The following is based on a true story:
Eighty years ago this month, the skilled craftsmen at the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone, Pennsylvania were putting the finishing touches on construction number 45069. She was a narrow gauge locomotive, type 10-26D #332. Class 10-26D indicated she was a 4-6-0 with 16x22 inch cylinders, and the 332d of this type built (not necessarily similar in any other respect, just the 332d narrow gauge ten wheeler built with 16x22 inch cylinders). She was being readied for shipment to the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad for delivery to Johnson City, Tennessee. She wore road number 12 and cost $13,500.00. The ET&WNC added an "other" cost of $26.14 to the bill so the total read $13,526.14 in the company ledgers. She was not the subject of a builder's photo, construction number 42766 (number 10) got that privilege, being the "class" engine.
(For those who may be unwashed, a "class" engine refers to the first locomotive number of a particular series, in this case number 10 was the first of the big ten wheelers [number 9 was smaller so was of a different class]. Builder's photos were customarily taken of class engines, unless a particular locomotive had a specific feature that the customer requested a photo of.)
Here are some specs.
Johnny Graybeal gave me these off number 12's Baldwin Erector's card:
Spec number: C-4169 Type: 10-26D332 Cylinders: 16x22 Boiler diameter: 54", extended wagon top boiler Firebox dimensions: 95 15/16" long x 23 3/8" wide Flues: 188 flue tubes, 2" diameter, 12' 1 3/4" long Heating surface: 116 square feet Grate area: 15.5 square feet Ratio to heat surface: 1/84 Wheelbase: driving 10' total engine 19' 6" engine and tender 46' Weight on drivers: 80,050 lbs Wt on front truck: 18,750 lbs Engine weight: 98,800 lbs Tender weight: 60,000 lbs loaded Coal capacity: 4 tons Water capacity: 3,000 gallons Tractive effort: 19,100 lbs Ratio of Adhesion: 4.2
How did she travel? The shortest route would be as follows:
Pennsylvania to Potomac Yard, VA (just outside of DC),
Southern from Pot. Yard to Lynchburg, VA,
Norfolk and Western, Lynchburg to Bristol, VA
Southern, Bristol to Johnson City, TN
Now taking into account that the locomotive and tender would have to
travel by flatcar, and also taking into account the height restrictions
of the B&P tunnels in Baltimore, she may have traveled as follows:
Pennsylvania - from Philadelphia to Hagerstown, Maryland via Harrisburg (Enola Yard),
Norfolk and Western - from Hagerstown, MD to Bristol, VA down the Shennandoah Valley,
Southern - Bristol to Johnson City.
Either way she would soon be working hard in the Blue Ridge Mountains at the beginning of a long and distinguished career. Happy Birthday to our favorite Octogenarian, ET&WNC "Tweetsie" number 12!