Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University, Volume 48, p. 281. See also the Chris Cravens, "BARTLETT WESTERN RAILWAY," Handbook of Texas Online ([]), accessed May 15, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association; and Clay Coppedge, "The Old Bartlett Western Railroad and Marie Cronin", Letters from Central Texas, 27 April 2006 column at archived on the Texas Escapes Magazine website at [], last accessed 7 April 2023. Works number was 40536 in September 1913.
The BW was a 23-mile shortline that was chartered on 17 June 1911 to succeed the Bartlett-Florence Railway. According to Chris Cravens's account, the four stations between Bartlett (about 55 miles north of Austin) and Florence were named for the Four Apostles: St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John.
Although successful during its first two decades, it wasn't an especially well-built line. Cravens notes that "cars jumped the tracks so often that the line became known as the 'Bullfrog line'". The 102 was the only locomotive on the line in 1926. The railroad's president, Thomas Cronin, died in 1927, at which point his daughter Marie took over.
Clay Coppedge's 2006 account notes her flamboyant personality and quotes her niece about her contribution:
"Her niece, Virginia Cronin Lawson, said her Aunt Marie was somewhat vain and loved the idea of being a woman president.
"For that reason, more than anything, she did what was necessary to stave off abandonment," Mrs. Lawson said. Marie's nephew, Ed Cronin, told Hammond that Marie was what today would be called a "Type A Personality." "There was a certain dynamism in her," he said. "She wasn't bothered by being a woman; she didn't have any hesitancy about taking the reins. She had a strong voice and when she spoke she dominated the room."
A fall in cotton prices and the onset of the Great Depression doomed the line and it was abandoned on 11 October 1935. A fire in 1936 destroyed most of the BW's records.
Coppedge offers a suitable final word: "After Marie Cronin sold the railroad and made one last trip to Pairs her eyesight began to fail, eventually to the point where she could no longer paint. She sold the rails and managed to consolidate enough money to live out the rest of her days, not necessarily in the manner to which she was accustomed but not in poverty. She died in Bartlett on June 29, 1951."
Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media | |
---|---|
Class | 102 |
Locobase ID | 14154 |
Railroad | Bartlett Western |
Country | USA |
Whyte | 2-6-0 |
Number in Class | 1 |
Road Numbers | 102 |
Gauge | Std |
Number Built | 1 |
Builder | Baldwin |
Year | 1913 |
Valve Gear | Walschaert |
Locomotive Length and Weight | |
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | 11.50 / 3.51 |
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | 19.33 / 5.89 |
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | 0.59 |
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | 46.93 / 14.30 |
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | |
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 90,850 / 41,209 |
Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 106,730 / 48,412 |
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | 90,000 / 40,823 |
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | 196,730 / 89,235 |
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | 4500 / 17.05 |
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | |
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 50 / 25 |
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | |
Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 51 / 1295 |
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 180 / 1240 |
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 18" x 24" / 457x610 |
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 23,328 / 10581.42 |
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 3.89 |
Heating Ability | |
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | 200 - 2" / 51 |
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | |
Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | 11 / 3.35 |
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | 118.90 / 11.05 |
Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 20.70 / 1.92 |
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 1263 / 117.34 |
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | |
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 1263 / 117.34 |
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 178.64 |
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | |
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 3726 |
Same as above plus superheater percentage | 3726 |
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | 21,402 |
Power L1 | 4020 |
Power MT | 292.66 |