public awareofthe new route, so he decided from a broken siderodflailing upwardand to inauguratea fast expresstrain. He asked danolishingthe sideofthe cab,thereby Baldwin LocomotiveWorks Mechanical killing or injuring the firemanor engineer. SuperirtendentWilliam P. Henszeyto The enginecertainly was easierriding and providethe motive power. lessdamaging to the trach sincevery little counterbalancingwas required The ideaof a single-adeengine was rcyivd, A 4-2-2 type was decidedupon. A. A. Mcleod was presidentof the Baldwin useda steamcylinder to shift some Philadelphia& Reading,and was most ofthe weight ofthe cab,usually carried by a ambitiousto expandthe road. He gained pair of trailer-truck wheels,to the driving control ofthe New York & New England wheels.They decidedto also usea firebox and Boston & Maine.By a stealthy designedby JohnE. Wooten, general acquisitionofcapital stock he gainedcontrol managerof the P&R in 1E77.It was ofthe ConnecticutRiver Railroad.Then he designedto burn the locally availableinferior tried to forc€ the CR to be leasedto the gradeof antluacitecoal. A largergrate area Boston & Maine. was requiredthan for bituminouscoal. To The MassachusettsRailroad Commission accommodatethe wide frebox it was located ruled this was the most unconscionable behindthe driversand abovethe trailer transactiotrin the railroadhistorv ofthe wheels.This requiredthe fire,nunto standon ARI{ANSAS RAT-LROE.DER 4 state,This finally causedthe bankruptcyof orderedthe enginesold. The only bidderwas the Philadelphia& Reading,and in a few a scrapdealer, and he got it for $900! monthsMckod disappeared. The bell was salvagedfor useat tbe Great Creditorsdescended on the P&\ taking Northem Railwayengine house. In 193E, all propertynot alreadyattached. Baldwin Americanlocomotive enthusiast, Richard E. reclairnedthe lrttle one-adelocomotive, and Pennoyer,got the bell andpresented it to the stoppedshipment on two others.The ScienceMuseum in London. number5000 sat at the shops,unwanted by In 1895,just 15 yearsafter the misforhrne any other railroad.The "jinx' had struck the ofthe 5000,the last desperateefort was "singles"again. madein Americato succeedwith the ideaof A saviorappeared. He was FrederickW. the "singles"type enginein express Eames.He had dweloped and secureda passengerservice, It is interestingto note patantfor a locomotivevacuum brake. A this final try was madeby the samepa(ies factory wasbuilt at Boston to malufactue involvedwith the Number 50@ - Bddwin the brake.Eames needed a locomotiveto LocomotiveWorks and the Philadelphia& demonstratehis invention.Baldwin had an ReadingRailroad! enginefor saleat a very CIIEAP price. Thus, The P&R askedWilliam Henszeyat two problemswere solved. Baldwin to try onceagain. The previous Eamesput his brakesystem on the 5000 desigrrwas revised,the weight was increased andarranged to demonstrateit in Britain. 15tons to a total of57 % tons,and one of The enginegot a brilliant coat ofpaint and a SamVauclain's pet ideawas used. portrait ofhis father,Lovett Eam€s,was In 1889,Vauclaiq generalsuperintendent attachedto the right sideofthe cabjust at Baldwin sinceFebruary 1886, had belowthe window. The nameLOVETT inuoduceda systemby \phichthe expansive EAMES wascast in brassand mounted force of steamwas usedtwice beforeit was below the portrait. On the tenderEAMES exhausted.On eachside of an enginerwo VACUUM BRAKE COMPANY was cylinderswere mountedone abovethe other. letteredin gold leaf paint, alongwith a scene The upperone was smallerin diameterand of Black River Falls-Vermont. receivedsteam at high pressuredirectly from In Britain it was found the limited the boiler. Steamfrom the uppercylinder clearanceson the railwaysrequired some was exhaustedinto the largercylinder where modificationsof the engine.The edgesof the further expansionoccurred. This systemwas cab roof were given a sharpercurve, the calledthe "Vauclainbalanced compound smokestackwas shortened,and the design." headlampwas lowered. On this new enginethe driving wheels The trials ofthe Eamesbrake systemtook were 6.25 inchestaller than on the LOVETT placein the fall of 1881,but theBritish EAMES, makingthem 84.25 inchesin railwaymanwere not impressedfor some diameter.This enginehad the cab mounted unknownreason. Also, the British astraddlethe boiler aheadof a wide Wooten governmentobtained control of the engine, firebox. This gavethe enginean unusual or Eamesacquired some sort of appearanoe,and it soonbecame known as a inde.btedness.In April 1884a British court "camelback,"or "Mother Hubbard"type A.RI(ANSAS RAZROADER 5 TheP&R got the enginein 1895and gave evenlyover the wide firebox.The 92-mile it number385. A secondone was ordered runwas made in two hoursand six minutes, immediatelyand was numbered 378. Angus includingseven stops. At timesthere were Sinclair,co-editor with J.A. Hill of the speedsup to 70 milesan hour. magazine"Locomotive Engineer" was Eventhe praiseof old Anguscould not invitedto ridethe 385.He wasvery prolongthe eraofthe "singles"locomotives. favorablyimpressed. The train weighed 120 Both enginessoon were assigned to tonsand the enginestarted it without secondarytrains. In 1904they were rebuilt slippingat all. The six heavyparlor carswere as4-4-0's, and stayed in serviceuntil the keptmoving at 60 milesan hour while 1930's. expendingvery little power. The "singles"type of locomotivewas not The enginesteamed exceedingly well, consideredas an important class of consideringthe qualityofthe