Carpenter-O'Brien Company 2-6-2 "Prairie" Locomotives in the USA
Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media
Class 1 (Locobase 14293)
Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University, Vol 52, pp. 330. See also the National Parks Service's Special Study at [
] . (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 25 October 2021 email supplying the fuel quantity.) Works numbers were 41649-41651 in July 1914.
Carpenter-O'Brien logged timber holdings in Florida, a job for which these lightly loaded, low-drivered Prairies, burning wood and sporting Radley & Hunter cabbage stacks, were well-suited. Their tenders each held four cords of wood.
Each of the three had a different career with the 1 being the best known. It operated in support of the company's Eastport, Fla mill. Brooks-Scanlon bought the company in December 1917. The 1 continued in B-S service throughout World War II, first in Eastport, then after 1929 at Foley. At some point the cabbage stack was replaced by a straight (aka "shotgun") stack.
In 1947, B-S sold the 1 to the Lee Tidewater Cypress Company, which operated the 1 until 1959. F Nelson Blount bought the 1 in 1962 and moved it to Bellows Falls, Vt where it joined many other engines at Steamtown. The display moved to Scranton, Pa and was designated a National Historical Site in 1988.
3 was sold by B-S to Revell Crate of Wauchula, Fla. It was donated in January 1967 to the Peace River Valley Historical Society of Zolfo Springs and went on display in that town's Pioneer Park. According to the Cracker Trail Museum and Village website ([]), the 3 was also known as the "Loping Gopher".
| Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media | |
|---|---|
| Class | 1 |
| Locobase ID | 14293 |
| Railroad | Carpenter-O'Brien Company |
| Country | USA |
| Whyte | 2-6-2 |
| Number in Class | 3 |
| Road Numbers | 1, 3, 5 |
| Gauge | Std |
| Number Built | 3 |
| Builder | Baldwin |
| Year | 1914 |
| Valve Gear | Stephenson |
| Locomotive Length and Weight | |
| Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | 9.17 / 2.80 |
| Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | 24.67 / 7.52 |
| Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | 0.37 |
| Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | 46.92 / 14.69 |
| Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | |
| Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 82,900 / 37,195 |
| Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 109,000 / 49,895 |
| Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | 70,000 / 27,216 |
| Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | 179,000 / 77,111 |
| Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | 3500 / 11.36 |
| Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | / 6 |
| Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 46 / 23 |
| Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | |
| Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 44 / 1168 |
| Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 180 / 1380 |
| High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 16" x 24" / 406x610 |
| Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 21,364 / 9690.56 |
| Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 3.88 |
| Heating Ability | |
| Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | 240 - 2" / 51 |
| Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | |
| Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | 11.87 / 3.62 |
| Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | 112 / 10.41 |
| Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 16 / 1.49 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 1594 / 148.09 |
| Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | |
| Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 1594 / 148.09 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 285.15 |
| Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | |
| Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 2880 |
| Same as above plus superheater percentage | 2880 |
| Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | 20,160 |
| Power L1 | 5086 |
| Power MT | 405.77 |