Sunday, November 22, 2020

Baldwin fast passenger locomotive


 With the Central Vermont trackage nearly complete in 1848, the principals of the company envisioned moving passengers at high speeds, and approached Baldwin Locomotive for a fast passenger engine. The company at that time was building mostly slow 6 and 8 drivered freight engines but they came up with locomotive above. A 4 wheel lead truck provided good tracking, the single pair of 6 1/2 foot drivers allowed high speeds with less rpms. There was an additional set of wheels mounted just ahead of the drivers, these were there to help support the weight of the engine, but could be raised by means of a lever to allow more weight on the drivers for better adhesion on startup.  The cylinders were mounted horizontally in the center of the engine, to reduce the anticipated effect of the fast moving reciprocating pistons and rods. The "Governor Paine", named after the president of the Central Vermont, worked for several years on the line regularly achieving 60mph, but always suffering from a lack of grip. It was rebuilt into a standard 4-4-0 configuration.


CN images

A different rendition.

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