Class 1 (Locobase 6021)

Information from

Maryland & Pennsylvania Preservation Society

History of the Ma & Pa (http://www.jarrettsville.org/mapa/index.htm, 7 May 2004)

Originally built in narrow-gauge sections and first joined as the Maryland Central, the Ma & Pa, as it was later affectionally known, ran a twisting route from Baltimore to York, Pa. A series of amalgamations, bankruptcies, and other financial realignments eventually resulted in the Maryland & Pennsylvania in 1901. The Ma & Pa ran mail trains, milk trains, short-haul passenger (e.g., Bel Air to Baltimore), and freight. Much of the latter orginated in or near Delta, which had large slate quarries.

Over the years, the Ma & Pa gained outsized fame by offering railfan excursions. The operation's small, but robust operation and its proximity to major population centers ensured that its small stud of locomotives would appear in thousands of photographs.

Changes in traffic and the suspension of mail train subsidies led to the Ma & Pa's abandonment of passenger service in 1954. Freight service on the Pennsylvania District continued until the mid-1970s.

By the time of the Ma & Pa's incorporation in 1901, the railroad had already begun purchasing its own locomotives, beginning with these typical 8-wheelers (Baldwin works #14354 & 14547 and class 8-28-D-135). A mixed-traffic locomotive, they operated for over 25 years, both being retired as "worn out, not worth repairing" on 30 June 1921 and December 1920, respectively.

Locomotive data from George W. Fitch, Jr.'s compilation (Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad Preservation and Historical Society photocopy reprint, 2004).

Class 12 (Locobase 6885)

Data from IGN 2 - 1923 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection. See also the Handbook of Texas online at http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/II/esp4.html (accessed 2 September 2005) for information on the I & GN.

This was among the first locomotives for this Texas railroad, which first saw life in 1873 as the consolidation of the International Railroad Company and the Houston & Great Northern. Through financial panics, a term of ownership by the noted (and notorious) speculator and baron Jay Gould, bankruptcies and the like, the I & GN extended its reach from its original core of the Houston-Palestine and Houston-East Columbia lines.

By 1911, the I & GN had grown to 1,106 miles and served most of the Lone Star State. In 1923, the Missouri Pacific sought to block the Missouri-Kansas-Texas by arranging for the New Orleans, Texas & Mexico to buy the I & GN. A year later, the MP bought the NO, T & M and the merger was completed.

Class 2208 (Locobase 6728)

Data from MP 1924 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Fortunately for future railroad historians and ferro-equinologists (and database compilers), the 1924 edition of the Missouri Pacific diagrams included several of Eight-wheelers from well before the turn of the century.

This single example's original railroad isn't yet known, but its dimensions, weights, and profile show a classic design from just after the completion of the Transcontinental railroad.

Class 2502 (Locobase 6729)

Data from MP 1924 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Fortunately for future railroad historians and ferro-equinologists (and database compilers), the 1924 edition of the Missouri Pacific diagrams included several of Eight-wheelers from well before the turn of the century.

Of the two pages in the book describing this design, the first example was marked "Scrapped 10/24" on the original document. The locomotives came from the heyday of the 4-4-0 and still featured the one steam dome over the firebox and one over the center of the boiler as well as a very straight and tall stack. Rogers delivered the locomotive that would be 2502 in 1880, the other 4 the very next year.

Class 4-6 (Locobase 6023)

A trio of 8-wheelers, these Americans (works #3287-3289) were larger than the earlier Baldwin pair. They had shallower, radial-stay fireboxes; more tubes of shorter length, a shorter wheelbase, and larger tenders. The profile shows them to be typical Turn-of-the-Century locomotives.

#5 was retired in 1936 as worn out. #4 survived until March 1947. #6 received a superheater in May 1920, "Modern Steam Chest" in November 1923. It lasted the longest of the set, being retired only in November 1951.

Locomotive data from George W. Fitch, Jr.'s compilation (Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad Preservation and Historical Society photocopy reprint, 2004).

Class 8510 (Locobase 6730)

Data from MP 1924 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Fortunately for future railroad historians and ferro-equinologists (and database compilers), the 1924 edition of the Missouri Pacific diagrams included several of Eight-wheelers from well before the turn of the century.

Using the same power dimensions as the earlier Rogers engines (see Locobase 6729), the design shown here featured a few more boiler tubes and a larger grate. 3 of the 4 delivered are shown on a page that has an indistinct builder's credit. It may have been Rhode Island as well.

Class 8552 (Locobase 6731)

Data from MP 1924 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Fortunately for future railroad historians and ferro-equinologists (and database compilers), the 1924 edition of the Missouri Pacific diagrams included several of Eight-wheelers from well before the turn of the century.

The lower drivers mark this as a mostly freight engine of somewhat smaller dimensions than the other 4-4-0s in the book from the same era.

Class 8562 (Locobase 6732)

Data from MP 1924 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Fortunately for future railroad historians and ferro-equinologists (and database compilers), the 1924 edition of the Missouri Pacific diagrams included several of Eight-wheelers from well before the turn of the century.

This is a repeat of the 1882 Rhode Island engine (see Locobase 6730), but with smaller drivers. Thus, this was more likely a freight locomotive.

Class 8601 (Locobase 6733)

Data from MP 1924 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Fortunately for future railroad historians and ferro-equinologists (and database compilers), the 1924 edition of the Missouri Pacific diagrams included several of Eight-wheelers from well before the turn of the century.

Compared to the others in the 1924 book, this 4-4-0 class is bigger, but not remarkably more powerful. Its 69" drivers, however, do mark it as a purely passenger locomotive. The first 10 were built by Baldwin in 1895 with MoPac adding two from its own shops in 1897-1898.

Class E - 67 - 17.8 (Locobase 7764)

Data from MP SUBS 7 - 1935 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Engine #926 was scrapped in April 1919 before the other two were superheater.

Class E 16/24 52A (Locobase 6886)

Data from IGN 2 - 1923 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Produced later than many other 4-4-0s, these home-builts were quite small and light, probably to serve branch lines. The tender's oil-fuel capacity was rated at 44 barrels (1,848 US gallons).

Class E 16/24 56A (Locobase 6785)

Data from IGN 2 - 1923 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

This IGN-built locomotive appears to have been copied from the earlier Rogers locomotives. But Locobase notes that with two fewer fire tubes, the IGN somehow gained 87 sq ft of tube area. Hmmmmm ...

Class E 16/24 58A (Locobase 6784)

Data from IGN 2 - 1923 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Locobase 6729 profiles some Rogers Eight-wheelers delivered to the IGN in the same year, but these are slightly different in their boiler dimensions. Locobase thinks they represent a different order.

Class E 18/24 68C (Locobase 6887)

Data from IGN 2 - 1923 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Tender capacity is expressed in either tons of coal or barrels of oil, in this case 44 bbl. As Eight-wheelers went in the early 1890s, this mixed-traffic class had relatively big boilers, but grates of about average size supporting quite small fireboxes. The tender's oil-fuel capacity was rated at 44 barrels (1,848 US gallons). Given the small drivers and cylinders, these were never intended for speed, but for regular local service.

Two of the class (105-106) were built along somewhat different lines and delivered in 1890; see Locobase 6888.

Class E 18/24 68C - 180 (Locobase 6888)

Data from IGN 2 - 1923 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Within the set of Eight-wheelers of average power -- Locobase 6887 -- reposed these two supercharged ponies. The boiler pressure was set 30 psi higher, the boiler was slightly smaller, but the grate a little bigger and the firebox significantly larger. It's possible that the others were set at 150 psi because the higher tractive effort of this pair must have left them slippery little devils.

The tender's oil-fuel capacity was rated at 44 barrels (1,848 US gallons).

Class E 18/24 68C - small (Locobase 6889)

Data from IGN 2 - 1923 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

Locobase 6887-6888 show the others that shared the same class ID, but this pair was clearly a different brand from the others. It seems to have been built to the same template as an earlier home-built (Locobase 6785), but had larger cylinders and more adhesion weight. The tender's oil-fuel capacity was rated at 44 barrels (1,848 US gallons).