SLSF 1632 - 2-10-0, Baldwin Russian Decapod

Does anyone know if these steamers were ever used on the Highline or Clinton sub?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/uptrain/5138285145/

 

Bolsheviks 1625, 1630, & 1632 to name three of the class served on the Clinton Sub.

 

Hijack.

The condition of SLSF 1632 in that picture is down right criminal. No steamer should ever look like that. I wish there was a way to get these locomotives declared historical objects/landmarks and restored to full operating condition.

End hijack.

 

There is a way, Manny.

It's called money. Do you have an extra $50,000 or $100,000 that you would like to contribute?

The railroad business is not cheap. The group that owns this engine is lucky to do as well as it does.

 

Oh, I know. I'm a retired freight conductor. I'm not upset with the organization that holds her. I'm grateful they have her and that she could be saved. I'm frustrated with the lack of vision when the transition to powered boxcars came. I'm not saying all steamers should have been saved, but a considerable amount of them should have been preserved. The historical value is unmeasurable. Believe me, if I had that kind of money, yes, I would put it into the locomotive to save it. I would love to own a steamer myself. Sorry, I should have been clearer in my rant.

 

Derrick,

You are correct about 1632 being a Baldwin product.

However, the entire Bolshevik class had a mixed lineage. The 1613-1623 were built by Richmond, the 1624 and 1626 were built by Brooks, the 1625 was built by Schenectady, and the 1627-1632 were built by Baldwin.

The 1615 played the part of a Guinea Pig; the Frisco increased her boiler pressure from 180 psi to 190 psi which increased TE from 51,500 to 54,350 pounds. The already slippery locomotive's Factor of Adhesion dropped from 3.59 to 3.40. Dissatisfied with the results, the Frisco returned the 1615 to her original boiler pressure of 180 psi.

The locomotives were hardly speed merchants, but none the less the Frisco Employee Magazine has several references to these locomotives pulling passenger trains on the Mud Line and there are several photographs extant that depict the 1630 and 1632 pulling trains Nos 20 & 21, which was the Highline passenger local.

 

Does this mean there is a re-skin project somewhere on the drives?

George

 

While we are on this subject, I have a linen and ink builder's plate drawing.

Baldwin, everything in Russian Cyrillic of course, stashed away in my many boxes of "stuff". I found it in a junk store of all places, nowhere near Philadelphia. Go figure, but right away I knew what it was. The year mark is 1917

Now, was it a drawing for one of our decapods or some other export? Have no clue.

 

It is interesting Rancho Bob found the linen builders plate with Cyrillic printing.

Is it small enough to scan and post for viewing to determine whether it would pass for a Frisco 2-10-0? As pointed out earlier, it would at least show the locomotive arrangement at export prior to USRA acquisition.

The Cyrillic is easy to transliterate and pronounce. Translation would be fairly simple, too.

George

 

Thanks for the detailed info Karl. You might have already answered this so forgive my ignorance on the subject. Did the Frisco ever use the "non-russian" type pictured here on the Highline or the entire system?

You read my mind...

 

I just made a trip to the Museum of Transport to brush up on details on 1621, a Baldwin product. While "1613-1623 were built by Richmond," Frisco Power reports the original 1621 was lost in an explosion so it was replaced by a locomotive from an Arkansas short line that had originally been used on the Southern. Frisco Power is uncharacteristically silent on the manufacture of second 1621.

The first attached photo shows the front of the locomotive with the three plates on the smoke box behind the coonskin. The second one zooms in to show the typical round Baldwin plate as well as the Russian one to its right.

Transliteration is "Parovozostroitelniy Zavod Boldvina Aprel 1918" "Filadelfiya S Sha S A" which I guess translates to "Steam Locomotive Factory Baldwins" "Philadelphia USA April 1918.

 

Thanks for the photos. I'm still a little confused though.

Were there strictly two categories, "Russian" and "non Russian", or were some locos partially made in Russia and the US?

 

They were made in the U.S. for Czarist Russia, but the orders were cancelled because of the Russian Revolution. Russia had a five-foot track gauge and the engines had to have special tires on their drive wheels for the U.S.A. track gauge. That's why the engines' wheels were odd looking.

Tom

 

A couple of things.

When I say "stashed away", I mean STASHED AWAY. As in climate controlled storage in another state. The drawing is 1:1, so you all can imagine the size based on a normal Baldwin's builders plate from that era.

If you understand the Cyrillic (or Greek since it is similar) alphabet, it's easy to make out the words. Especially since you already pretty much know what it's supposed to say.

Secondly, the "regauging" created an interesting problem, especially many years later when the IRM bartered their engine away from Eagle Picher. On it's way to Union, IL the engine was riding, dead in train, through the puzzle switches on the KCT. At the last moment, the Illinois Railway Museum (IRM) tag-along had the presence of mind to ask,

"Does the KCT use self-guarding frogs?"

Too late, BAM, the engine jumped into the air and banged back down on the track.

Indeed they did.

Rancho

 

As usual, I was looking for something else and ran across this.

 

I guess this could have posted under the Decapod thread, but since it has Highline information I'll post the link here.

It is a link to the Illinois Railway Museum publication Rail & Wire, Issue 162, November 1996.

It has a good article and photos of 1630

http://www.irm.org/railwire/rw162.html