Lowell Machine Shop 4-4-0 "American" Locomotives in the USA

Class 14" cylinders (Locobase 8810)

Data from Zerah Colburn, The Locomotive Engine (1851). Boiler pressure is an estimate.

See Locobase 8809 for a brief discussion of Zerah Colburn and the origins of the data.

In addition to boiler details, Colburn also gave the following data:

Water room (cu ft) 56.6

Steam room (cu ft) 33.2

Size of steam ports 10 x 1 1/4"

Size of exhaust ports 10 x 2 1/4". Compared to the other Lowell machine, these ports were a bit bigger, although they served a smaller boiler and cylinders.

Class 15 1/2" cylinders (Locobase 8809)

Data from Zerah Colburn, The Locomotive Engine (1851). Boiler pressure is an estimate.

White (1972) notes that Colburn was a leading authority on locomotive design and that his pathfinding book was one of the first American texts to discuss locomotive design in a thorough and coherent way.

By way of illustration, Colburn published a table of "Five Different Patterns of Locomotive Engines", which included this engine and a slightly smaller one shown in Locobase 8810.

In addition to boiler details, Colburn also gave the following data:

Water room (cu ft) 69

Steam room (cu ft) 41.5

Size of steam ports 10 x 1"

Size of exhaust ports 10 x 2 1/8".