Re: NNG-Spot anything unusual about this old locomotive?

The dome arrangement looks unusual to our eyes but the double steam domes (yes, those vertical pipe things are steam domes) and square sand box were actually really popular in the 1850s, especially with New England builders like Hinckley and Taunton.

John H. White writes in his "History of the American Locomotive" that double steam domes were thought to facilitate "steam gathering" in straight boilers, which had less steam room than wagon tops. This allowed the use of a smaller boiler diameter that would use less material (boiler plate was expensive) and minimize the weight placed on the pilot truck (which was considered important).

So I'm guessing it's an engine from the 1850s, but photographed later in its career, maybe in the 1870s.

-Philip Marshall



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/2014 10:50PM by philip.marshall.