Other Cab Forward Locomotives
North Pacific Coast Railroad, California
North Pacific Coast Railroad built a cab-forward (locomotive number 21)
in their Sausalito Shops in 1901. Its poor weight distribution caused
it to be very slippery. It was in service for only a few years before
being scrapped. The following book has a good photograph of 21 on page 94.
Narrow Gauge to the Redwoods, by A. Bray Dickinson, Trans-Anglo Books, Lib of Congress 66-297565.
French
The French Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme, a meter gauge line in north
France by the North Sea, used to have roadside lines where good visibility
was necessary. A small (0-6-2T) cab forward was designed. #3714, was
probably the last cab forward in operation on this line. It had controls
(whistle, brake) oriented toward the cab end. Recently (1998), sister
locomotive #3712 was found in Brazil, lost for more than 90 years. There are
hopes to bring this locomotive back to France and restore it to operating
condition. Information and pictures may at some time become available here.
Photos
German
There was one cab forward in service in Germany and several in Prussia. The
one in Germany was different from the SP cab forwards in that it was not
articulated. Only one was built as one of the 05-series steamers. There were
only 3 05s built around 1935-36. They were designed for high speed and were
all streamlined 3-cylinder hudsons. Another distinction was that they were
painted red. In 1936 05-002 set a world speed record for steamers with 200.4
km/h only to be surpassed one or two years later by Mallard with 204 km/h (I
believe). One of the three 05s (05-003) was designed as a cab forward and as
another oddity it was fueled by coal dust. After WWII 05-003 was rebuilt into
a traditional steamer (stripped of the streamlining and the cab moved to the
back) and was in service until 1958 when it was scrapped together with
05-002. In 1958, in need of boiler repairs, 05-001 was taken out of service
and refitted with its streamline shell before being moved to the
Transportation Museum in Nuremberg. It looks as if in top shape, but it is
not in operating condition.
The above information about the German cab forward was supplied
by Wolfgang Puchalski.
Photos
Italian
The Italians also had a class of 43 cab forwards called the Gruppo 670.
They were 4-6-0s with a six wheel tender for water only.
The coal was carried in a bunker above and alongside the firebox. The
engines were four cylinder Plancher compounds and hauled passenger trains
down the east coast of Italy. There was also a single Gr 672 built that was
similar, but was used to try out the Franco system of pre-heating the feed
water. All the above engines were affectionately known by their crews as
"Muccas" (Cows!).
Gruppo 670 was built as the Rete Adriatica group 500, and was renumbered to
group 690 when several private locomotive manufacturers (Rete Adriatica,
Rete Mediterranea, Rete Sicula, and part of Società Veneta) were combined
to form Ferrovie dello Statos, a state-owned company.
Gr 672 was both a cab forward and a streamlined engine. The steamlining
was meant to hide the Franco feedwater heater. It also had a different boiler
from standard 670s, with shorter heating pipes to compensate for the
preheater ones.
There was also a class of four cylinder 0-10-0s, also Planchers, built for
banking duties north out of Genoa that were Tank engines with the coal
supply located as on the Gr 670, but all their water supply was carried in
four wheel tenders that could be positioned at either end of the engine, so
that sometimes they too were cab forwards. They were originally designed
like that because of legislation that decreed that between loco and train
there had to be an empty wagon, which wasn't helpful on steeply graded
lines so the "tender" sufficed. Most of these were eventually converted to
conventional tender engines, but 470.092 survived in original condition in
the Science Museum in Milan.
The above information about the Italian cab forwards was supplied
by Bill Read and Gian Uberto Lauri.
Photos
Prussian
Test locomotives, class S 9 (Bauart Wittfeld-Kuhn)
In 1902/03 a competition of the Verein Deutscher Maschineningenieure was held
with the aim to design a locomotive which would be able to pull a 180 ton
train at 120 km/h and also would have a top speed of 150 km/h. The design of
a locomotive with two cabs by Oberingenieur Kuhn and Geheimer Oberbaurat
Wittfeld was realized by Henschel (a well-known locomotive factory) in 1904.
Two locomotives were built and numbered as "Altona 561" with complete fairing
and "Altona 562" with a gallery between the streamlined cabs. The inner
cylinder sat above the front bogie and drove the first of the coupled axles,
the outer cylinders drove the second one. The locomotives reached 137 km/h
with a train of 109 tons. Their performance was not satisfactorily, and
therefore both locomotives went out of service around 1918.
| Wheel arrangement, engine: | 2'B2' n3v (4-4-4, three cylinders, compound, saturated steam) |
| diameter of driving wheels: | 2200 mm |
| diameter of carrying wheels: | 1000 mm |
| Length over buffers: | 24820 mm |
| max. speed: | 137 km/h |
| boiler pressure: | 14 kp/cm^2 |
| grate surface: | 4.39 m^2 |
| evaporator surface: | 259.8 m^2 |
| cylinder diameter: | 3 x 524 mm |
| piston stroke: | 630 mm |
| axle load: | 17 Mp |
| adhesive weight: | 36.6 Mp |
| service weight: | 89.5 Mp |
| tender wheel arrangement: | 2'2' (two bogies) |
Test locomotive, class T 16
In 1903 a locomotive was ordered which would pull 180 - 200 tons on a 1:100
grade at 75 km/h and run 90 km/h on level tracks. Henschel built such an
engine in 1904, it was the only Prussian four-cylinder compound engine with
superheating at this time. It was fitted with two cabins, but this was
considered a drawback because the engineer and fireman could only work
together in one direction, and a third man was needed to watch the tracks.
Besides, the locomotive - which was 20 years ahead of its time - turned out
to be too heavy. It was returned to the factory and was scrapped.
| wheel arrangement, engine: | 2'C2' h4vt (4-6-4, four cylinders, compound, superheated steam, tank locomotive) |
| diameter of driving wheels: | 1750 mm |
| diameter of carrying wheels: | 1000 mm |
| length over buffers: | 17700 mm |
| max. speed: | 90 km/h |
| boiler pressure: | 14 kp/cm^2 |
| grate surface: | 4.1 m^2 |
| evaporator surface: | 191.2 m^2 |
| superheater surface: | 44 m^2 |
| cylinder diameter: | 2 x 420/630 mm |
| piston stroke: | 630 mm |
| axle load: | 20 Mp |
| adhesive weight: | 59.6 Mp |
| service weight: | 123 Mp |
The above information about the German cab forward was supplied
by Jan-Martin Hertzsch.
Photos
Russian
The Russian cab forwards featured a combined steam and diesel propulsion
with the diesel cylinders heating the boiler for the steam.
Photos
UK
Photos
