| The engineer rests at a window awaiting a signal no that the 1904 Alco-Brooks built 4-6-0 camelback has a head of steam and ready to roll. According to www.steamlocomotive.com " a lot of the discomfort and peril of coal-heaving in a double-cab came from requiring the fireman to work from the tender, or worse, straddle the footplate-tender junction just a couple of feet above the rails. In this engine the "coal digger" is placed "on deck" which offered the advantage that "...with all the motion of the engine, the fireman and firehole door maintain the same relative position to each other all the time." As a result, the man moved coal over a shorter distance and at a lower height and would have a truer aim at the door. Another amenity was that the fireman was housed in a complete cab that could be fitted with "curtains over the doors that would make [him] decidedly snug, and furthermore, he can't fall out." Specs - L-3 class, 69" drivers, 210 psi boiler pressure, 19x26" cylinders, engine weight of 167,000 lb, tractive effort of 24,281 lb. No date, location or photographer was given for the photo. |