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102-582: The Sugar Pine Lumber Company was an early 20th century logging operation and railroad in the Sierra Nevada. Unable to secure water rights to build a log flume, the company operated the “crookedest railroad ever built." They later developed the Minarets-type locomotive, the largest and most powerful saddle tank locomotive ever made. The company was also a pioneer in the electrification of logging where newly plentiful hydroelectric power replaced

204-430: A bunker is used to carry the fuel (for locomotives using liquid fuel such as oil , a Fuel tank is used). There are two main positions for bunkers on tank locomotives: to the rear of the cab (as illustrated in the left of the images below), a position typically used on locomotives with a trailing carrying axle or a trailing bogie ; or on top of and to one side of the firebox, a positioning typically used in cases where

306-539: A Minaret engine after the nearby mountain peaks. It was the most powerful saddle tank locomotive ever made and forty-percent heavier than their Mikado engines. With two pony trucks, ten drivers, and two trailer trucks it could pull about twenty-five cars up the grade. The massive saddle-tank locomotives proved to be overbuilt for the application in the woods. Lighter, geared Shay locomotives could negotiate sharper curves over lighter roadbeds with significantly lower operating costs. While different locomotives were used,

408-518: A 'well' on the underside of the locomotive, generally between the locomotive's frames. This arrangement was patented by S.D. Davison in 1852. This does not restrict access to the boiler, but space is limited there, and the design is therefore not suitable for locomotives that need a good usable range before refilling. The arrangement does, however, have the advantage of creating a low centre of gravity , creating greater stability on poorly laid or narrow gauge tracks. The first tank locomotive, Novelty ,

510-462: A derailment. Some tram engines were fitted with a roof and enclosed sides, giving them an appearance more like a goods wagon than a locomotive. Railway locomotives with vertical boilers universally were tank locomotives. They were small, cheaper-to-operate machines mostly used in industrial settings. The benefits of tank locomotives include: There are disadvantages: Worldwide, tank engines varied in popularity. They were more common in areas where

612-579: A full cab, often only having a front ' spectacle plate '. If a cab was provided it was usually removable along with the chimney, and sometimes the dome, so that the locomotive could be loaded onto a flatbed wagon for transport to new locations by rail whilst remaining within the loading gauge . Steam tram engines, which were built, or modified, to work on a street, or roadside, tramway were almost universally also tank engines. Tram engines had their wheels and motion enclosed to avoid accidents in traffic. They often had cow catchers to avoid road debris causing

714-420: A healthy fleet of Alcos DL540 running commuter and cargo trains. The Glenbrook Vintage Railway New Zealand, has a 2-4-4-2 articulated compound mallet, built by Alco in 1912. Only four mallets with this wheel arrangement were ever built; the other three by Baldwin. This unique loco is currently out of service awaiting overhaul. During the 1970s, Romania's UCMR Resita made licensed engines from ALCo, putting

816-453: A number of types of tank locomotive, based on the location and style of the water tanks. Side tanks are cuboid -shaped tanks which are situated on both sides of the boiler , extending all or part of the boiler's length. The tank sides extend down to the running platform, if such is present, for at least part of their length. This was a common configuration in the UK. The length of side tanks

918-405: A pops orchestra, and overnight accommodations in the lumberjack dormitories. In 1931, RKO Pictures rented the mountain facility as the setting for Carnival Boat starring William Boyd and Ginger Rogers . The film was praised for its "realistic depiction of life in the lumber camps." Despite its record-setting lumber production the company lost money from the start. What's more, the company

1020-545: A prototype gas-turbine–electric locomotive to address the concerns of operators such as Union Pacific that sought to minimize the number of locomotive units needed for large power requirements. In 1949, ALCo embarked on a clean-sheet design project to replace the 244. 1949 also saw the introduction of the EMD GP7 road–switcher, a direct challenge in ALCo's bread-and-butter market. In 1953, General Electric , dissatisfied with

1122-425: A saloon. However, whiskey was occasionally bootlegged in. Sugar Pine Lumber was one of the few large operations where the primary logging equipment was electrically driven. Earlier operations made extensive use of the steam donkey, which transformed the industry in the 1880s. Later operations transitioned to modern-day truck logging. Electricity was preferable to steam for several reasons. Electricity greatly reduced

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1224-430: A single private railroad from the valley to the mountains. The distance covered more than forty miles of private rangeland and ranchers could set any price they wanted. A workaround was concocted to create a separate, subsidiary company that was incorporated as a common carrier . This allowed the necessary right-of-way to be secured easily and inexpensively at a fixed price. The 43.45 mi (69.93 km) right-of-way

1326-481: A small quantity of ALCO DL-109 dual-service engines and its proven steam designs, while EMD (formerly EMC) was allocated the construction of mainline road freight diesels (the production of straight passenger-service engines was prohibited by the War Production Board ). Still, ALCo ranked 34th among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. Alco's RS-1 road switcher

1428-508: A space between the tanks and the running plate. Pannier tanks have a lower centre of gravity than a saddle tank , whilst still giving the same easy access to the valve gear. Pannier tanks are so-named because the tanks are in a similar position to the panniers on a pack animal . [REDACTED] Media related to Pannier tank locomotives at Wikimedia Commons In Belgium , pannier tanks were in use at least since 1866, once again in conjunction with Belpaire firebox. Locomotives were built for

1530-740: A subsidiary of Nitram Energy. Following the sale of these assets, Smithco remained in business, manufacturing other heat exchange products. In 1985, the assets acquired from Smithco were assigned by Bos-Hatten to its parent, Nitram. In 2008, Nitram was acquired by Peerless Manufacturing Co In 2015, Peerless sold its heat exchanger business to Koch Heat Transfer Co. After the closure of Alco's Schenectady works, locomotives to Alco designs continued to be manufactured in Canada by Montreal Locomotive Works and in Australia by AE Goodwin . In addition, Until 2022, Alco-derived locomotives accounted for most of

1632-415: A tender was used with a narrow-gauge locomotive it usually carried only fuel, with water carried in the locomotive's tanks. The tender offered greater fuel capacity than a bunker on the locomotive and often the water capacity could be increased by converting redundant bunker space into a water tank. Large side tank engines might also have an additional rear tank (under the coal bunker), or a well tank (between

1734-528: A time. At some later point, some of the heat exchanger products were manufactured by the Alco Products Division of Smithco Engineering in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Smithco). In January 1983, certain assets of the Alco Products Division of Smithco, namely double-pipe and hairpin-type heat exchanger products sold under the "Alco Twin" name, mark and style, were sold in an asset sale by Smithco to Bos-Hatten,

1836-460: A wing tank and an inverted saddle tank. The inverted saddle tank was a variation of the Wing Tank where the two tanks were joined underneath the smokebox and supported it. This rare design was used for the same reasons as the wing tank but provided slightly greater water capacity. The Brill Tramway locomotive Wotton is believed to have had an inverted saddle tank. The inverted saddle tank

1938-527: Is a 4-4-0 American-type with wheels reversed. Wing tanks are side tanks that run the length of the smokebox, instead of the full length of the boiler. In the early 19th century the term "wing tank" was sometimes used as a synonym for side tank. Wing tanks were mainly used on narrow gauge industrial locomotives that could be frequently re-filled with water and where side or saddle tanks would restrict access to valve gear. The Kerry Tramway 's locomotive Excelsior has been described, by various sources, as both

2040-512: Is currently being used by Fairbanks Morse Engine for their FM|ALCO line. The company was created in 1901 from the merger of seven smaller locomotive manufacturers with the Schenectady Locomotive Engine Manufactory of Schenectady, New York : The consolidation of the seven manufacturers was the brainchild of financier Pliny Fisk Sr. of the brokerage house Harvey Fisk & Sons. The consolidated ALCO

2142-412: Is injected into the boiler. However, if the water becomes too hot, injectors lose efficiency and can fail. For this reason, the tanks often stopped short of the hotter and uninsulated smokebox . [REDACTED] Media related to Saddle tank locomotives at Wikimedia Commons Pannier tanks are box-shaped tanks carried on the sides of the boiler, not carried on the locomotive's running plates. This leaves

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2244-590: Is notable chiefly as a step in the automotive career of Walter P. Chrysler , who worked as the plant manager. In 1911 he left Alco for Buick in Detroit, Michigan , where he subsequently founded the Chrysler Corporation in 1925. Alco made 60-ton center-cab electric freight motors from 1912 through the 1920s for electric railway lines in Oregon. Already a leader in steam locomotives , Alco produced

2346-699: Is now United States Forest Service Road 6S42, also known as Central Camp Road. Whiskers and Gaggs Camp, two of the former SPL logging camp sites on the route, are public campgrounds. Dozens of miles of former logging spurs and access roads have been merged into the National Forest Transportation System (NFTS). The area is a popular destination for off-road vehicles and mountain biking . sold Timber Heritage Association November 2003, Awaiting Restoration at Strasburg Railroad. Tank locomotive#Saddle tank There are several different types of tank locomotive, distinguished by

2448-913: Is now being restored by the Railroad Heritage of Midwest America museum. Alco and MLW locomotives still work on many regional and tourist railroads across the United States and Canada, including the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad in Scranton, Pennsylvania , the Catskill Mountain Railroad in Kingston ; the Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad family of lines based in Lakeville, New York ,

2550-619: Is now occupied by a large industrial park. Alco diversified into areas other than automobiles with greater success. During World War II , Alco built munitions for the war effort, in addition to locomotive production; this continued throughout the Korean War . After the Korean War, Alco began making oil production equipment and heat exchangers for nuclear plants. In 1955, the company was renamed Alco Products, Incorporated. By this stage, locomotive production only accounted for 20% of

2652-558: Is preserved at the Finnish Railway Museum . Though the dual-service 4-8-4 steam locomotive had shown great promise, 1948 was the last year that steam locomotives were manufactured in Schenectady. These were the seven A-2a class 9400-series Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad 2-8-4 "Berkshires." Their tenders had to be subcontracted to Lima Locomotive Works , as Alco's tender shop had been closed. The building

2754-603: Is still manufactured by Fairbanks-Morse of Beloit, Wisconsin , a company which also manufactured diesel locomotives. Additionally, Alco diesel engines are used to power the NASA Crawler Transporter . Some Alcos survive on Australian networks, as well as in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Another fleet of Alco Bombardier locomotives run in rugged terrain on the Sri Lanka railway network. Argentina also has

2856-401: Is the most modern of any in the world, the builders claim. To the visitor, the contention is substantiated when a tour of the ‘city limits’ is made. Comforts and conveniences that would be found at the country’s finest summer resorts are in evidence everywhere. Built at a cost of $ 600,000, the investment was elaborate for what was ultimately a transitory work site. A hydroelectric plant supplied

2958-400: The 630 (the first AC/DC transmission), the 430 and the 636 , the first 3,600 horsepower (2.7 MW) locomotive, failed to keep the enterprise going. Third-place in the market proved to be an impossible position; ALCo products had neither the market position nor reputation for reliability of EMD's products, nor the financing muscle and customer support of GE. It could not earn enough profits. In

3060-803: The Arcade & Attica Railroad in Arcade, New York. It returned to service in May 2009 after a six-year overhaul to bring it into compliance with the FRA's new steam locomotive regulations. Great Western 60 , a 2-8-0 built in Schenectady in 1937, currently operates in passenger service on the Black River & Western Railroad in Ringoes, NJ. Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad in Garibaldi, Oregon . This railroad owns

3162-880: The Delaware & Hudson Railway , the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad , the New York Central Railroad , the Union Pacific Railroad and the Milwaukee Road . Among Alco's better-known steam locomotives were the 4-6-4 Hudson , 4-8-2 Mohawk , and the 4-8-4 Niagara built for the New York Central; and the 4-8-4 FEF and the 4-6-6-4 Challenger built for the Union Pacific. Alco built many of

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3264-759: The Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) in Greece. The oldest of them (class A.201, DL532B) were delivered to the former Hellenic State Railways (SEK) in 1962. In addition to a variety of standard gauge locomotives, the fleet includes 11 metre gauge Alco locomotives, mainly used for departmental trains in the Peloponnese network. The MX627 and MX636 locomotives have been extensively rebuilt at Piraeus Central Factory of OSE. The remaining Alco locomotives are also being rebuilt, starting with models DL532B and DL537. The ALCO 251 diesel engine

3366-534: The McCloud Railway 25 . One of only 4 prairie type (2-6-2) locomotives ever built by ALCO. This locomotive is operational, and is used in daily service six months of the year and weekend service an additional four months of the year. This locomotive appeared in the film " Stand by Me ". While regular production of steam locomotives by Alco ended in the 1950s, Alco-built steam engines have been preserved in locations across North America. They can be found on

3468-468: The RS-1 , the first road–switcher locomotive. The versatile road–switcher design gained favor for short-haul applications, which would provide ALCo a secure market niche through the 1940s. The entry of the United States into World War II froze ALCo's development of road diesel locomotives. During that time, ALCo was allocated the construction of diesel switching locomotives, their new road–switcher locomotives,

3570-556: The Studebaker corporation in 1967 to form Studebaker-Worthington , Alco remaining a wholly owned subsidiary. Former divisions of Alco became semi-independent subsidiaries in 1968. After the termination of locomotive production in 1969, the locomotive designs (but not the engine development rights) were transferred to the Montreal Locomotive Works , which continued their manufacture. The diesel engine business

3672-546: The firebox overhangs the rear driving axle, as this counterbalances the overhanging weight of the firebox, stabilising the locomotive. There are several other specialised types of steam locomotive which carry their own fuel but which are usually categorised for different reasons. A Garratt locomotive is articulated in three parts. The boiler is mounted on the centre frame without wheels, and two sets of driving wheels (4 cylinders total) carrying fuel bunkers and water tanks are mounted on separate frames, one on each end of

3774-431: The 1930s and its established service infrastructure. ALCo would prove unable to overcome that lead. In 1946, ALCo controlled 26% of the diesel locomotive market. The ubiquitous S series ( 660 and 1000 horsepower) switchers and RS series ( 1000 and 1500 horsepower) road switchers represented ALCo well during the late 1940s. Much of its success in this period can be tied to its pioneering RS locomotives, representing

3876-612: The Alco brand from 1905 to 1913. ALCO also produced nuclear reactors from 1954 to 1962. After World War II , Alco closed all of its manufacturing plants except those in Schenectady and Montreal. In 1955, the company changed its name to Alco Products, Incorporated. In 1964, the Worthington Corporation acquired the company. The company went out of business in 1969, although Montreal Locomotive Works continued to manufacture locomotives based on Alco designs. The ALCO name

3978-694: The Belgian State and for la Société Générale d'Exploitatation (SGE) , a private company grouping smaller secondary lines. In the United Kingdom , pannier tank locomotives were used almost exclusively by the Great Western Railway . The first Great Western pannier tanks were converted from saddle tank locomotives when these were being rebuilt in the early 1900s with the Belpaire firebox . There were difficulties in accommodating

4080-780: The German Class 61 and the Hungarian Class 242 . The contractor's locomotive was a small tank locomotive specially adapted for use by civil engineering contractor firms engaged in the building of railways. The locomotives would be used for hauling men, equipment and building materials over temporary railway networks built at the worksite that were frequently re-laid or taken up and moved elsewhere as building work progressed. Contractor's locomotives were usually saddle or well tank types (see above) but required several adaptations to make them suitable for their task. They were built to be as light as possible so they could run over

4182-837: The Lake Whatcom Railway in Wickersham, Washington and the Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad in Middletown, Pennsylvania . The latter owns one of the last true ALCO switchers ever built, #1016. The 1016 is a T-6 type switcher engine. This and ALCO sister 151 (ex Western Maryland Railway S-6 ) provide daily service in Middletown. Two original Alco RS-2's that were delivered to the Nevada Northern Railway are still in operation. ALCO-Cooke 2-8-0 #18, built in 1920, survives in passenger service on

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4284-678: The Locomotive and Machine Company of Montreal , Quebec, Canada; this company was eventually renamed the Montreal Locomotive Works . In 1905, Alco purchased Rogers Locomotive Works of Paterson, New Jersey , the country's second-largest locomotive manufacturer behind Baldwin Locomotive Works . Alco produced more than 75,000 locomotives, including more steam locomotives than any U.S. company except Baldwin Locomotive Works . (Alco outlasted Baldwin, in part by shifting more readily to diesel.) Railroads that favored Alco products included

4386-605: The Minarets and Western and Sugar Pine Lumber Company shared the same 200 standard-gauge flatbed cars . Six all-steel flatbed moving cars were used in the woods to transport electric logging equipment. Each day, lumberjacks used flatbed cars to travel from Central Camp to more remote worksites. This arrangement was called “The Man Train.” Central Camp was the Sugar Pine Lumber Company's base of logging operations supporting five hundred people living together in

4488-519: The No. 2 position from ALCo, and eventually eclipsed EMD in overall production. Despite continual innovation in its designs (the first AC/DC transmission among others), ALCo gradually succumbed to its competition, in which its former ally, General Electric, was an important element. India during 1960s began gradual withdrawal of Steam locomotives from Indian Railways so the Diesel electric locomotive WDM series

4590-408: The Sierra Nevada to the company lumber mill. The Sugar Pine Lumber Company became one of the most notable boom-and-bust stories of the 1920s logging industry. After an $ 8 million investment in 1923, it set records for California's annual lumber cut but quickly exhausted its timber holdings. By 1933, the company was bankrupt, overwhelmed by debt and high operating costs. Despite its advanced facilities,

4692-484: The base of logging operations in the woods. The Sugar Pine Railroad railway was built at a consistent 4.5 percent grade that wound through a series of sixty-two 20-degree curves. This required the Sugar Pine Railroad to run a different set of 2-8-2T locomotives where the water is carried in tanks mounted on the engine to increase tractive power. Between Bass Lake and Central Camp there are no places where

4794-556: The biggest locomotives ever constructed, including Union Pacific's Big Boy ( 4-8-8-4 ). Alco also built the fastest American locomotives, the Class A Atlantic and Class F7 Hudson streamliners for the Milwaukee Road 's Twin Cities Hiawatha run. Among the ambitious state-of-the-art designs of the late steam era, Alco's Challengers, Big Boys, and high-speed streamliners stood out for their success in operations. Alco built

4896-544: The boiler. Articulation is used so larger locomotives can go around curves which would otherwise restrict the size of rigid framed locomotives. One of the major advantages of the Garratt form of articulation is the maintenance of the locomotive's centre-of-gravity over or inside the track centre-line when rounding curves. A crane tank (CT) is a steam tank locomotive fitted with a crane for working in railway workshops or other industrial environments. The crane may be fitted at

4998-712: The business. The first nuclear power plant connected to the electrical grid, the SM-1, was built for the Army Nuclear Power Program at Fort Belvoir in Virginia in 1957. Another complete plant, the PM-2A, was shipped to and constructed at Camp Century in Greenland. The Camp Century plant was filmed by the U.S. Army. The company was purchased in 1964 by the Worthington Corporation , which merged with

5100-791: The diesel power on the Indian Railways . Many thousands of locomotives with Alco lineage are in regular mainline use in India. Most of these locomotives were built by the Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) at Varanasi, India . The Diesel Loco Modernisation Works (DMW) at Patiala, India, do mid-life rebuilding and upgrading the power of these locomotives, typically the 2,600 horsepower (1.94 MW) WDM-2 to 3,100 horsepower (2.31 MW). A number of Alco and MLW diesel–electric locomotives (models DL500C, DL532B, DL537, DL543, MX627 and MX636) are in daily use hauling freight trains of

5202-632: The engines 6&12R251 into naval gensets and also with the 6R251 in FAUR factory were made locomotives known as LDH 1500 CP. (CFR Classes 67/68/70/71 and CFR Class 61). They were also exported in Iran and Greece ( OSE ) Several Alco-built mainline engines are still operational, such as Union Pacific 844 , Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 , Milwaukee Road 261 , Soo Line 1003 , and Florida East Coast 148 . UP Challenger 3985 ran in UP excursion service until 2010, but

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5304-480: The expense of maintaining the camp and railroad made it impossible to turn a profit. The Sugar Pine Lumber Company was incorporated in July 1921 by Madera Sugar Pine Company officials Arthur Fleming , John Hemphill, and Elmer Cox and investor Robert Gillis. They acquired 50,000 acres (202 km) acres of old growth mixed conifer forest spanning eastward from the existing Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company operation to

5406-803: The first commercially successful diesel–electric switch engine in 1924 in a consortium with General Electric (electrical equipment) and Ingersoll-Rand ( diesel engine ). This locomotive was sold to the Central Railroad of New Jersey . It built additional locomotives for the Long Island Rail Road and the Chicago and North Western Railway . The company bought the McIntosh & Seymour Diesel Engine Company in 1929 and henceforth produced its own diesel engines, though it always bought its electrical equipment from GE. The diesel program

5508-453: The first modern road–switcher, a configuration which has long-outlasted ALCo. The success of their switcher and road–switcher locomotives was not matched with the PA and FA -type mainline units, however. The 244 engine, developed in a crash program to compete with EMD's powerful 567 engine, proved unreliable and sales of ALCo's mainline units soon went into decline. In 1948, ALCo-GE produced

5610-513: The flat top of the latter within an encircling saddle tank which cut down capacity and increased the tendency to overheat the water in the tank. Pannier tank locomotives are often seen as an icon of the GWR. In Logging railroads in the Western USA used 2-6-6-2 Saddle tanks or Pannier tanks for heavy timber trains. In this design, used in earlier and smaller locomotives, the water is stored in

5712-536: The frames when extra weight and traction was required, then removed when it was not. Most had sanding gear fitted to all wheels for maximum traction. Some method of keeping mud and dust from clogging the wheels and brake shoes was also required – this either took the form of scraper bars fitted to the leading edge of the wheels or wheel washer jets supplied from the water tank. To handle long trains of loose-coupled (and often un-sprung) wagons, contractor's locomotives usually had very effective steam-powered brakes. Most lacked

5814-629: The frames). This may have been to increase the water capacity, to equalise the weight distribution, or else improve the stability by lowering the centre of gravity . Because tank locomotives are capable of running equally fast in both directions (see below) they usually have symmetrical wheel arrangements to ensure the same ride and stability characteristics regardless of the direction travelled, producing arrangements with only driving wheels (e.g. 0-4-0 T and 0-6-0 T ) or equal numbers of leading and trailing wheels (e.g. 2-4-2 T and 4-6-4 T ). However other requirements, such as

5916-411: The front, centre or rear. During the 1930s there was a trend for express passenger locomotives to be streamlined by enclosed bodyshells. Express locomotives were nearly all tender locomotives, but a few fast tank engines were also streamlined, for use on high-speed, but shorter, services where turn-around time was important and the tank engine's independence from turntables was useful. Examples included

6018-639: The gorge of the San Joaquin River . Fresno and Madera County competed to be the site of a new sawmill and railroad terminus to be built in the San Joaquin Valley alongside the Southern Pacific line. Fresno won the bid, offering a section of land that became known as Pinedale. Fresno also offered $ 375,000 in cash that helped the company secure the railroad right of way to the mountains. The Sugar Pine Lumber Company acquired

6120-483: The idea quickly caught on, particularly for industrial use and five manufacturers exhibited designs at The Great Exhibition in 1851. These were E. B. Wilson and Company , William Fairbairn & Sons , George England, Kitson Thompson and Hewitson and William Bridges Adams . By the mid-1850s tank locomotives were to be found performing a variety of main line and industrial roles, particularly those involving shorter journeys or frequent changes in direction. There are

6222-521: The late 1960s, Alco gradually ceased locomotive production, shipping its last two locomotives, a pair of T-6 switchers to the Newburgh & South Shore Railroad (#1016 and #1017) in January 1969. ALCo closed its Schenectady locomotive plant later that year, and sold its designs to the Montreal Locomotive Works in Canada. The vast ALCo Schenectady plant was completely demolished by 2019, and its site

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6324-573: The length of run was short, and a quick turn around time was needed or turning facilities were not available, mostly in Europe. With their limited fuel and water capacity, they were not favoured in areas where long runs between stops were the norm. They were very common in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. In the United Kingdom, they were frequently used for shunting and piloting duties, suburban passenger services and local freight. The GWR

6426-408: The lightly built temporary rails and had deeply flanged wheels so they did not de-rail on the tracks which were often very uneven. At the same time, they had to be very powerful with good traction as they would often have to haul trains of wagons up very steep gradients, such as the sides of railway embankments or spoil heaps. Many were designed so that large iron ballast blocks could be fitted to

6528-408: The little capital of the sugar pine hills, is hidden away in a grove of towering trees. Huge buildings have been erected that are substantial enough to stand for 75 years or more, even in the trying weather that exists during the winter when snow piles up from six to eight feet high. Two of the buildings have fully as large a floor space as the Fresno Auditorium. From garage to hospital, this lumber city

6630-405: The lumber market in 1931 were too much. After a failed bid to merge with Yosemite Lumber Company, the Sugar Pine Company went into bankruptcy on June 13, 1933. Following the bankruptcy of Sugar Pine Lumber, operations on the Minarets and Western railway were suspended by the railroad commission in September 1933. While technically a common carrier, over ninety-five percent of the freight carried by

6732-415: The market for locomotives was declining after the height of the dieselization era and EMD's GP9 was on the market as a proven competitor backed by a service infrastructure that ALCo, since the dissolution of the GE partnership, lacked. Sales were disappointing and ALCo's profitability suffered. GE entered the export road-diesel locomotive market in 1956, then the domestic market in 1960, and quickly took

6834-537: The mill busy for two shifts. Logs were unloaded from railroad flat cars into a large log pond . Men worked on floating timbers and sorted the logs by species by pike poles. Challenged by a dwindling lumber supply and collapse of the lumber market, the Sugar Pine Company sought alternative sources of revenue. Tourist excursions began in 1930. The trips included passage from Fresno to Central Camp by train on specially outfitted flatcars. A complete program included boxing and wrestling bouts, lumberjack exhibitions , dancing to

6936-458: The need to support a large bunker, would require a non-symmetrical layout such as 2-6-4 T . In the Whyte notation for classification of locomotives (primarily by wheel arrangement ), various suffixes are used to denote tank locomotives: In the UIC notation which also classifies locomotives primarily by wheel arrangement , the suffix 't' is used to denote tank locomotives On tank locomotives which use solid fuels such as coal ,

7038-413: The pace of ALCo's efforts to develop a replacement for the troubled 244 engine, dissolved their partnership with ALCo and took over the gas turbine–electric venture that had started series production the previous year. In 1956, ALCo made long-overdue changes, modernizing its production process and introducing road locomotives with its new 251 engine. However, the benefits to ALCo were negated by bad timing;

7140-399: The peak of the season the mill employed 550 men. The mill employed about 250 workers year-round, mostly in the planning mill, box factory and shipping yards. Approximately 13,000 log cars per season arrived at the mill. The cars were about forty-one feet long and they held about 7,500 board feet of lumber. A normal train was about thirty-five cars and would make a little over 560 tons, keeping

7242-457: The position and style of the water tanks and fuel bunkers. The most common type has tanks mounted either side of the boiler. This type originated about 1840 and quickly became popular for industrial tasks, and later for shunting and shorter-distance main line duties. Tank locomotives have advantages and disadvantages compared to traditional locomotives that required a separate tender to carry needed water and fuel. The first tank locomotive

7344-562: The railroad grade is flat or opposite grade. This allowed for an easy descent. Loaded timber trains could coast all the way to the mill, requiring a locomotive only for braking. This requirement added several miles to the serpentine route. The train from Central Camp to the mill in Pinedale took about 16 to 18 hours, carrying around 80 cars of logs per trip. From Central Camp, 150 mi (240 km) of logging rails were laid to reach outlying timber tracts. Fifty trestles were required to span

7446-483: The railroad was for the logging company. Today, only a few traces of Sugar Pine Lumber remain in the mountains. The rails were scrapped soon after bankruptcy. The locomotives were sold. Many of the large buildings at Central Camp were dismantled for their lumber. The remaining parcels were sold to private homeowners. The rest has reverted to the Sierra National Forest . The steep railroad right-of-way

7548-512: The risk of forest fire, did not require a supply of water or fuel, and provided instant and continuous power. Power was supplied by San Joaquin Light and Power through high tension wires running from the hydroelectric power station at nearby Bass Lake. As a result, late-season windstorms became a hazard, and sometimes interrupted operations during the fall months. Twelve transformers mounted to donkey sleds allowed power to be deployed anywhere throughout

7650-405: The saddle tank arrangement in 1849. Saddle tanks were a popular arrangement especially for smaller locomotives in industrial use. It gave a greater water supply, but limited the size of the boiler and restricted access to it for cleaning. Furthermore, the locomotive has a higher centre of gravity and hence must operate at lower speeds. The driver's vision may also be restricted, again restricting

7752-408: The safe speed. The squared-off shape of the Belpaire firebox does not fit easily beneath a saddle tank, and so most saddle tanks retained the older round-topped boiler instead. A few American locomotives used saddle tanks that only covered the boiler barrel, forward of the firebox. Water in the tank is slightly pre-heated by the boiler, which reduces the loss of pressure found when cold feedwater

7854-537: The second production steam locomotive in North America to use roller bearings (after the Delaware & Hudson's 1924 addition of SKF roller bearings to the drivers and main and side rods of their own 4-6-2 locomotives). This was Timken 1111 , a 4-8-4 commissioned in 1930 by Timken Roller Bearing Company and ultimately used for 100,000 miles (160,000 km) on 15 major United States railroads before it

7956-432: The smokebox protruding ahead. A few designs did reach to the front of the smokebox and these were termed 'flatirons'. The water tank sits on top of the boiler like a saddle sits atop a horse. Usually, the tank is curved in cross-section, although in some cases there were straight sides surmounted by a curve (like an inverted 'U'), or even an ogee shape (a concave arc flowing into a convex arc). Walter Nielson patented

8058-452: The steep 4.5% grade, the Mikado engines could only pull twelve cars at once. This meant that three trips were required to get a full thirty-five-car train up. Often this meant that trains ran overnight to keep ahead. The company added two more similarly specified Mikado locomotives as they began cutting further out lumber tracts. In 1927, Sugar Pine ordered a unique tank locomotive, designated

8160-418: The steep terrain. Trestle Number 14 was the highest at 110 feet (34 m) feet high. Sugar Pine Railroad Company used custom-built 2-8-2T Mikado engines from American Locomotive Company . The water tank sat over the boiler. This added more weight over the wheels for better adhesion on climbs. It also allowed the engine to run equally well forward and backward. From Bass Lake up to Central Camp, because of

8262-459: The timber holdings along the upper San Joaquin River. But it could not acquire the underlying water rights from San Joaquin Light and Power. This meant the company could not build a log flume to get the wood to market. Instead, two standard-gauge railroads were built connecting the sawmill with the lumber camp 63.27 mi (101.82 km) away. The Sugar Pine Lumber Company could not afford to build

8364-663: The timber tract. Two 70-ton Willamette railroad logging units were used to pull cut logs to the railroad line. The Pinedale Mill was known as the “finest sawmill in the west,” delivering an average cut of 100 million board feet a year. By 1928, it was producing twice as much lumber as its neighboring operation, the Madera Sugar Pine Company . The facility was immense, featuring the world's largest sorting table with room for 230 grades of lumber, in addition to 80 acres (0 km) of drying yards connected by 40 mi (64 km) of narrow-gauge railroad tracks. During

8466-499: The town with electricity for lighting and cooking. A large central boiler provided the living quarters with steam heat. Lumberjacks returned by train to Central Camp for the midday meal prepared by a large cook staff. Meals features fresh produce that was brought into the mountains by refrigerator car . Entertainment included a theater, recreation hall and a boxing ring. Operating during the Prohibition era, Central Camp did not have

8568-515: The widespread use of steam engines. The company founded two towns. They built Central Camp , a permanent logging camp with lavish amenities, and Pinedale , site of the company lumber mill. They operated two railroads: the Sugar Pine Railroad, which connected Central Camp to the switching yard in Bass Lake, and the Minarets and Western Railway , a client carrier that transported whole logs from

8670-496: The woods. This included single lumberjacks living in group dormitories, lumberjacks and their families living in detached cabins, as well as railroad and construction workers, cooks, teachers, doctors and other seasonal support staff. Sparing little expense, it was the industry's finest, costliest and most modern logging camp. The Fresno Republican covered the camp's grand opening in 1923, which stood in stark contrast to primitive woods camps. The Republican reported: Central Camp,

8772-411: Was a speciality of W.G.Bagnall . A tank locomotive may also haul a tender behind it. This was the common arrangement on the largest locomotives, as well as on narrow gauge railways where the small size of the locomotive restricts the space available for fuel and water. These combined both fuel and water in a proportion (where coal was used) of 1 pound of coal for every 6 pounds of water. . Where

8874-510: Was a well tank. [REDACTED] Media related to Well tank locomotives at Wikimedia Commons In this design, the tank is placed behind the cab, usually over a supporting bogie. This removes the weight of the water from the driving wheels, giving the locomotive a constant tractive weight. The disadvantage is a reduction in water carrying capacity. A rear tank is an essential component of the American Forney type of locomotive, which

8976-564: Was an American manufacturer that operated from 1901 to 1969, initially specializing in the production of locomotives but later diversifying and fabricating at various times diesel generators, automobiles, steel, tanks, munitions , oil-production equipment, as well as heat exchangers for nuclear power plants . The company was formed by the merger of seven locomotive manufacturers and Schenectady Locomotive Engine Manufactory of Schenectady, New York . A subsidiary, American Locomotive Automobile Company, designed and manufactured automobiles under

9078-476: Was converted to make diesel locomotives to compete with those of the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors. Joseph Burroughs Ennis (1879–1955) was a senior vice president between 1917 and 1947 and was responsible for the design of many of the company's locomotives. The company diversified into the automobile business in 1906, producing French Berliet designs under license. Production

9180-488: Was developed by Banaras Locomotive Works with help of American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for Indian Railways. In 1962 Alco locomotives entered in service and since then Thousands of Alco class Locomotive WDM-2 , WDM-3A , WDM-3D would be manufactured and rebuilt which would make most successful locomotives of Indian Railways serving both passenger and freight trains and still retain operational status for Indian railways today A new line of Century locomotives including

9282-651: Was famous for its Prairie tanks (such as the " 61xx " class), used for many things including very heavy trains on the Welsh valley coal mining lines that the GWR 4200 Class 2-8-0 T were designed for. In Germany, too, large tank locomotives were built. In the United States they were used for push-pull suburban service, switching in terminals and locomotive shops, and in logging, mining and industrial service. American Locomotive Company The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO , ALCo or Alco )

9384-556: Was intended to compete with Baldwin Locomotive Co. which controlled two-fifths of the industry. The new company was headquartered in Schenectady. Samuel R. Callaway left the presidency of the New York Central Railroad to become president of Alco. When Callaway died on June 1, 1904, Albert J. Pitkin succeeded him as president of Alco. In 1904, the American Locomotive Company acquired control of

9486-779: Was largely overseen by Perry T. Egbert , vice president in charge of diesel locomotive sales and later president of the company. In the early to mid-1930s, ALCo was the pre-eminent builder of diesel–electric switch engines in the United States. It was slower than its competition to develop reliable diesel power for full-size mainline trains, though it did provided motive power for the Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad 's Rebel streamliners in 1935. In 1939, ALCo started producing passenger diesel locomotives to compete with General Motors ' Electro-Motive Corporation . The following year, ALCo teamed up with General Electric ( Alco-GE ) for much-needed support in competing with EMC. In 1941, ALCo introduced

9588-663: Was located at Alco's Rhode Island Locomotive Works in Providence, Rhode Island . Two years later, the Berliet license was abandoned, and the company began to produce its own designs instead. An Alco racing car won the Vanderbilt Cup in both 1909 and 1910 and competed in the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911, driven on all three occasions by Harry Grant . ALCO's automotive venture was unprofitable, and they abandoned automobile manufacture in 1913. The Alco automobile story

9690-538: Was negotiated for $ 175,000, paid for by the Fresno County location incentives. The railroad construction was financed by an initial company bond issue of $ 2.2 million. The Minarets and Western Railway connected with the Sugar Pine Railroad at the Wishon switching yards at Bass Lake. From there, the Minarets and Western flat cars were pulled up a 10.82 mi (17.41 km) standard gauge railroad to Central Camp,

9792-413: Was often limited in order to give access to the valve gear (inside motion). Tanks that ran the full length of the boiler provided greater water capacity and, in this case, cut-outs in the rectangular tank gave access to the valve gear. Longer side tanks were sometimes tapered downwards at the front to improve forward visibility. Side tanks almost all stopped at, or before, the end of the boiler barrel, with

9894-701: Was purchased in 1933 by the Northern Pacific Railway . The Northern Pacific renumbered the Four Aces to No. 2626 and ran it on the North Coast Limited , as well as its pool trains between Seattle, Washington , and Portland, Oregon , and excursions, through 1957. During World War II, Alco produced many 2-10-0 Decapods for the USSR . Many went undelivered, and ten of these were sold to Finland in 1947. One, Alco builder's No. 75214,

9996-768: Was selected by the United States Army for a vital task: rejuvenating the Trans-Iranian Railway and extending it to the Soviet Union. This gave the U.S. ally a new supply line at a time when the German air force and navy had reduced Allied shipments to the Soviet port of Murmansk . The U.S. Army chose as locomotives the RSD-1 , a six-axle, six- traction motor variant of the light ALCo RS-1. Not only

10098-433: Was seriously undercapitalized. Eighty percent of its operating capital was borrowed. This led the company to quickly exhaust its timber tracts to help service its debts. By 1930, much of their timber was used up. Despite their petition to open timber tracts east of Chiquito Ridge, the government wouldn't sell more trees to the company. Excessive operating costs, the after-effects of the 1929 stock market crash, and collapse of

10200-584: Was sold to White Motor Corporation in 1970, which developed White Industrial Power . In 1977 White Industrial Power was sold to the British General Electric Company (GEC) which renamed the unit Alco Power. The business was subsequently sold to the Fairbanks-Morse corporation, which continues to manufacture Alco-designed engines in addition to their own design. The heat exchanger business continued as Alco Products for

10302-670: Was the Novelty that ran at the Rainhill Trials in 1829. It was an example of a well tank . However, the more common form of side tank date from the 1840s; one of the first of these was supplied by George England and Co. of New Cross to the contractors building the Seaford branch line for the London Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1848. In spite of the early belief that such locomotives were inherently unsafe,

10404-440: Was the company prevented from selling these locomotives to mainline U.S. railroads, but the 13 RS-1s that had already been built were commandeered for Iranian duty and converted to RSD-1s. The postwar era saw ALCo's steam products fall out of favor while it struggled to develop mainline diesel locomotives competitive with EMD's E and F series road locomotives, which were well-positioned from GM-EMC's large development efforts of

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