4-10-2

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4-10-2 (Reid Ten wheeler/Overland/Southern Pacific)
WheelArrangement 4-10-2.svg
Front of locomotive at left
NGR Class C 4-10-2T no. 171, SAR Class H no. 253.jpg
Equivalent classifications
UIC class 2'E1'
French class 251
Turkish class 58
Swiss class 5/8
Russian class2-5-1
First known tank engine version
First use1899
Country Colony of Natal
Locomotive NGR Class C
Railway Natal Government Railways
Designer George William Reid
Builder Dübs and Company
Evolved from 4-8-2T
First known tender engine version
First use1925
CountryUnited States of America
Locomotive SP-2 class
Railway Southern Pacific Railroad
Designer American Locomotive Company
BuilderAmerican Locomotive Company
Evolved from 2-10-2
BenefitsCould handle roughly 20% more tonnage than the 2-10-2 while using around 16% less fuel than the 2-10-2.
DrawbacksComplex to maintain because of the third cylinder

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, 4-10-2 represents the arrangement of four leading wheels, ten powered and coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. In South Africa, where the wheel arrangement was first used, the type was known as a Reid Tenwheeler. In the United States of America it was known as a Southern Pacific on the Southern Pacific Railroad and as an Overland on the Union Pacific Railroad.

Contents

Overview

This wheel arrangement was first used on the Natal Government Railways (NGR) in the Colony of Natal in 1899, on a 4-10-2 tank locomotive that was designed to meet the requirement for a locomotive that could haul at least one and a half times as much as an NGR Dübs A 4-8-2T locomotive. [1] [2]

In the United States, a simple expansion (simplex) version of the type was used only on the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads. Baldwin Locomotive Works built an experimental compound expansion 4-10-2 in 1926, but since the weight and length of this engine was too much for all but the heaviest and straightest track and compound steam locomotives had already lost favor on United States railroads, its demonstration runs failed to generate interest and no more were produced. [3] [4]

Usage

Brazil

Brazilian 4-10-2 at the Museum of Technology, Sao Paulo Museu da Tecnologia - Locomotiva a vapor Henschel & Sohn.JPG
Brazilian 4-10-2 at the Museum of Technology, São Paulo

Brazil had 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) metre gauge 4-10-2 tender locomotives, built by Henschel in 1936. These were converted to 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) gauge in 1940.

South Africa

Between 1899 and 1903, the Natal Government Railways (NGR) placed 101 4-10-2 tank locomotives in service. The locomotive was designed by G.W. Reid, the Locomotive Superintendent of the NGR at the end of the nineteenth century, and built in Scotland by Dübs and Company and the newly established North British Locomotive Company. On the NGR, the locomotive type became known as the Reid Tenwheeler and was officially designated Class C. [1] [2] [5] [6]

The locomotive used saturated steam and was equipped with Allan straight link valve gear. The trailing Bissel truck was of the Cartazzi type that allowed the axle some lateral movement. In order to negotiate sharp curves, both the first and fifth sets of coupled wheels were flangeless, but since the blind trailing coupled wheels had a tendency to derail while reversing, particularly over points, their tyre width was later increased from 6 inches (152 millimetres) to 7 inches (178 millimetres). In 1912, after the establishment of the South African Railways, the surviving unmodified NGR locomotives were designated Class H. [1] [2] [7]

CSAR Class E CSAR Class E 4-10-2T.jpg
CSAR Class E

In 1901 and 1902, towards the end of the Second Boer War, the Imperial Military Railways also acquired 35 Reid Tenwheeler locomotives from Dübs and Company and Neilson, Reid and Company. After the war, they came onto the roster of the Central South African Railways (CSAR), who designated them Class E. In 1903, the CSAR modified six of them to 4-8-2T locomotives and, beginning in 1905, the remainder to 4-8-0 tank-and-tender locomotives. [1] [2] [7] [8]

A final order for one new Reid Tenwheeler was placed by Witbank Collieries as late as 1927. The total of 137 locomotives built to this design was about double the number of all other 4-10-2 locomotives in use elsewhere in the world, all of which were tender locomotives that served in the United States and Brazil. [5]

United States

In the United States, the type was used only on the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), which called it the Southern Pacific, and the Union Pacific Railroad (UP), which called it the Overland after their corporate sobriquet, The Overland Route. Only sixty locomotives of this wheel arrangement were built for domestic service and all but one were constructed as simplex three-cylinder engines. [9]

In 1925, the SP placed an order for sixteen 4-10-2 locomotives with the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and, later in the same year, the UP ordered one. The first SP locomotive, no. 5000, was completed in April 1925, while the UP locomotive, no. 8000, was completed the following month. Within a few months, the SP ordered more of these engines and built up a fleet of 49. The UP, on the other hand, waited thirteen months before repeating orders and establishing a fleet of ten 4-10-2 locomotives. All 59 were simplex locomotives and were built by ALCO. [9]

Baldwin 60000 in the Franklin Institute Science Museum Baldwin 60000 locomotive - Franklin Institute - DSC06720.JPG
Baldwin 60000 in the Franklin Institute Science Museum

In 1926, Baldwin Locomotive Works constructed an experimental demonstrator, the Baldwin 60000, which was a three-cylinder compound locomotive, the only 4-10-2 so constructed. This engine used high-pressure steam in the inside cylinder and then exhausted that steam into the two low-pressure outside cylinders. It also had a water tube boiler, one of a very few locomotives so equipped in the United States. As technologically innovative as Baldwin's 4-10-2 was, however, it was outmoded when built since compound steam locomotives had already lost favor in United States railroading. [9]

It was found that the 4-10-2 type ran better and rode smoother than the 2-10-2 type from which it had evolved. [3] The third cylinder in the center of the cylinder saddle sloped down at a 9½ degree angle to a crank on the second drivers' axle, while the two outside rods connected to the third drivers. The three-cylinder feature on these locomotives gave them a distinctive sound at work, described as a "hop, skip and jump rhythm". [9]

While the SP engines could operate only on relatively straight and heavily built mainlines, their long service lives of between 28 and 30 years proved that they were good locomotives. The most serious mishap was when, in November 1946, one of the SP 4-10-2 locomotives suffered a boiler explosion which killed four train crew. In addition, the inside cylinder's rod created serious maintenance problems because the floating bushings could fail, which lengthen maintenance down-time since such failures required major valve re-settings that caused delays. It was reported that such failures created such great pounding on the rails that railroad housewives along the line "complained of crockery cracking when a defective 4-10-2 rumbled past their homes". [9]

When the UP became tired of the major mechanical problems associated with three cylinders, it converted its locomotives to two-cylinder locomotives in 1942 and renumbered them 5090 to 5099. [9]

Two locomotives of this type have been preserved:

Related Research Articles

4-6-2

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The 4-6-2 locomotive became almost globally known as a Pacific type.

4-8-2

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. This type of steam locomotive is commonly known as the Mountain type.

4-6-4

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of locomotives, 4-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels. In France where the type was first used, it is known as the Baltic while it became known as the Hudson in most of North America.

4-4-0

4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and a lack of trailing wheels. Due to the large number of the type that were produced and used in the United States, the 4-4-0 is most commonly known as the American type, but the type subsequently also became popular in the United Kingdom, where large numbers were produced.

4-6-0 Wheel arrangement of a locomotive with 4 leading wheels, 6 driving wheels and no trailing wheels

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, 4-6-0 represents the configuration of four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the absence of trailing wheels. In the mid 19th century, this wheel arrangement became the second most popular configuration for new steam locomotives in the United States, where this type is commonly referred to as a ten-wheeler. As a locomotive pulling trains of lightweight all-wood passenger cars in the 1890–1920s, it was exceptionally stable at near 100 mph (160 km/h) speeds on the New York Central's New York to Chicago Water Level Route and on the Reading Railroad's Camden to Atlantic City, NJ, line. As passenger equipment grew heavier with all steel construction, heavier locomotives replaced the ten-wheeler.

2-6-0 Locomotive wheel arrangement

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Mogul.

2-8-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. In the United States and elsewhere, this wheel arrangement is commonly known as a Consolidation, after the Lehigh and Mahanoy Railroad’s Consolidation, the name of the first 2-8-0.

4-8-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, usually in a leading truck or bogie, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no trailing wheels. In North America and in some other countries the type was usually known as the Twelve-wheeler.

2-6-2

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, six coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Prairie.

4-12-2

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-12-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, twelve coupled driving wheels, and two trailing wheels. This arrangement was named the Union Pacific type, after the only railroad to use it, the Union Pacific Railroad.

2-6-6-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, 2-6-6-0 is a locomotive with one pair of unpowered leading wheels, followed by two sets of three pairs of powered driving wheels and no trailing wheels. The wheel arrangement was principally used on Mallet-type articulated locomotives. Some tank locomotive examples were also built, for which various suffixes to indicate the type of tank would be added to the wheel arrangement, for example 2-6-6-0T for an engine with side-tanks.

South African Class H 4-10-2T A 4-10-2 tank locomotive developed in 1899 as a Class C tank locomotive on Natal Government Railway. Reclassified in 1912 as a Class H tank locomotive by South African Railways

The South African Railways Class H 4-10-2T, introduced in 1899, was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Colony of Natal.

South African Class H1 4-8-2T

The South African Railways Class H1 4-8-2T of 1903 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.

South African Class H2 4-8-2T

The South African Railways Class H2 4-8-2T of 1909 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Colony of Natal.

The South African Railways Class 1 4-8-0 of 1904 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Colony of Natal.

The South African Railways Class 2C 4-6-2 of 1910 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Colony of Natal.

South African Class G 4-8-2T

The South African Railways Class G 4-8-2T of 1904 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Colony of Natal.

South African Class MA 2-6-6-0

The South African Railways Class MA 2-6-6-0 of 1909 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Natal Colony.

CSAR Class E 4-10-2T

The Central South African Railways Class E 4-10-2T of 1901 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.

NGR 4-6-2TT <i>Havelock</i>

The Natal Government Railways 4-6-2TT Havelock of 1888 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Natal Colony.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 10–11, 31. ISBN   0869772112.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. 1: 1859–1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. pp. 92–95, 123–124, 134–135. ISBN   978-0-7153-5382-0.
  3. 1 2 Swengel, F.M. (1967). The American Steam Locomotive: Vol. 1, The Evolution of the Steam Locomotive. Davenport: Midwest Rail Publications. pp. 222–223.
  4. "Baldwin 60000". Loco Locomotive gallery - American High-Pressure Locomotives. Archived from the original on 2018-07-23. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  5. 1 2 Durrant, A. E. (1989). Twilight of South African Steam (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, London: David & Charles. p. 15. ISBN   0715386387.
  6. The Railway Report for year ending 31 Dec. 1908, Natal Government Railways, p. 39, par 14.
  7. 1 2 Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer's Office, Pretoria, January 1912, pp. 7, 11, 13, 22–25 (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000)
  8. Holland, D. F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. p. 136. ISBN   978-0-7153-5427-8.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Boynton, James E. (1973). 4-10-2: Three Barrels of Steam. Glenwood: Felton. pp. 2, 5–6, 84–98, 144–149. ISBN   0-911760-13-X