Class 10 (Locobase 4893)

Narrow-gauge Consolidations, of which 12 was celebrated on its 80th birthday (February 1997) on the urbaneagle.com/slim/etwnc-no12bday.html website. See also DeGolyer, Volumes 51, pp. 304+; Volume 53, pp. 374+ ; and Volume 59, p 408; and Cy Crumley's photos and notebook as edited by Kenneth Riddle at [], last accessed 1 March 1912. Works numbers were 42766 in December 1915, 42862 in February 1916, 45069 in February 1917, and 52406 in September 1919.

Although the class was bought over a four-year period, all four of these "passenger and freight" locomotives shown in this entry conformed to the same design, which was a hearty enough Ten-wheeler with good power to tackle the 4 1/2% grades and 30 degree curves that were part of the Tweetsie's operating environment.

Road number #10 reached the Tweetsie about three years after the 9 (Locobase 13909). Built along the same lines as the 9, the 10 had slightly larger cylinders and slightly longer tubes as well as a requirement in the specs that weight on the drivers amount to no less than 75,000 lb. The specified adhesion weight was 77,000 lb (34,927 kg) for the 10-11 and 80,050 lb (36,287 kg) for the 12 and 14..

10 and 14 were sold in May 1942 to the traffic-beleaguered White Pass & Yukon Railway. Alas, both were trapped in the roundhouse in December 1943 when the structure caught fire and apparently neither saw service again before being scrapped in December 1945. 11served the Tweetsie until it was scrapped in February 1952.

In contrast to 10's cross-continent displacement, the 11 never left the home rails and was scrapped in February 1952.

12 remained with the Eat Taters & Wear No Clothes until the narrow-gauge portion of the network closed in 1950. It was sold to the Shenandoah Central of Penn Laird, Va in December 1952, but Hurricane Hazel washed much of that tourist road away in October 1954. The 12 was spared, but needed a complete overhaul, which Frank Coffey administered at the Hickory shops of the Southern Railway. In May 1957, the 12 was trucked up to the Blowing Rock station of the Tweetsie.

As of 2012, the 12 steamed on a regular schedule as it neared another complete overhaul. The steam-engine shop at the railway had developed sufficient expertise not only to keep the 12 and its S118 Mikado stablemate in running order but also to accept contract work from other narrow-gauge railroads.

Class 8 (Locobase 13175)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University Volume 31, p. 11. Works number was 31479 in August 1907.

Locobase 11782 has a description of the Blue Ridge Stemwinder, the railroad also known as the Tweetsie. This Ten-wheeler had a short wheelbase even for the Tweetsie. The specs asked for the boiler "...to be set as low as possible."

The 8 was sold to Gray Lumber of Waverly, WVa in October 1924 because the Tweetsie had found it was too light for their requirements. Gray Lumber was satisfied enough to operate the 8 into the 1950s before scrapping it in 1951.

Class 9 (Locobase 13909)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University, Volume 41, p. 123. Works number was 36440 in April 1911.

The 9 was bigger than earlier Tweetsie Ten-wheelers, put more power on the rails, and weighed more. Even so, the 9 had to meet axle-loading limitations while still mustering enough power to scale 4 1/2% grades and negotiate 30-deg curves.

Like several earlier ET & WNC locomotives, the 9 was sent over to the Linville Railroad in 1917 to support its construction and operation. After the Arbuckle Line endured declining traffic, then suffered a devastating flood in 1940, the Interstate Commerce Commission granted permission to abandon the line in March 1941. The Tweetsie regained the 9 in October 1941 and ran it until it was scrapped in 1951.