Data from American Locomotive Company, Standardized Locomotives, US Railroad Administration (Alco Pamphlet 10049, 1918), pp. 12-13, reprinted by (Ocean, NJ: Specialty Press , 1973); Eugene L Huddleston, Uncle Sam's Locomotives (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2002), pp. 64-65 and 114; and DeGolyer, Volume 58, pp. 11+. See also "Standard Equipment Specialties," Railway Mechanical Engineer, Vol 93, No 3 (March 1919), pp. 137-138 for a list of all the "special equipment" by manufacturers--everything from air brakes to lubricators to rolled steel wheels--and the USRA designs on which they appeared.
Baldwin supplied 20 to the Baltimore & Ohio. Alco's Schenectady works supplied 55 to six railroads. Alco's Cooke works in Paterson, NJ produced 110 to eleven railroads, and Alco's Pittsburgh works delivered 70 to nine railroads.
Like the rest of the USRA range of standard locomotive designs, these light switchers drew from the best of proven switcher design in engines that served as templates for many of the same wheel arrangement over the rest of the steam era. "Switchers were designed for agility and usually not for power," noted Gene Huddleston in his comments on the two switcher variants in the USRA's order book.
12" (305 mm) diameter piston valves with a maximum 6" (152 mm) travel supplied steam to the cylinders. The relatively uncluttered firebox's heating surface area included 13 sq ft (1.2 sq m) in three arch tubes. When fitted for oil-burning, the tenders carried 2,800 US gallons (10,600 litres) of fuel.
Huddleston reported the widely voiced, positive reactions to both these six-coupleds and the eight-coupleds described in Locobase 16698. Most complaints reflected local preference
| Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media | |
|---|---|
| Class | 0-6-0 A Light Switcher |
| Locobase ID | 16697 |
| Railroad | United States Railroad Administration (USRA) |
| Country | USA |
| Whyte | 0-6-0 |
| Number in Class | 255 |
| Road Numbers | |
| Gauge | Std |
| Number Built | 255 |
| Builder | Several |
| Year | 1918 |
| Valve Gear | Baker |
| Locomotive Length and Weight | |
| Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | 11 / 3.35 |
| Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | 11 / 3.35 |
| Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | 1 |
| Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | 49.79 / 15.18 |
| Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | |
| Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 163,500 / 74,162 |
| Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 163,500 / 74,162 |
| Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | 168,800 / 76,566 |
| Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | 332,300 / 150,728 |
| Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | 8000 / 30.30 |
| Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | 16 / 14.50 |
| Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 91 / 45.50 |
| Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | |
| Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 51 / 1295 |
| Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 190 / 1290 |
| High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 21" x 28" / 533x711 |
| Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 39,102 / 17736.39 |
| Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 4.18 |
| Heating Ability | |
| Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | 158 - 2" / 51 |
| Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | 24 - 5.5" / 140 |
| Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | 15 / 4.57 |
| Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | 143 / 13.29 |
| Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 33.20 / 3.08 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 1891 / 175.68 |
| Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 475 / 44.13 |
| Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 2366 / 219.81 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 168.54 |
| Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | |
| Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 6308 |
| Same as above plus superheater percentage | 7570 |
| Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | 32,604 |
| Power L1 | 9904 |
| Power MT | 400.63 |