Twin Mountain & Potomac 4-6-0 "Ten-Wheeler" Locomotives in the USA

Class 1 (Locobase 13836)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University, Volume 39, p. 91. See Larry Smith, "Twin Mountains & Potomac Railroad," Model Railroading (August 1993), pp. 43- at [] ; an account at Patrick H Stakem, [], last accessed 5 February 2012 ((dead link when tested 26 November 2020); and Larry Smith, "Lite and Narrow", Model Railroad Hobbyist #80 (October 2016), pp. 1-30 at [], last accessed 26 November 2020. Works number was 37326 in December 1911.

H L Heintzelman was frustrated with the service available to ship fruit from the orchards at the base of Patterson Creek Mountain to the B & O's St Louis main line at Keyser, some 26 miles distant. So he built this narrow-gauge line to connect the two and opened it on 2 March 1913. 45-lb/yard (22.5-kg/metre) rail, 4% grades, and 30-deg (193-ft/58.8-metre radius) curves indicate the lightness and tightness of this railroad's alignment.

The phstakem entry tells us that during its 6-year existence, the TM & P operated only these two Ten-wheelers and an 0-4-0T dinky (Smith believes the latter was built by Porter). Clearly, Heintzelman intended full service for he provided not only fruit-hauling, but also passenger service in the form of special trains for church meetings. Phstakem also has the lyrics of a song, written to the tune of Casey Jones, describing the day the circus train ran away.

Smith reports that the "Two Mules and a Pony" never made money and a 1918 peach blight killed most of the crop at the same time orchards lost manpower to the US World War I draft. It closed in February 1919.

Two years after the abandonment, West Virginia bought the 2 in April 1921, operated it for about 5 years, sold it to Gray Lumber Company in October 1926. Sometime later Gray sold the engine to the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina (Tweetsie) as their #8. The Tweetsie operated the 8 until 1939. (Gene Connelly's compilation of all Baldwin production notes that the 1 was scrapped in August 1940, but doesn't identify its owner at the time.)