Strangest Steam Locomotive

Everyone talks about the strongest, fastest most beautiful and even the ugliest steam engine. Have you ever talked about the strangest steam engine. The criteria is:
-It must be a US engine otherwise it would be too easy
-It can be a whole engine or a feature on it
-It can be a wheel arrangement or how it looks
-The engine or feature can't have been mass-produced(No Camelbacks)

I can think of two good ones offhand. The first is Mt Washington Cog Railways #6 (#1 is good too). http://www.thecog.com/images/gallery/fu ... _steam.jpg If a wierd Canadian log hauler could be included then the "Walking Dudley" of McNair Fraser Logging (outside Vancouver) would be my first choice. http://www.westvanlib.org/Historical/Fr ... stumps.htm http://www.westvanlib.org/Historical/Fr ... dudley.htm There were probably other "Walking Dudleys" besides this one. Theres no end of the strangeness in the steam era.

2Spot came up with some good ones!!

Others to consider are the "four-off" triplexes of the Erie and Virginian. Both dismal failures.

http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/L ... riplex.htm

How's about the Loree compounds of the D&H, or the hinged-boiler 2-6-6-2s of the Santa Foo, or the "streamlined" 4-8-0 switchers of the N&W . . .

ek2179

I've never seen a streamlined 4-8-0 switcher. What does it look like?
One of my choices for strangest would have to be Vulcan's Duplex. A boiler, cab and water and fuel tanks mounted on two 0-4-0 engines facing each other. Or Santa Fe's 2-10-10-2's. I read those weren't too successful.An odd switcher might be those 0-10-2's simply because of the wheel arrangement.

While I am not sure of the manufacturer or the quantity built, my vote would be for the 4-2-4T engine used by the South Manchester Railroad (Connecticut).

http://p068.ezboard.com/fthenhrhtanewha ... 3770.topic about 1/3 way down the page.

Rich C.

Check out the 6-2-0 built in 1847 for the Camden & Amboy. There is a photo on the Douglas Self site:

http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/L ... himney.htm

Scroll to almost the bottom of the page.

If you go to: www.gearedsteam.com/ check out the geared engines of Baldwin (5 built), Bell (6 wheel articulated), and the Dunkirk/Gilbert class "B"-it has a wood frame-(Dunkirk built the original Heisler designs). Neat but odd.

Q2's...

The C&O and the N&W steam turbines receive my vote. Possibly their electric traction motors disqualify them, however? Should this be the case, then my vote goes to the Pennsy's S-1 steam turbine.

The Bradford Monorail (steam powered) and Holman Locomotive (see the pictures-I cant explain- but there were two!) The second Holman was built by Baldwin! http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/L ... adford.htm http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/L ... holman.htm I'll keep searching 'cuz these are getting wierder.

The Boynton Bicycle RR of Long Island had , I believe, two steam locomotives prior to being electrified. One steamer had a 12' drive wheel and the other a 8'. This operation ran on one rail with an overhead rail to keep the engine and cars upright. This was circa 1890 thru the very early 1900s.

TB Diamond wrote:The Boynton Bicycle RR of Long Island had , I believe, two steam locomotives prior to being electrified. One steamer had a 12' drive wheel and the other a 8'. This operation ran on one rail with an overhead rail to keep the engine and cars upright. This was circa 1890 thru the very early 1900s.

Hellow, I'm a newcommer from Japan.
TB Diamond, "The Boynton Bicycle ", is it?.
http://www.mainememory.net/bin/Detail?ln=11895
http://www.mainememory.net/bin/Detail?ln=11896
http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/odboyn.Html

kotaroooo: That is it. The info I had came from the old "Engineering Gazette". There was a photo of the electric car (wrecked) in a small book of New York state electric railroads by Felix E. Reifschneider published circa 1950.

TB Diamond wrote:kotaroooo: There was a photo of the electric car (wrecked) in a small book of New York state electric railroads by Felix E. Reifschneider published circa 1950.

I think, perhaps electric car you say is this image.
http://www.lehman.edu/publicart/neighborhood.htm
http://www.lehman.edu/publicart/images/pelham_bay.jpg

http://www.chaski-test.com/pictures/48509-mono.jpg