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The Mason Bogie is a type of articulated steam locomotive suited for sharp curves and uneven track, once commonly used on narrow gauge lines in the United States. The design is a development of the single Fairlie, and is sometimes, and perhaps more properly known as the Mason Fairlie.
The American licensee of the Fairlie Patent steam locomotive was the firm of William Mason, located in Taunton, Massachusetts. It became obvious that, for all the Fairlie locomotive's advantages, its disadvantages outweighed them. Mason developed an improved design, called the Mason-Fairlie, or more commonly the Mason Bogie (the word bogie is the British word for truck in the railroad sense). Similar locomotives developed in England were known as Single Fairlies.
Mason's idea was to remove what American railroad men saw as the biggest disadvantages of the Fairlie - its cramped space for fuel and water caused by its double ended design (not very useful on American railroads where there was always ample room for a turntable or wye), its cramped cab caused by the joined double boilers, and to some degree its poor riding.
He did this by removing one boiler of the double Fairlie and retaining only one power truck at the front. A much larger cab was fitted, and a fuel bunker and water tank behind the cab, supported by a trailing truck. The advantages of the Fairlie design were kept; the swivelling driven truck for a greater ability to negotiate curves, and the large open space between the trucks to fit a large firebox unrestricted by the wheels.
The Mason Bogie was still, though, plagued by one of the biggest problems of the Fairlie - the jointed steam pipes to the driven truck leaked far too much steam. Mason eventually changed to a different scheme, in which the pivot point for the leading truck became a hollow ball joint through which the live steam for the cylinders passed. [1] [2] Mason also developed a sliding seal for the exhaust from the moving cylinder saddle into the smoke box. [3] Although better, Mason's improvements took up much valuable space in between the driving wheels, forcing Mason to use an outside valve gear, generally the Walschaerts valve gear. Additionally, the reversing shaft had to be mounted atop the boiler, with a long lifting link dropping down to the radius rod, a feature unique to Mason Bogies (this was necessary because the lifting link would swing to the side as the truck pivoted, lifting the radius rod and changing the valve setting. Lengthening the link, and thus increasing the radius of its swing, minimized the amount of change.).
Approximately 146 Mason Bogies were produced by William Mason's firm between 1871 and 1890 when the firm built its last locomotive, of which 88 or so were narrow gauge units, the rest being standard gauge. This was about half the firm's total output of locomotives during this period. Major buyers included the Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad, a suburban carrier which owned 32, the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad, a Colorado common-carrier railroad which owned 23, and the New York and Manhattan Beach Railroad, another suburban carrier, which ran seventeen locomotives of this pattern.
The best-known locomotives were those on the Denver, South Park & Pacific, and they rostered fairly large Mason Bogies, mostly of 2-6-6 and 2-8-6 wheel arrangements, and had a lot of success with them. Some of these locomotives were later sold to the Burlington and Northwestern Railway, a CB&Q subsidiary in Iowa. [4] Another problem with the Fairlie design showed itself in Colorado, the surprisingly poor tracking of the powered bogie. It would both hunt, or wander, when on straight track, yet provide more resistance to turning when it hit curvature than might be thought. This manifested itself in much greater wear on wheels and track than might have been expected.
The Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad continued to purchase Mason Bogies even after the closure of the William Mason factory, ordering similar locomotives from other builders as late as 1914 and operating them until electrification in 1928.
At least one Mason Bogie, Torch Lake, survives, at Greenfield Village (part of The Henry Ford) in Dearborn, Michigan, a standard gauge 0-6-4. It was built in 1873 and still hauls passengers during the summer months.
Superficially similar to the Mason Bogie is another design, the Forney locomotive. Like the Mason Bogie, the Forney has powered axles under the boiler and a trailing truck under the rear bunker and tank behind the cab. However, the Forney's driving wheels are fixed in the frame, rather than articulated. They were reasonably popular, particularly on elevated railroads.
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A bogie is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transport. A bogie may remain normally attached or be quickly detachable ; it may contain a suspension within it, or be solid and in turn be suspended ; it may be mounted on a swivel, as traditionally on a railway carriage or locomotive, additionally jointed and sprung, or held in place by other means.
A steam locomotive is a type of railway locomotive that produces its pulling power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning combustible material – usually coal, wood, or oil – to produce steam in a boiler. The steam moves reciprocating pistons which are mechanically connected to the locomotive's main wheels (drivers). Both fuel and water supplies are carried with the locomotive, either on the locomotive itself or in wagons (tenders) pulled behind.
The Mallet locomotive is a type of articulated steam railway locomotive, invented by the Swiss engineer Anatole Mallet (1837–1919).
A Fairlie is a type of articulated steam locomotive that has the driving wheels on bogies. The locomotive may be double-ended or single ended. Fairlies are most associated with the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales.
This is a glossary of the components found on typical steam locomotives.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-2-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, two powered driving wheels on one axle and no trailing wheels. This type of locomotive is often called a Jervis type, the name of the original designer.
An articulated locomotive is a steam locomotive with one or more engine units that can move independent of the main frame. Articulation allows the operation of locomotives that would otherwise be too large to negotiate a railroad's curves, whether mainlines or special lines with extreme curvature such as logging, industrial, or mountain railways.
The Walschaerts valve gear is a type of valve gear invented by Belgian railway mechanical engineer Egide Walschaerts in 1844 used to regulate the flow of steam to the pistons in steam engines. The gear is sometimes named without the final "s", since it was incorrectly patented under that name. It was extensively used in steam locomotives from the late 19th century until the end of the steam era.
A Meyer locomotive is a type of articulated locomotive. The design was never as popular as the Garratt or Mallet locomotives. It can be best regarded as 19th Century competition for the early compound Mallet and also the Fairlie articulated designs.
The term cab forward refers to various rail and road vehicle designs that place the driver's compartment substantially farther towards the front than is common practice.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a 4-6-2+2-6-4 is a Garratt or Union Garratt articulated locomotive using a pair of 4-6-2 engine units back to back, with the boiler and cab suspended between them. The 4-6-2 wheel arrangement of each engine unit has four leading wheels on two axles, usually in a leading bogie, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle, usually in a trailing truck. Since the 4-6-2 type is known as a Pacific, the corresponding Garratt type is usually known as a Double Pacific.
The Forney is a type of tank locomotive patented by Matthias N. Forney between 1861 and 1864. Forney locomotives include the following characteristics:
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, 2-6-2+2-6-2 is an articulated locomotive using a pair of 2-6-2 power units back to back, with the boiler and cab suspended between them. The 2-6-2 wheel arrangement has a single pair of leading wheels in a leading truck, followed by three coupled pairs of driving wheels and a pair of trailing wheels in a trailing truck. Since the 2-6-2 type was often called the Prairie type, the corresponding Garratt and Modified Fairlie types were usually known as a Double Prairie.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a 2-8-2+2-8-2 is an articulated locomotive using a pair of 2-8-2 power units back to back, with the boiler and cab suspended between them. The 2-8-2 wheel arrangement has a single pair of leading wheels in a leading truck, followed by four coupled pairs of driving wheels and a pair of trailing wheels in a trailing truck. Since the 2-8-2 type was known as Mikado, the corresponding Garratt and Modified Fairlie types were usually known as Double Mikado.
The Rhaetian Railway G 2/2+2/3, was a two-member class of metre gauge Mallet-type steam locomotives manufactured by SLM in Winterthur, Switzerland, in 1896, and operated until 1926 by the Rhaetian Railway, in the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland.
The South African Railways Class NG G11 2-6-0+0-6-2 of 1919 was a narrow gauge steam locomotive.
The South African Railways Class FC 2-6-2+2-6-2 of 1925 was an articulated steam locomotive.
The South African Railways Class GA 2-6-0+0-6-2 of 1921 was an articulated steam locomotive.
The Cape Government Railways Fairlie 0-6-0+0-6-0 of 1876 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-6 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and six trailing wheels on three axles.