Other Geared Steam Locomotives - Page OPQR

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More Other Geared Image Pages  >>  ABC | DE | FGHIJKLMN | OPQR | STUV | WXYZNew Additions
   (In alphabetic order by builder name if known, by owner name if builder unknown)

Oak_Grove_&_Georgetown_RR_#5-lrrala-197-t200.jpg (4246 bytes)
Oak_Grove_&_Georgetown_RR_#5_wheels-lrrala-197-t200.jpg (4912 bytes)

Oak Grove & Georgetown Railroad #5 (owner & modifier) - A "radial planetary" gear drive system was installed by the company's shops on this narrow gauge (3ft) rod locomotive in the early 1920's. The company, a logging railroad, was located in Georgetown, Alabama. Although it is unknown how the system worked, it was thought to have functioned as intended. 

Source: Logging Railroads of Alabama. - Photo: Ed Bond collection.

Oxford Foundry & Machine Co. Ltd. (builder) - Oxford, Nova Scotia, Canada

Vertical boiler - 8 ton - 8 fixed position drivers with center 2 "blind" - 2 vertical cylinders. 

Image and data courtesy of John Taubeneck

Builder: Unknown
Owner : Pacific Face Brick Company ~ Newberg, Oregon

The sprocket and chain driven locomotive is believed to have been converted from a steam tractor. 
The photo is from the City of Salem, Oregon, Historic Photograph Collections ~ ID = 4622

Builder: Unknown
Owner : Pardee Lumber Co.  ~ Pardee Station, Pennsylvania

The spur gear driven locomotive is believed to have been converted from a steam tractor. 
The photo is from the
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania ~ Benjamin F. G. Kline, Jr. Collection ~ Negative #K2585

Builder: H. K. Porter Company, Inc. ~ Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Owner : Youngstown Iron & Steel Co. #3 (YIS) ~ Youngstown, Ohio.  
C/N ???? ~ built ???? ~ ??" gauge ~ ???? cylinders ~ ? tons

The locomotive is estimated to have weighed 3-5 tons.  YIS had at least one other Porter non-geared locomotive.   It's gauge was 56½".  
The photo is from the Rick Rowlands Collection
 
Data from Lawrence HargisPorter Steam Locomotive Roster
Builder: H. K. Porter Company, Inc. ~ Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Owner : Venezuela Sugar Co. #11 ~ Maracaibo, Venezuela.  
C/N 5697 ~ built 08/1915 ~ 36" gauge ~ 4½" x 6½" cylinders ~ 5 tons

Data from Lawrence HargisPorter Steam Locomotive Roster
Builder: H. K. Porter Company, Inc. ~ Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Owner : A. Guthrie & Co. #1 ~ Saint Paul, Minnesota.  
C/N 5676 ~ built 08/1915 ~ 56½" gauge ~ 4" x 5" cylinders ~ 3 tons

The company, a
general contractor, owned an additional Porter geared locomotive with the C/N 5735.    Data from Lawrence HargisPorter Steam Locomotive Roster
Builder: H. K. Porter Company, Inc. - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Owner : Unknown 
This locomotive  was promoted as a "Contractors Oil Locomotive".

Image from "Engineering and Contracting - Volume 43 - January-June 1915" 



Porter, H. K. Company, Inc. (builder) - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Geared Roster

Carpenter Steel Company (owner) #20 - Reading, Pennsylvania  
C/N
6020 - built 06/1917 - 24" gauge - 4½" x 6½" cylinders -   tons - 0-4-0T wheel arrangement 

Lower image is close-up of the gearbox.  Note the resemblance to the Bell engine and gearbox.

Image and data from "Porter Steam Locomotives Light and Heavy".



Porter, H. K. Company, Inc. (builder) - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Geared Roster

U. S. Navy (owner) - Brooklyn, New York  
C/N 7208 - built 07/1934 - Std gauge - 16" x 16" cylinders - 50 tons - 0-4-0 wheel arrangement - "fireless" locomotive
Data from Lawrence HargisPorter Steam Locomotive Roster

The images were published in the article: "The Navy's Fireless Steam Locomotive" appearing in the January-February, 1935 edition of The Military Engineer

Porter, H. K. Company, Inc. (builder) - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Geared Roster

Virginia Electric & Power Co. (owner) - Richmond, Virginia  
C/N 7228 - built 08/1936 - Std gauge - 15" x 14" cylinders - 44 tons - 0-4-0 wheel arrangement - "fireless" locomotive
Data from Lawrence HargisPorter Steam Locomotive Roster

Image from "Porter Steam Locomotives - Catalog 1943" courtesy of George Elwood 

Porter, H. K. Company, Inc. (builder) - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Geared Roster

Mead Corporation #3 (owner) - Lumberton, North Carolina
C/N 7239 - built 02/1937 - Std gauge - 18 ½" x 16" cylinders - 70 tons - 0-4-0 wheel Arrangement - "fireless" locomotive.   

Data from Lawrence HargisPorter Steam Locomotive Roster.. 

Survives
as Carolina Power & Light #3 at the North Carolina Transportation Museum

Image from "Porter Steam Locomotives - Catalog 1943" courtesy of George Elwood 



Porter, H. K. Company, Inc. (builder) - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Geared Roster

U. S. Navy (owner) - Brooklyn, New York  
c/n 7208 - built 07/1934 - Std gauge - 16" x 16" cylinders - 50 tons - 0-4-0 wheel arrangement - "fireless" locomotive
Data from Lawrence HargisPorter Steam Locomotive Roster

The images were published in the article: "The Navy's Fireless Steam Locomotive" appearing in the January-February, 1935 edition of The Military Engineer

Robb Engineering Company (builder & designer) - Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada

Owner : Weymouth & New France Railway - New France, Nova Scotia, Canada

The boiler was tilted upward to help with water circulation and fire draught. 

Two cylinders were mounted next  to the boiler and at a similar upward tilted angle.  They drove disk cranks which were attached to a shaft mounted below and perpendicular to the boiler.   "This was spur geared, at a 4 to 1 ratio, with an intermediate shaft carrying chain-sprocket wheels, which drove the four carrying wheels by steel chains."  

The four wheels were mounted on "sensitive springs".   They were concave or double flanged with treads for gripping the logs used for rail ("poles").   It could haul as many as 10 loaded cars.   Note the size of the steam dome.

boiler diameter: 3 feet 4 inches boiler length: 10 feet  6 inches
boiler pressure: 125 psi cylinders: 9 inch diameter & 10 inch stroke
wheels: 3 feet in diameter weight: 11 tons
spur gear ratio: 4 to 1  

Emile Stehelin (owner) - a French migrant lumberman who operated a 15 mile long "pole" railroad to haul logs out of his timberland.   

Photo & data source: "Unusual Locomotives" by Ernest F. Carter / Frederick Muller Ltd, London 1960 p. 181
Provided courtesy of Christian Halpaap of Hohenhameln-Bruendeln, Germany

The locomotive in the image is the same as in the picture in the entry just below.   The image being without the fuel tender.

Builder: Robb Engineering Company (builder & designer) - Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada - delivered September 3, 1897 **

Owner : Weymouth & New France Railway - New France, Nova Scotia, Canada

The locomotive, named "Maria Theresa", and the railway were owned by Emile Stehelin.    In the picture are the president of Robb Engineering, D. W. Robb (seated at the throttle), Emile Stehelin (standing just behind Robb), and Emile's son, Emile Jean, standing in rear. **

The locomotive in the photo is the same as in the image in the entry just above.   The image being without the fuel tender.
The photo is hosted by Flickr.com user Colin Churcher

madera_sugarpine_co-dwg-thunder-t200.jpg (6254 bytes)

madera_sugarpine_co-thunder-t200.jpg (9399 bytes)

Rose & Company (builder - unconfirmed) - San Francisco, California - prior to 1899


Madera Sugar Pine Co.
  #1 (owner)  - 36" gauge - 7 tons  -   Madera, California - locomotive  named  "Betsy".   Purchased from Madera Flume and Trading Company in 1899.  Scrapped in 1937.

Source: "Thunder in the Mountains".  Drawing:  Donald C. DeVere

 



Builder: Ryther & Pringle ~ Carthage, New York
Owner :
Post & Henderson Company (PHC) ~ Jayville, New York

The locomotive was essentially a two steam piston, chain and sprocket geared "pole road" unit with concave, double flanged drivers approximately one foot between the flanges.  At this time, the first article below provides the only known physical details about the locomotive.  It discusses only the creation of a contract for the building of such a locomotive.  Article #2 notes the locomotive was built and used by PHC. 

#1 -
The following is a transcription of an article that appeared on the front page of the July 23, 1891 edition of "The Odensburg Advance and St. Lawrence Democrat" published in Odensburg, New York":

"Ryther & Pringle, iron founders and machinists, of Carthage, have taken the contract for making a unique specimen of mechanism and the perfection of the thing when completed will be watched with interest by mechanics. At present Post & Henderson, who conduct a large sawmill at Jayville, are compelled to draw their logs a long distance over rough roads in the woods with horses. This method, therefore, is necessarily slow and extremely expensive. To lessen this as much as possible Ryther & Pringle have taken the contract to make them a railroad train that they can run through the woods. They will first make two ordinary railroad trucks the wheels of which will be about one foot wide and will be inverted in the center, making a flange on both sides; the gear will be placed on each of these axles. A double engine will be placed on top of these and a sprocket chain will connect the engine with the drivers by the axle gear, thus affording power of locomotion. The wheels for the cars will be made just the same and when the train is completed for operation small logs will be laid on the ground at a certain distance apart and on these the train will run. This ensures a good road bed, therefore at any place, and can readily be taken up, loaded on the cars and transported to another place for use, thus making a portable railroad. Ryther & Pringle calculate that this train when completed will draw a heavy load of logs at least five miles per hour. The plan is a very novel one and when it is completed, will be a great saving to Post & Henderson."

We thank John Taubeneck of Seattle, Washington for notifying us of the existence of the article and it's transcription.

#2 - This text gives credence to the locomotive's creation and use by PHC.   It appeared on page 50 of the book "Around Cranberry Lake".

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More Other Geared Image Pages  >>  ABC | DE | FGHIJKLMN | OPQR | STUV | WXYZNew Additions
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This page changed July 21, 2024 02:22:44 PM