Louisiana & Arkansas 4-4-0 "American" Locomotives in the USA

Class 107 (Locobase 6131)

Data from 1918 USRA diagram book of L&A locomotives supplied by Allen Stanley in March 2004.

Obviously, the USRA found a railroad with a mixture of locomotive heritages. Can't say what the C&A Railway was or why they chose to build this locomotive. It was definitely on the small side ...

Class 300 (Locobase 6137)

Data from 1918 USRA diagram book of L&A locomotives supplied by Allen Stanley in March 2004 from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University, Volume 36, p. 48 and Volume 40, p. 121. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 18 March 2016 email reporting the earlier of the two Baldwin specs entries and for noting the original coal capacity.) Works numbers ran 36050-36051 in February 1911 and 37712-37713 in April.

Some more eight-wheelers joining the L & A relatively late in that arrangement's history. Small locomotives, but with a relatively large boiler and high axle loading. A provision in the specs required that the cylinders have enough metal to allow reboring. Also, a note about boiler tubes seems awfully diffident: ""Bottom Flues to be 5" [127 mm] from bottom of boiler. (Co. does not insist upon this but leave matter to the judgement of BLW.)"

Baldwin's specification advises that "Particular attention to be paid to painting." Murphy Varnish Company supplied the paint and varnish. Lettering and striping was to be the railroad company's standard aluminum, but Baldwin would apply "Stay-bright" or a Graphite paint to cover the smoke box, fire box, and ash pan.

The "roomy" cab had a large ventilator in the roof and a large window on each side fitted with double-strength glass.

Frames were to "withstand heavy service" so the bars were 4" (102 mm) wide and braced "where possible to insure stiffness." A Hereafter note in the specs for the first two engines dated 28 March 1911 said to "omit spark hopper and cleaning hole and cap" and for the injector to be located outside of the cab. In the later spec, the injectors were to be fitted with "extension handles convenient for engineer and fireman."

As delivered, the tenders carried the 10 tons shown in the specs. By the time the USRA compiled data in 1918, however, capacity had increased to 12 tons (10.9 tonnes) and loaded tender weight grew to 115,701 lb (52,481 kg).

301 ended its days in a wreck in November 1936. By that time 300 and 303 had been scrapped (March and May of 1935, respectively). 302 carried on solo until it was taken out of service in 1941 and scrapped in November.