Class 15 (Locobase 3142)

McShane (1899) compared this design to a notional design described in an 1898 paper delivered to the Railway Master Mechanics' Association on the proper ratio of heating surface and grate area to cylinder volume. He noted that the Dickson locomotive, "whether by design or accident," came close to the ideal 4-4-0.

JF Webber's list of Dickson locomotives (conveyed to Locobase by Allen Stanley in March 2004) gives the works numbers as 962 (December 1897). It was apparently unique.

Class 36 (Locobase 9603)

Data from John W Hill, ME, "Tests of a Baldwin Locomotive," Journal of the Franklin Institute (Pergamon Press, 1879), pp. 255-272.

This detailed test report opens the window to a fascinating view of the state of performance evaluation in the late 1870s. Hill payed particular attention to the performance of the grate, the firebox, and the boiler as a whole. He took up the question of just how much of total evaporation can be said to come from firebox heating surface and how much from the tubes. He also discussed the amount of unburnt coal likely to be expelled during a run (it ranged, he believed, from 5% to 10%).

Class Class E/H-8 (Locobase 2016)

Data from B&OSW 10-1901 Description of Locomotives supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Built by the O&M in 1884-1886. The O&M was absorbed by the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern (B&OSW) in 1893, 11 years after the B&O had gained stock control of the B&OSW. These O&M engines -- part of a confusing series of very similar engines -- were reclassified H-8 on the B&O in 1900 and ran until 1919. See Sagle, 1964 for details.

Class Class E/H-9/H-9-72 (Locobase 2017)

Builder info from B.Rumary, 25 Kingscombe, Gurney Slade, Radstock, BA3 4TH, ENGLAND and Jeremy Lambert as supplied by Allen Stanley in March 2004. Works #1611-15, produced in January 1890. Data from B & OSW diagram book dated July 1900 supplied by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection May 2005.

Locobase loves to report on the convolutions of railroad ownership from time to time. According to http://www.scripophily.net/ciwaandbarac.html (viewed 30 July 2004), a website specializing in the sale of vintage stock certificates:

"The Scioto and Hocking Valley came under control of the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, which the B&O acquired in 1882 and changed the name of the company to the Cincinnati, Washington & Baltimore Railroad. In December 1889, this company ultimately became the B&O Southwestern Railroad, which portions of are still in existence as the Great Miami & Scioto Railroad and CSX Transportation."

These locomotives were ordered as the CW & B 1-5. Almost immediately, however, they became the B & OSW 131-135. The B & O renumbered them in 1902.

Four of the five engines in this class had 67" drivers, the fifth (132) had 73" drivers that reduced tractive effort to 14,486 lb.

Reclassified H-9 on the B&O in 1902. The first to be scrapped was the oddball with the 73" drivers in 1906. The others followed in 1917, 1923, 1920, and 1918, respectively.

See Alvin F Staufer & Lawrence W Sagle, B & O Power (1964) for details.

Class Class I/M-2/M-2-78 (Locobase 2018)

See Alvin F Staufer & Lawrence W Sagle, B & O Power (1964) for details; data from Baltimore & Ohio Steam and Electric Locomotive Diagrams by Alvin Staufer (self-published in 1964), supplied by Allen Stanley in May 2005 from his extensive collection.

Three of the six engines in this class had 72" drivers, and three more (143-145) had express-engine-sized 78" drivers that reduced tractive effort to 18,830 lb; they weighed 4,000 lb more.

Note that these were good-sized Eight-wheelers showing a sizable axle loading and the by-now standard 2 1/4" tubes favored by Baldwin. Reclassified M-2 on the B&O in 1900 and ran until 1934.

Three of the six engines in this class had 72" drivers, and three more (143-145) had express-engine-sized 78" drivers that reduced tractive effort to 18,830 lb; they weighed 4,000 lb more.

Note that these were good-sized Eight-wheelers showing a sizable axle loading and the by-now standard 2 1/4" tubes favored by Baldwin. Reclassified M-2 on the B&O in 1900 and ran until 1934.

Class D / G-18 (Locobase 9602)

Data from B&OSW 10-1901 Description of Locomotives supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection and Alvin F Staufer & Lawrence W Sagle, B & O Power (1964).

Locobase isn't sure he's read the date correctly, although many of the specifications support an original construction date of 1867. The three locomotives differed in details from each other. The data shown represent 610 as shown in 1901.

Class D / G-18 (Locobase 9601)

Data from B&OSW 10-1901 Description of Locomotives supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection and Alvin F Staufer & Lawrence W Sagle, B & O Power (1964).

This was an early O & M Eight-wheeler apparently built by the railway, although Sagle & Staufer have their doubts. It was a pretty average 4-4-0 for its time.

Class D / G-18 (Locobase 9600)

Data from B&OSW 10-1901 Description of Locomotives supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection and Alvin F Staufer & Lawrence W Sagle

Thank goodness for the detailed history of locomotive classes in Alvin F Staufer & Lawrence W Sagle, B & O Power, 1964. The authors manage to make sense out of a densely complicated motive-power inheritance. Combining it with the Description of Locomotives reveals that this small class of engines was a mid-1880s set of Eight-wheelers originally intended to run on the Cincinnati-St Louis mainline of the 6-foot-gauge O & M.

600 had 67" drivers, the others had the 63" drivers shown in the specifications.

Class E / H-8 (Locobase 9597)

Data from B&OSW 10-1901 Description of Locomotives supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Built by the O&M in 1888. These were mixed-traffic versions of a common design buil in the O & M's own shops. They were later taken into the Baltimore & Ohio SouthWestern.

Alvin F Staufer & Lawrence W Sagle, B & O Power (1964) are certainly correct when he comments on the tangle of specifications and numbers represented by the O & M Eight-wheelers. Locobase has determined that there were essentially three designs, of which this was the one with 226 tubes and 63" drivers. See Locobase 9599 for the slightly smaller stablemates.

Class E / H-8 (Locobase 9598)

Data from B&OSW 10-1901 Description of Locomotives supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Built by the O&M in 1890. These were mixed-traffic versions of a common design buil in the O & M's own shops. They were later taken into the Baltimore & Ohio SouthWestern

Class E / H-8 (Locobase 9599)

Data from B&OSW 10-1901 Description of Locomotives supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Although virtually identical to the engines shown in Locobase 9597, these had 8 fewer tubes and the larger firebox shown in Locobase 9598.

Class G-18 (Locobase 2113)

Alvin F Staufer & Lawrence W Sagle, B & O Power (1964).; data from 1954 Baltimore & Ohio Steam and Electric Locomotive Diagrams supplied by Allen Stanley in May 2005 from his extensive collection.

M&K American that was later renumbered 630 , later 834 (1928) and ran until 1936. See Sagle, B & O Power (1964)., 1964.

Class H (Locobase 1233)

Represents the H and H-1s built by the B&O in 1873-1875, for the most part. 7 H and 2 H/105 deliverd with 160 psi boilers, 21 Hs and 13 H-1s with 130 psi. Many were reboilered later with 160-psi boilers. All retired by 1913. See Alvin F Staufer & Lawrence W Sagle, B & O Power (1964). for details.

EHS, grate area, and weights from tables put up by Dr. Jonathan Smith --http://www.math.iastate.edu/jdhsmith/term/slusbo.htm (July 2002)

Class H-11 (Locobase 2155)

Data from 1899 Brooks Catalogue.

Builder info from B.Rumary, 25 Kingscombe, Gurney Slade, Radstock, BA3 4TH, ENGLAND and Jeremy Lambert as supplied by Allen Stanley in March 2004. Works #2265, produced in April 1893 and exhibited at the Columbia Exposition in Chicago.It was a one-of-a-kind, apparently.

Boiler was Improved Belpaire type, firebox had 19 sq ft of arch pipes. The locomotive was retired after a 30-year career in May 1923.

Class H-5 (Locobase 1237)

Low-drivered batch, one of the largest "off-road" orders for the B&O during that time. See Alvin F Staufer & Lawrence W Sagle, B & O Power (1964) for details; data from Baltimore & Ohio Steam and Electric Locomotive Diagrams by Alvin Staufer (self-published in 1964), supplied by Allen Stanley in May 2005 from his extensive collection.

Builder information from B Rumary list supplied by Allen Stanley in March 2004. Works numbers were 1065-1089 (August-November 1889). Most ended their days on the B&O, being retired in the 'teens.

In 1902, four of this class were sent to the Staten Island Rapid Transit as 1-4 (701, 792, 796, and 793, respectively). The last three went on to the Georgia Car & Locomotive company as 121-123. 122 went from there to the Piedmont & Northern in February 1912 as #70, 121 went to work for the Danville & Western as #77 in January 1911, and 122 served the Pascagoula-Moss Point Northern beginning in June 1912 as their #36.

Class I-6 (Locobase 1243)

All retired by 1916 (68") or 1923. See Alvin F Staufer & Lawrence W Sagle, B & O Power (1964) for details; data from Baltimore & Ohio Steam and Electric Locomotive Diagrams by Alvin Staufer (self-published in 1964), supplied by Allen Stanley in May 2005 from his extensive collection.

Two sub-groups in which 870-874 had 68" drivers and 18,410-lb tractive effort and the rest as given.

In 1897, the B&O installed so-called "Toboggan" inclined fireboxes(grate area was 27 sq ft) on 7 locomotives (876-877, 883-884, 886-887, and 891), increasing boiler pressure to 175 psi, tractive effort to 17,900 lb, and engine weight to 117,400 lb.

Class I-6 (Locobase 6526)

Data from B & OSW diagram book dated July 1900 supplied by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection May 2005. Not much information about these Eight-wheelers. The broken series of numbers ran from 876 to 891 and the class was likely at least 16 engines.

Class I/I-1 (Locobase 1239)

Class I were 12 93,000-lb locomotives built in 1881-1883. These were all retired by 1916. Four "iron-boiler" I-1s were built by the B&O in 1883-1884 and ran until 1923. These were slightly heavier than the Is, but had the same BP.

"Steel-boiler" I-1s, 11 built in 1883-1886, apparently were a success, given the number built. SeeAlvin F Staufer & Lawrence W Sagle, B & O Power (1964) for details.

EHS, grate area, and weights from tables put up by Dr. Jonathan Smith --http://www.math.iastate.edu/jdhsmith/term/slusbo.htm (July 2002). Smith gives 145 psi for the I-1 and 1,182 sq ft for the I-class EHS.

Class M-1 (Locobase 2574)

From EP Alexander's Iron Horse (Pl 84) and Staufer.

Alexander describes these engines as the motive power for the crack express Royal Blue that ran from New York to Washington in 5 hours. Three railroads handled the train -- the Jersey Central (Jersey City to Bound Brook, NJ - 30 miles), the Reading (Bound Brook to Philadelphia -- 60 miles) and the B&O. The B&O's schedule was 179 minutes for 137 miles, from which time one should deduct the Baltimore ferry crossing.

Class M-3/M-4 (Locobase 2106)

Three Americans operated by the Coal & Coke. The first two came in 1906, the third, which weighed 137,600 lb, arrived in 1912. Renumbered 862-864 and run until 1934 (864) and 1936.

Alvin F Staufer & Lawrence W Sagle, B & O Power (1964).; data from Baltimore & Ohio Steam and Electric Locomotive Diagrams by Alvin Staufer (self-published in 1964), supplied by Allen Stanley in May 2005 from his extensive collection.

Class William Mason (Locobase 3194)

Another of William Mason's elegant Americans, this engine was the first purchase by the new locomotive superintendent of the Baltimore & Ohio. According to Snowden-Bell (1912), this was the first of several engines that ran for decades and were the elite of the line.

Kinert, 1962 says that Mason's 700-odd locomotives used interchangeable parts and were known for their reliability. See White (1962) for his contention that Mason's legacy lies in the "symmetrical design" the appearance of a locomotive that he worked so digilently to achieve. He should, says White, be seen as "a gifted stylist rather than a mechanical innovator as far as locomotive history is concerned."

Data from Alvin F Staufer's Baltimore & Ohio Steam and Electric Locomotives (Medina, Ohio) supplied by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection May 2005.

In the 37 years of operation (1853-1890), Mason's works produced a total of 754 locomotives.