Western & Atlantic 4-4-0 "American" Locomotives in the USA

Class General (Locobase 2545)

Data from a W&A roster compiled by Allen Stanley strongly suggests that four other locomotives -- Governor, President, Senator, and Chieftain (36, 37, 41, 42, respectively) -- were built to the same design. Governor (works number 557) arrived first in Feb 1855, President (works 616) was delivered in November and General (works 631) in December. Senator (works 691) and Chieftain (works 694) arrived in April 1856. The names are of a type, they all came from the same builder, and they differ from other locomotives delivered at the same time.

General is the famous American used in 1862's Great Locomotive Chase in which a group of Union officers and men highjacked a Confederate locomotive and headed north. After several close calls, the persistence of the pursuing conductor Fuller paid off and the engine, out of fuel and steam, puttered to a halt. All of the Union men were captured and several executed.

Hollingsworth (1982) has an interesting take on this well-known incident, which he says highlights two characteristics of the US American design: "First, in spite of the rough track, high maximum speeds of around 60 mph were reached ...and both [the pursuing Texas was another 4-4-0 with the same basic dimensions but produced by Danforth, Cooke in October 1856] stayed on the rails. ...[Also], the range between fuel stops was very short. A full load of two cords of wood fuel ...would last for a mere 50 miles.

The specifications given come from John White's (1968) Appendix E and differ from those in Hollingsworth. The working pressure given in that data (140 psi) seems high for the period and it's possible this was a test pressure. A more likely setting was 120 psi.