Class L-3 / T-26 (Locobase 9764)

Data from Angus Sinclair, Railway and Locomotive Engineering, Vol XV, No 8 (August 1902), p. 335-336.

Sinclair pays particular attention to the fireman's position in this class of camelbacks. He explains that a lot of the discomfort and peril of coal-heaving in a double-cab came from requiring the fireman to work from the tender, or worse, straddle the footplate-tender junction just a couple of feet above the rails. In this engine the "coal digger" is placed "on deck" which offered the advantage that "...with all the motion of the engine, the fireman and firehole door maintain the same relative position to each other all the time." As a result, the man moved coal over a shorter distance and at a lower height and would have a truer aim at the door. Another amenity was that the fireman was housed in a complete cab that could be fitted with "curtains over the doors that would make [him] decidedly snug, and furthermore, he can't fall out."

Sinclair claimed that "The engines are very popular on the road, they are well liked by the men, and are doing excellent work".

Class L-5b/c/d/e (Locobase 5037)

Data from CNJ 7 - 1944 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection.

One of a series of Camelback Ten-wheelers built for the Central of New Jersey, the L-5b sextet (169-174) is featured in the photo section of Bruce's The Steam Locomotive in America (1952). And it's a worthy representative of the type with the center cab wrapped around the boiler and the massive Wootten firebox showing its polished steel over the third driver.

As Bruce depicted the locomotive in its original, saturated-steam state, his data showed a total EHS of 2,512 sq ft. Superheaters for this class -- which had several subclassess -- were installed in the late 1920s and early 1930s for the most part, although a couple were refitted in the early 1920s.

Drury (1993) notes that the 111 Camelbacks "were essentially the same locomotive" and served as mixed-traffic engines into the 1950s.

Class L-6as / L-7s (Locobase 6726)

Data from CNJ 7 - 1944 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection. Works numbers were 35107, 35143 in August 1910; 35239-35244, 35280-35281 in September as class L-6as and 38758-38762, 38865-38869 in November 1912 as class L-7s.

A later batch of Camelback Ten-wheelers that arrived in two batches of 10 in 1910 and 1912, respectively. With no reason to replace these quite-satisfactory engines, their retirements only came in 1953-1954 at the end of steam.

Class L-7as (Locobase 6727)

Data from CNJ 7 - 1944 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection. Works numbers were 41027-41028, 41041-41048 in December 1913.

A later batch of Camelback Ten-wheelers of the same power dimensions as the L-6as and L-7s shown in Locobase 6726, but a grate that was widened a foot to 9 ft 1/4" . Interestingly, the enlargement of the grate resulted in only a very modest increase in firebox heating surface. Like the earlier camelback Ten-wheelers on the CNJ, virtually all of these engines served to the end of steam on the railroad in the early-to-mid 1950s.

Class L-8s (Locobase 6463)

Data from CNJ 7 - 1944 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive collection. Works numbers were 47868, 47914, 47962 in February 1918; 48027, 48074, 48149 in March; 48280-48283 in April.

And information from John McCoy Oct 10 1998, 12:00 am Newsgroups: misc.transport.rail.americas From: igop ...@ix.netcom.com (John McCoy) Date: 1998/10/10 (accessed 13 March 2005).

Roster information from the Northeast Railroads website http://www.northeast.railfan.net/cnj_steam2.html (accessed 13 March 2005), which Locobase used to identify the class only generally referred to in McCoy's post. Given that only one 4-6-0 class reached 40,000 lb of tractive effort, it's likely that that group of 8 engines is the subject of McCoy's data. This was confirmed by the 1944 book, which showed a classic Camelback Ten-wheeler that must have been among the last of the type to be built. By this time the piston valves measured 13" in diameter.

This class was retired at the end of steam in 1950-1954.