Lehigh & New England 2-10-0 "Decapod" Locomotives in the USA

Class F-1 (Locobase 65)

Data from 1930 Locomotive Cyclopedia and L&NE 8 - 1940 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University, Vol 77, pp. 256+. (Many thanks to Chris Hohl for his 22 September 2017 email reporting unlikely boiler pressure values for 177 entries. A Locobase macro caused the error .) Works numbers were 60157-60158 in September 1927.

Very like the Western Maryland H-9s (Locobase 69), except for being lighter, having more firebox heating surface, and pulling a smaller tender. They were indeed big, powerful engines with a relatively high axle loading.

As delivered, firebox heating surface area included 102 sq ft (9.5 sq m) in the combustion chamber and 42 sq ft (3.9 sq m) of arch tubes. The quality of the steam going to the cylinders rose even more when the L & NE revamped the firebox in the 1930s. The firebox's heating surface, augmented by 131 sq ft (12.2 sq m) in the thermic syphons, now came to an impressive 533 sq ft (49.5 sq m). According to the 1940 diagram, the total evaporative heating surface now came to 4,604 sq ft (427.7 sq m) and the combined heating surface rose to 5,852 sq ft (543.7 sq m).

Steam admission came through 14" (356 mm) piston valves.

The other two F-1s, delivered in 1931, were produced with thermic syphons; see Locobase 14277.

Another feature of the design was the Bethlehem "auxiliary locomotive", a booster that drove the rear truck axles. The tender also housed the Standard "BK" stoker engine.

The decapods were used on the line between Bath and Summit, Pa, which had a ruling grade of 2.74%. (The L & NE was formed in 1895 when William Scott took over the bankrupt derelict that had been the Pennsylvania, Poughkeepsie & Boston. Although small, it served a key area in eastern Pennsylvania.)

401 was scrapped in February 1949 and 402 in April 1950.

Class F-1 (Locobase 14277)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University, Vol 81, pp. 86+. See also L&NE 8 - 1940 Locomotive Diagrams supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 61604-61605 in March 1931.

As the country (and Baldwin) spiralled down to its lowest output levels of the Great Depression, any order would have been welcome. This pair of decapods essentially repeated the order for the 1927 duo shown in Locobase 65, but substantially reworked the firebox by adding 143 sq ft (13.3 sq m) of thermic syphons (three in the firebox, two in the combustion chamber) and deleting three small tubes and the arch tubes. Steam admission came through 14" (356 mm) piston valves.

A comparison of the Elesco specs on the Baldwin orders for the two pairs of engines show that the superheater area increased by 80 sq ft (7.4 sq m) in the 403-404 because the thickness of the superheater element tubes decreased from 9 BWG (Birmingham Wire Gauge) to 10 BWG.

As in the 401-402, a relatively powerful Bethlehem booster drove the rear truck axles under the tender.

By 1940, the L&NE treated both pair as a single class, although it appears that the diagram shows the data for 401-402. 403 was scrapped in March 1949 and 404 in April 1950.