Data from "A Twelve-wheel Narrow-Gauge Locomotive," Railroad and Engineering Journal, Vol 65, No 6 (June 1891), p. 246-247; and C&NW 1 - 1905 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange collection. See also the thread begun by "Joes Lines" on 16 December 2009 at the BigBlueTrains forum, [], last accessed 9 February 2009. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 5 July 2020 email highlighting several corrections derived from the R&EJ report including the cylinder stroke as well as supplying the overall wheelbase..) Works numbers were 3421-3422 in 1891, 3703 in 1892, 26610 in May 1902, and 27601 in October.
This Twelve-wheeler was described as the first of its wheel arrangement for the narrow gauge. In the R&EJ report, the adhesive weight is given as 66,000 lb (29,337 kg), which delivered a low factor of adhesion. Chris Hohl noticed a misreading of an indistinct measurment and corrected it from 24" (610 mm) to 20". Even that cylinder volume results in an improbably low factor of adhesion given even the highest adhesion weights reported. Hohl pointed out that the original R&EJ report gave the adhesion weight as 60,000 lb (27,216 kg) and engine weight 72,000 lb (32,659 kg). But the later 1905 diagram book reported the weights shown in Locobase's specs. It's a puzzle because the higher weights yield a believable 3.51 fact of adhesion, but the C&NW repeated the lower number in several tables. The FE&MV ran from Fremont, Nebraska to Norfolk, on to Fort Robinson, then into the Black Hills. Although the prognosis for success of this design was quite positive, as it always was in these journals, very few if any 4-8-0s actually ran in US narrow-gauge service. Still, in addition to the 1891 pair, the FE&MV ordered another a year later, and two more a decade later in 1902. In this particular instance, the locomotives wound up on the Chicago & North Western Railway when that enterprise formally took over the FE&MV in 1903. They were numbered 1298-1303. Locobase isn't clear on what the C&NW did to limit tractive effort to 18,200 lb (8,255 kg), possibly resorting to early cutoff. Whatever the ratios and power numbers, Class Gs filled a niche. So it wasn't until December 1924 that the 468 (ex-1300) went to the scrapper followed soon after by the 933 (ex-1302) in April 1925. 64 and 410 (ex-1298-1299) lasted another two years before meeting the ferro-knacker, and the 477 (ex-1301) lingered until November 1928.
Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media | |
---|---|
Class | 208/G |
Locobase ID | 5431 |
Railroad | Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley (C&NW) |
Country | USA |
Whyte | 4-8-0 |
Number in Class | 5 |
Road Numbers | 208-212/1298-1302/64, 410, 468, 477, 933 |
Gauge | 3' |
Number Built | 5 |
Builder | Schenectady |
Year | 1891 |
Valve Gear | Stephenson |
Locomotive Length and Weight | |
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | 10.17 / 3.10 |
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | 16.75 / 5.11 |
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | 0.61 |
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | 39.77 / 12.12 |
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | |
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 66,000 / 29,937 |
Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 66,000 / 29,937 |
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | 47,000 / 21,319 |
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | 113,000 / 51,256 |
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | 2100 / 7.95 |
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | 3.50 / 3 |
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 28 / 14 |
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | |
Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 37 / 940 |
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 160 / 11 |
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 16" x 20" / 406x508 |
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 18,819 / 8536.16 |
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 3.51 |
Heating Ability | |
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | 160 - 2" / 51 |
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | |
Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | 10.50 / 3.20 |
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | 90 / 8.36 |
Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 14.40 / 1.34 |
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 963 / 89.46 |
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | |
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 963 / 89.46 |
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 207.10 |
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | |
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 2304 |
Same as above plus superheater percentage | 2304 |
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | 14,400 |
Power L1 | 2998 |
Power MT | 400.57 |