| Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad 2-6-0 Class H-3 cylinder detail at Aurora, Illinois on an unknown day in October 1898, photographer unknown, Chuck Zeiler collection. This shows the cylinder and markings on CB&Q H-3 1114. The plate on the steam valve chest says: 20 1/2 32 1/2 H 24 AURORA 10-98. Below that the word RICHMOND is cast into the item between the valve and piston. This is possibly a cross-compound cylinder, purchased from Richmond and installed by the CB&Q on a class H-1 or H-2. Note the flatted sides of the cylinder head covers and the cutout on the front cover. There is mention in the book, "The American Locomotive Company, A Centennial Remembrance", by Richard T. Steinbrenner, stating, "The Tramp's (Richmond's demonstrator 4-6-0) tour ultimately resulted in orders totaling 150 Mellin compounds for Richmond in the period of 1895-1901. The largest individual customers were the Wabash and Canadian Pacific, with 43 and 38 respectively. In addition to the compounds built at Richmond (Virginia), the Works sold cylinder and valve sets to the N&W and Big Four (New York Central System) for their own compound conversions." A side note here, the name Mellin refers to Carl J. Mellin, the General Manager of Richmond Locomotive Works. While at Richmond, Mr. Mellin was in charge of the design of the machinery for the USS Texas because of his background in steamships, gained at the shipyards in Scotland. While on the USS Texas assignment, he adapted his compound marine engine designs for locomotive applications. |