Some data from Southern Railway diagrams hosted on southern.railfan.net/images/archive/southern/steam_loco_diagrams (viewed September 2002); SRY 9 - 1942 List and Description of Locomotives; and SRY Assorted Locomotive Diagrams by Drawing Numbers supplied by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange collection. (Many thanks to Chris Hohl for his 22 September 2017 email reporting unlikely boiler pressure values for 177 entries. A Locobase macro caused the error . Chris Hohl's 13 August 2018 email also noted his realization that the class was delivered with Stephenson link motion actuating the valves.) Alco works numbers were 39318-39327.
Not considered especially brilliant engines (e.g., Roberts and Schafer in Drury (1993) called them "fleet but feeble.") According to a Southern diagram dated 7 December 1906, at least one engine (1914) was delivered with 11" (279 mm) inside-admission piston valves in a Universal steam chest that was mounted directly onto the slide-valve base.
This engine was superheated between 1917 and 1925, which dropped total evaporative heating surface area to 2,324 sq ft (215.91 sq m). All of the class later had their inside link motion replaced with Walschaert's outside constant-lead radial valve gear. A later photo of the 1914, supplied by Chris Hohl, shows a more modern livery but an valve chest suitable only for slide valves such as the Richardson balanced valve.
Prince (1965) confirms their relatively low pulling power by noting that after steel passenger coaches were introduced, the C class operated eastward out of Macon, Georgia to the lowland areas and such cities as Jessop and Brunswick. All served into the 1930s with the last one (1914) retiring in 1942.
NB: The direct heating surface (including the firebox heating surface) is an estimate calculated by subtracting the calculated tube heating surface from the reported total evaporative heating surface.
| Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media | |
|---|---|
| Class | C |
| Locobase ID | 110 |
| Railroad | Southern (SRS) |
| Country | USA |
| Whyte | 4-4-2 |
| Number in Class | 10 |
| Road Numbers | 1905-1914 |
| Gauge | Std |
| Number Built | 10 |
| Builder | Alco-Richmond |
| Year | 1906 |
| Valve Gear | Stephenson |
| Locomotive Length and Weight | |
| Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | 7.50 / 2.29 |
| Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | 29.50 / 8.99 |
| Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | 0.25 |
| Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | 51.30 / 15.64 |
| Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | |
| Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 108,000 / 48,988 |
| Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 190,000 / 86,183 |
| Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | 147,000 / 66,678 |
| Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | 337,000 / 152,861 |
| Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | 7500 / 28.41 |
| Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | 12.50 / 11 |
| Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 90 / 45 |
| Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | |
| Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 79 / 2007 |
| Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 200 / 1380 |
| High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 20.5" x 26" / 521x660 |
| Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 23,513 / 10665.33 |
| Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 4.59 |
| Heating Ability | |
| Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | 278 - 2" / 51 |
| Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | |
| Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | 16 / 4.88 |
| Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | 175 / 17.01 |
| Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 45 / 4.18 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 3113 / 289.31 |
| Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | |
| Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 3113 / 289.31 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 313.49 |
| Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | |
| Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 9000 |
| Same as above plus superheater percentage | 9000 |
| Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | 35,000 |
| Power L1 | 10,576 |
| Power MT | 431.78 |