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 Great Western 90 on the Strasburg Rail Road, July 18, 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The Baldwin Class 12-42-F was a class of 2-10-0 "Decapod" type steam locomotives that were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for only four railroads all across the United States of America between 1924 and 1930.
In the early 1920s, the Georgia Florida and Alabama Railroad approached the Baldwin Locomotive Works to construct a locomotive identical to the Russian Decapod design from World War I, as the railroad was in search of powerful locomotives that would be light enough to negotiate their 56-pound (0.028-short-ton) trackage. [1] Baldwin modified the Russian design by increasing its weight, changing the driving wheel diameter from 52 inches (1,300 mm) to 56 inches (1,400 mm), and alternating the cab and dome designs. [1]
In March 1924, two locomotives of Baldwin’s new design, classified as the 12-42-F, were delivered to the GF&A. [1] Three months later, in June, the Great Western Railroad and Sugar Company of Colorado, ordered one copy of the design, No. 90. [1] By September 1933, nineteen more 12-42-Fs were built and delivered to other railroads; three (Nos. 401-403) were sold to the Alabama, Tennessee and Northern, three were sold to the Durham and Southern, one was sold to the Oklahoma-based Osage Railway, eight (Nos. 529-536) were sold to the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, and four more were sold to the GF&A. [1]
In 1948, the Seaboard Air Line acquired the GF&A, and they obtained ownership of their decapods, in the process. The railroad was so impressed with them, that they decided to order eight more 2-10-0s (Nos. 202–209) of relatively the same design. [2] [3]
Locomotive No. 90, which was operated by the GW, was rebuilt with some modifications, after each of its incidents on the railroad; after pulling other locomotives out of a roundhouse fire in 1940, No. 90 had its pumps and running boards rearranged; after getting broadsided by a truck at a crossing in 1944, No. 90 received an extended smokebox for help burning lignite coal. [1] The extended smokebox was later removed in the 1990s, during No. 90’s excursion career on the Strasburg Rail Road in Pennsylvania. [4] [5]
The 12-42-F locomotives were designed with 56-inch (1,400 mm) diameter driving wheels, a boiler pressure of 200 psi (1.4 MPa; 1,400 kPa), and 24-inch x 28-inch (610-mm x 710mm) cylinders, creating a tractive effort of 48,960 pounds-force (217.8 kN). The driving wheels were designed to tenderly spread the locomotive’s weight for minimum axle loading, and it permitted the 12-42-Fs to travel over light-weight trackage. [1] Most of them weighed in at 106 t (234,000 lb), but the heaviest of the class weighed 127 t (280,000 lb). Their tenders were designed to hold 18 short tons (36,000 lb) of coal and 8,500 U.S. gallons (32,000 L) of water, but most compromised with 10 short tons (20,000 lb) of coal and 7,000 U.S. gallons (26,000 L) of water. [2] [3] [6] [7]
| Photograph | Railroad | Quantity | Class | Road numbers | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama, Tennessee and Northern Railroad | 1 | 401 | 401–403 | [6] | |
| Durham and Southern Railroad | 3 | 200 | 200–202 | [7] | |
 | Great Western Railway of Colorado | 1 | 90 | 90 | [4] [5] |
| Seaboard Air Line Railroad | 8 | D-3 | 529–536 | [2] |
In all, five 12-42-F locomotives are preserved.
| Photograph | Locomotive | Works No. | Build date | Operator | Status | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Great Western 90 | 57812 | June 1924 |
| Operational | [a] |
| Alabama, Tennessee and Northern Railroad 401 | 60341 | January 1928 | Alabama, Tennessee and Northern Railroad | On static display | [8] | |
| Gainesville Midland 203 | 60342 | January 1928 |
| On static display | [9] [10] [11] | |
 | Gainesville Midland 208 | 61230 | March 1930 |
| On static display | [12] |
 | Gainesville Midland 209 | 61233 | March 1930 |
| On static display | [13] |
