Re: Mystery Locomotive, Help Needed

For the record, there is an A.J.Harlan photo of a two engine freight in Phantom Canon, with #3 on the point and a second 2-8-0 as a rear helper. #3 sports the same capped stack, sand dome in front of bell, and lettering as #2, while the helper appears to be in the later configuration. From this photo, we can deduce that at least engines #1-4 were delivered in the same configuration as they were delivered in December, 1894 (1 & 2) and July,1895 (3 & 4). There simply is not enough early pictures to tell if any more engines were delivered that way.

Swapping the positions of the sand dome and the bell was fairly common. Some early engines in an order were often delivered with the sand dome in front of the bell, and later engines delivered with the bell in front of the dome. Baldwin and Schenectady usually delivered the engines with the bell between the domes but the positions were often switched.

The Colorado Midland is a classic example in that their first 4-6-0s and 2-8-0s were delivered with the domes in the same position as #2 in your photo. Later versions of the 4-6-0's were delivered with the bell in front of the sand dome, and even later, the first series of both 4-6-0s and 2-8-0s were shopped and the sand dome moved back and the bell placed in front of it.

I can think of several reasons for doing it. First, is that sand is heavy, and it centers the weight of the sand over all of the drivers, not just the front ones. Second,it also allows for a sand line behind the drivers to help in back up switching moves on steep grades (like in the Cripple Creek district). That second reason is why many switch engines, and engines that spend a lot of time running in reverse (like logging 2-6-2s and 2-8-2's) have sand domes in front and behind the steam dome so that sand can be supplied in both forward and back motion.

Thus, it appears like the first F&CC engines were delivered this way, the later engines were ordered with the bell and sand dome positions swapped, and finally, the early engines were shopped, switching the sand dome and bell, and the sand lines re-routed accordingly.