Class 11/206/F-9 (Locobase 6699)

Data from Erie 1907 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 503-505, 507 in April 1886.

Camelback Moguls from the E & WV. Note the small boiler and enormous firebox. Identical to the F-8s (Locobase 6698) in virtually every respect.

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Class 266 (Locobase 16299)

Data from "American Locomotives", Engineering, Volume 1 (11 May 1866), pp 308, 312-313. Works numbers were 311 in 1862, 312+ in 1863.

Zerah Colburn (then editor of the British journal Engineering) noted particularly the unusual firebox. In addition to trapezoidal sides that had the long end (64"/1,626 mm) in front and the short ends in the rear. (46"/1,168 mm), the grate consisted of sixteen water tubes in a zig-zag pattern (there were also five solid bars).

The two-wheel Bissell truck's traverse was confined by swing links in place of the inclined planes used in earlier designs. The links were "coupled to a cast-iron swing beam similar to that patented in May 1841 by Messrs Davenport and Bridges, and long used upon American railway-carriages." Danforth, Cooke were the first makers to apply the swing beam to a locomotive design and, said Colburn, "it is said to answer well."

Colburn's evaporative heating surface areas don't agree with total of the tube heating surface area and firebox heating surface area. If the firebox area was correct and it was added to the calculated tube heating surface area of 175 2" tubes, the total would be 1,105 sq ft. (102.66 sq m).

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Class D / F-1 (Locobase 364)

Data from Westing's Erie Power (1970) and tables in "The Locomotives of the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad", American Engineer & Railroading Journal, Vol LXVIII, No 12 (December 1894), pp. 564-566). Locobase includes in this entry only the seven engines built in the Susquehanna shops in 1881-1882 and fourteen Brooks locomotives. The latter's works numbers were 844-850, 853, 856-857 in January 1883 and 952-955 in July.

Other locomotives with 18" x 24" cylinders and 56" drivers were assigned F-1 class IDs when the Erie reorganized in 1895.

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Class E / F-2 (Locobase 371)

Data from Westing's Erie Power (1970) and tables in "The Locomotives of the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad", American Engineer & Railroading Journal, Vol LXVIII, No 12 (December 1894), pp. 564-566. Data from Erie 1907 locomotive diagram book (supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange) says the firebox heating surface was 144 sq ft.

Built at the Susquehanna Shops between 1882 and 1885. Seem to have been higher-drivered versions of the F-1 with a larger boiler. Certainly, 68" drivers on a Mogul were uncommon because the Bissel truck used on most 2-6-0s simply didn't track well enough to be run at higher speeds. A note accompanying the specifications in the AERJ article says that this class pulled heavy passenger trains "carrying commuters and for milk service."

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Class F-10 - original (Locobase 12115)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University Volume 19, p. 127. See also "Peculiar Locomotives," Locomotive Engineers' Monthly Journal, Vol 28, No 11 (November 1894), pp. 1034 and "Three-Cylinder Simple Locomotives; Erie & Wyoming Valley RR," Engineering News, Volume XXXIII, No 6 (2 February 1895), pp. 92-94. Works numbers were 14067, 14072-14073 in August 1894.

Cited by Paul T. Warner (RLHS Bulletin #58) as the first of the second wave of three-cylinder, this small class of camelback moguls had the wide firebox for burning anthracite coal. The cylinders measured 17" in diameter by 24" stroke. Two of the three straddled the engine's right frame rail (one inside, one outside). The usual enormous grate heated a firebox whose heating surface area included 46 sq ft (4.27 sq m) in the combustion chamber.

Camelbacks were funny looking in any case, but adding a clerestory in the cab roof elicited from Locobase an "am I seeing what I'm seeing?" sensatiion. An already stubby locomotive resembled a more typical double-cab that had been rear-ended by another engine. (See the Engineer, Volume 82 (18 September 1896), p. 280 for 35's ghost elevation.)

Designed by the E&WV's president John B Smith (who had died before the class entered service), the power dimensions reflected his experience with the winding engines used to haul cars up the three planes inclined at 10 1/2 degrees. Against such an insistent pull of gravity, he observed that a three-cylinder engine seemed stronger and smoother than an equivalent two-cylinder set.

Trials with three small homebuilt locomotives produced in 1881 confirmed his opinion, but it was only in 1892 that he built two more Consolidations and bought the three Moguls shown here. Like many other designers who added one or two cylinders to the usual pair, Smith wanted to apply a similar amount of power at a more even rate rather than increasing the amount of effort. The EN report summarizes the hoped-for effects of "reducing the tendency to slip the drving wheels and reducing the breaking of car couplings of heavy coal trains on steep grades."

EN's report recount the details of the trials and noted that some of the advantages cited by advocates, such as a lighter draft over the fire that avoided the "sharp, tearing action" of a normal setup working in long cutoff, could also mean less heat in the firebox and thus less evaporative power. " Ambiguous evidence suggested that although the 35's steam entrained more water (which would reduce its temperature and power), the engine appeared to steam well within the confined space allowed by the Wotten design. Raising the dome as high above the crown sheet as possible while dropping the crown sheet at least 3" would "...insure a much better quality of steam."

The discussion continued for several paragraphs and underscored some surprising, and adverse, tradeoffs between the potential for fuel savings at limited cutoff, the power demands that required long cutoffs, space considerations, valve designs, and changes in engineer technique.

The E&WV, which began service as a narrow-gauge railway, joined the Erie as the Wyoming Division in 1901.)

The trio was rebuilt with two 21" x 24" cylinders; see Locobase 4098.

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Class F-10 - rebuilt (Locobase 4098)

The data in the specifications, taken from Erie 1907 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange, represents the rebuilds.

As noted in Locobase 12115, the camelback Moguls in this class originally used three 17" cylinders for power when they first appeared on predecessor road Erie & Wyoming.= Valley. Some time after they entered service, most likely after the Erie took over the E & WV in 1901, the shops removed all three cylinders and motions and replaced the two outer ones with 21" cylinders.

The 1907 diagram book shows a total heating surface of 1,806 sq ft, which is not correct given the number and length of the tubes. Instead, it appears that the only change made in the locomotives was the cylinder setup.

742 was scrapped first in March 1919 followed by 743 (September) and 741 (December 1921).

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Class F-4 (Locobase 373)

Data from Erie 1907 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 1336-1339 (C&A 46-49) in February 1888 and 1459-1462 (C&A 42-45) in November.

Conventionally laid out Mogul with small drivers and a relatively low boiler pressure. But the class's cylinder volume was larger than any of the other extant Erie Moguls, except the two N class, which had 18" (457 mm) diameter cylinders.

Sales for scrap began in 1905 with 701, 700 and 704 in 1911, 705-706 left in May 1912, 707 in 1915, 702-703 in 1916.

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Class F-5 (Locobase 374)

Data from Erie 1907 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Variants of the F-1 (Locobase 364) built at the Susquehanna Shops between 1881 and 1883. Power dimensions are identical except for the boiler pressure and the driver diameter.

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Class F-6 (Locobase 375)

Data from Erie 1907 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

Three engines built in the Susquehanna Shops in 1881-1882. Variants of the F-5 with higher drivers. Renumbered twice, these Moguls were scrapped in April 1904, January 1907, and January 1906, respectively.

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Class F-7 (Locobase 376)

Data from Erie 1907 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

3 engines (582, 584, 585) that were lower-driver variants of the F-2s. Built at the Susquehanna Shops in February (585), August (584), and September (582) 1882..

At the end of their careers, the class retired 585 went first in September 1918 followed by 582 in May 1919 and 584 in November 1920,

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Class N (Locobase 11851)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University, Volume 13, p. 83. See also"Passenger Engine with Wootten Firebox", Locomotive Engineer's Monthly Journal, Volume 21, No 2 (February 1887), p. 115-116. Works numbers were 8082 and 8087 in August 1886

Ns had the largest boilers in an Erie Mogul type, a fitting achievement for these sizable Camelbacks. Unlike most of the other engines, however, these had small and short 1 1/2" tubes. They also had surprisingly tall drivers for the 2-6-0 layout.

At some later date, the Erie mounted a new, larger boiler that substantially changed the heating surface area. See Locobase 372 for the resulting F-3.

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Class N/F-3 (Locobase 372)

Data from Erie's 1907 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

When introduced in 1886 as the only members of the N class, these two Moguls had the largest boilers for their arrangement on the Erie. As noted in Locobase 11851, however, these had small and short 1 1/2" tubes

Obviously, the original fit shown in the specs was insufficient, and the Erie mounted new 64"-diameter boilers with 431 tubes of the same 1 1/2" diameter (why didn't they just increase the diameter of each tube? One possibility was the short frame that would have reduced the tube length/diameter ratio even more) to supply enough heating surface for the sizable grate.

They were scrapped in August 1921 for 745 and October 1925 for 746.

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Class Saranac/204/F-8 (Locobase 6698)

Data from Erie 1907 locomotive diagram book supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. Works numbers were 498 in November 1884 and 499 in December 1884.

Camelbacks from the E&WV. Note the small boiler and oversized Wootten firebox. Their most unusual features were the three cylinders laid out under the smokebox. Two lay to the right of the centerline (looking from above) and one to the left.

Four more came in 1886 and would be designated F-9 by the Erie; see Locobase 6699..