THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE AND ITS ACCOMPANYING PHOTOS ARE FROM THE MARCH, 1959 ISSUE OF THE CHEMUNG COUNTY HISTORICAL JOURNAL, PUBLISHED BY THE CHEMUNG COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Steam Locomotives: Dethroned by Diesels
By Joseph C. Boyd
The first main-line diesel locomotive in the world was a Diesel-Sulzer-Klose unit Manufactured in Germany before the first World War.
In the United States the diesel that pushed the mighty steam locomotive from its pinnacle as the king of the rails was a 300 horsepower unit, Jersey Central R. R. number 1000, which began service in October, 1925; while in Chemung County the first diesel engine was Delaware, Lackawanna & Western R. R. number 454, a General Electric product of 1934, placed in yard service in November, 1939.
The arrival of Jersey Central No. 1000 did not shake the transportation industry, as many rail-roadmen felt that the box-like affair was a freak and unpractical. Viewers on the scene were inclined to believe that the new form of motive power held promise; while a minority group predicted that the diesel locomotive would go far, claiming timidly that the steam locomotive was doomed. This latter group knew that the diesel locomotive delivered more power for each dollar's worth of fuel than any steam-propelled locomotive and would cost less to keep in operation.
That the latter visionaries were correct has been proved by the fact that the American steam locomotive is all but extinct today, whereas the diesel engine has made a phenomenal advance and forced the lordly steam locomotive into the museums and city parks of the country -and all in the short span at a few years.
--- First Steamer in 1849 ---
There is no exact date as to when the first steam locomotive putted its way into Chemung County, but it belonged to the New York & Erie Railway, was wide gauge, and entered the county from the village of Waverly about the third week of August, 1849. The date of entrance into Elmira is elusive, though historians place the time as October 2 of the same year. There is no doubt that the engine was engaged in construction work, and it is almost positive that it was the famous "Orange", No 4, as this nine-year old veteran at the time had been boated into Binghamton via the Chenango Canal and was used in bringing the track into that community from the east. Thereafter she was utilized in the laying of the rails westward, through Chemung County, and on to Hornellsville in 1850.
The "Orange" had four 55" driving wheels, weighed slightly over fifteen tons, carried the first protective cab on the N. Y & E., and used wood as fuel.
--- On to Dunkirk ---
Since that early date, the motive power of the company grew in both weight and size as the trains lengthened and the tonnage increased. When the rails arrived in Dunkirk on Lake Erie's shore in 1851, several engines weighing twice us much as the "Orange" were operating in and through Chemung County. The size of the motive power fleet had also grown rapidly and totaled 103 locomotives. In this same year the N. Y. & E., in its search for more suitable passenger engines, purchased two Atlantic type (4-4-2)* locomotives and assigned them to trains running through Elmira, but they proved unequal to the tasks and were demoted to construction trains and other light jobs. One of these engines may have been named "Monitor" and used locally in suburban passenger service.
*((4-4-2 means 4 leading wheels, 4 drivers, and 2 trailing wheels. Where a "0" appears it denotes the absence of wheels.))
During the Civil War the Erie fleet consisted of mostly Mogul (2-0-0) freight and American (4-4-0) high wheeled passenger engines, the latter weighing 28 to 30 tons. When the company converted from broad to standard gauge in 1883 the business had increased to such an extent that the old Moguls were experiencing great difficulty in hauling the tonnage and so the directors ordered 50-ton Consolidation type (2-8-0) freight engines. These proved satisfactory.
In 1889 the Erie put into passenger service Ten-Wheeler (4 6-0) type haulers und they proved adequate to their tasks but by 1905 the directors found it necessary to order a more powerful passenger engine. This was the Pacific (4 6-2) type which proved itself by doing yeoman service on so many railroads for so many years. By 1926 passenger equipment had so increased in weight that the company felt the need for a larger Pacific type and this improved design pulled the Erie passenger trains until the diesels replaced them in the mid 1940's.
The last at the mighty freight engines of the Erie were placed in service in 1927 and were sleek, stoker-fired Berkshire (2-8-4) type with weights at 222 and 224 tons, standing 16 feet above the rail Until the Erie replaced them with diesels in the late 1940's, these engines were the backbone of the main line freight service.
In 1944 the Erie acquired its first road diesel, but the identity of the first unit assigned to Elmira is unknown.
--- The Northern Central ---
When the Williamsport & Elmira R. R. war completed into Elmira from Pennsylvania on August 1, 1854, the total motive power of this company consisted of six locomotives (second-hand?) standard-gauge, weighing variously between 24 and 26 tons, all wood-burners. They bore massive oil head-lamps and link-and-pin couplings.
In 1863 when the Northern Central Rwy. Co. leased the company: the motive power had increased to 16 engines. Thereafter the power was augmented by engines of the lessee. The overtaxed wood-burners were an assorted lot, weighing between 28 and 31 tons, but heavier engines, though needed, could not be used successfully as the roadbed and light rails were not capable of handling the heavier machines.
In the early 1870's the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. began gaining control of the Northern Central Rwy. and commenced building locomotives in their own shops for the latter road. Same older Pennsylvania R. R engines were re-numbered and assigned to the NCR. A rebuilding of the line enabled 48-ton locomotives to negotiate the route in the 1880s and 1890s, and after the turn of the century the weight at newer engines had increased to 64 tons.
During this period the fleet consisted of mostly the Mogul, the Consolidation and the American type and were coal-burners, wood no longer being used. Automatic couplers were now in use and the air brake was being adopted.
When the NCR lost its identity to the Pennsylvania R. R. in 1913, the original engines of the Williamsport & Elmira R. R. and the NCR had worn out and had been scrapped; and from that time until the present the motive power has been all Pennsylvania R. R.
Following World War 1 the PRR built a Mikado (2-8-2) type freight engine for use on tis system and in 1918 some of these engines were assigned to the Elmira and Canandaigua sections. It was during this period that electric headlights come into use. In the mmd-1920s a larger steam freight engine was put into use on the line south of Elmira. Known as Decapods (2-10-0), they weighed between 289 and 297 tons, had ten low driving wheels and were stoker-fired. Bridge and rail restrictions forbade the use of these engines north of Elmira until 1943, after which they were used on the coal trains to Sodus Point on Lake Ontario. In late 1956 diesels replaced the Decapods on the coal trains north of Elmira, tho they continued to be used south of the city.
--- The Last Roundup ---
On the morning of Sept 13, 1957 PRR No. 4616, 2-10-0, departed from the Southport yard for Altoona, Pa. with three other "dead" steamers in its train and there ended the reign of the steam locomotive in Chemung County.
The last steam switcher in the Southport yard was No. 3437, used on Sept. 12 of the same year and since that time the diesel locomotives hove supplied the traction for all trains in the county.
The first diesel placed in service in the county by the PRR, the 5976, a 1000 horsepower unit, was assigned to the Watkins Glen salt run and was used for shunting service in the Southport yard in 1948.
--- Lackawanna's First ---
On April 2, 1882 the first official train on the new Delaware, Lackawanna & Western R. R. arrived in Elmira from the east behind the engine "Choconut", No. 45, closely followed by the "Niagara", No. 6, with the second official train. The "Choconut" weighed 32 tons, but the company did own some engines of a heavier weight.
At this time the company had a very wide assortment of motive power of various types and dimensions due to the fact that the company had taken control of so many smaller railroads. The engines used coal and were stoked by hand. Many of them carried two cabs and had wide, overhanging fire-boxes.
The first of the "big" engines was received by the company in 1899 snd were of the 4-6-0 type, weighing 100 tons They were called "Brooks Hogs" by the operating personnel. In 1911 a Consolidation type was introduced which tipped the scales at 118 tons and these engines were followed the next year by the heavier Mikado type.
A 3-cylinder Mountain (4-8 2) type weighing 197 tons was the next addition in 1926 to the freight fleet und in 1929 the last addition to the steam fleet appeared. This was a Pocono type with a wheel arrangement of 4-8-4. In 1934 an improved design of this engine was acquired, tipping he scale at 224 tons.
The newer locomotives of the line lived a very short life as the adoption of the diesels forced their disposal Must were scrapped and a few were sold to other railroads.
The passenger engines of the company in 1900 were of the 4-6-0 type, weighing 89 tons. As the tonnage of the cars increased, the company was obliged to secure larger and more powerful engines for this service. These were the Pocono (4-8-4), the Mountain (4-8 2), and the Hudson (4-6 4) types, placed in service variously between 1924 and 1937. The Mountain engines boasted a weight of 191 tons while the Hudsons placed 189 tons on the rails. As with the newer freight engines, the passenger locomotives were replaced by diesel power in the 1940s.
The last steam locomotive on the DL & W to operate in Chemung County was No. 1643, a 4-8-4, which departed from the local yards with a freight train for the east on the afternoon of Dec 19, 1951.
--- Pride of the U. I. & E. ---
When the rail-laying was completed between Erin Center and Horseheads on the Utica, Ithaca & Elmira R.R. on Sept. 28, 1872, the motive power of the company consisted of 10 locomotives of assorted types and ages. One of these engines was the "Horseheads", a 4-4-0 built in 1871 by the Portland Locomotive Works. She was the pride of the line, well groomed with a high polish, and striped with gold. An oil painting of two horses' heads adorned each side of the low tender.
The number of engines increased to 15 by 1884, at which time the U.I & E. became the Elmira, Cortland & Northern Rwy. In 1886 the total grew to 22 engines and by 1888 two additional engines had joined the ranks. The Lehigh Valley R. R. absorbed the E C. & N. into its system in 1905 and the locomotives were added to the LV fold and re-numbered to its scheme. From 1905 until the road was abandoned in 1938 the engines of the LV serviced the route. The last revenue train to run between Horseheads and Van Etten was a freight train pulled by No. 1165 which moved over the line on May 25, 1938. Removal of the track began the next day. Following the removal at the track the only segment remaining in Chemung County (and in use today) was the original Canal Railroad, chartered in 1878, which follows the old tow path of the Chemung Canal between Elmira and Horseheads. One Lehigh Valley train a day operates into the latter village from Elmira via the Erie R. R. from Waverly and is diesel powered.
* * * *
No mention is made herein of the locomotives of the Fall Brook Rwy. (NYC) or the main line of the Lehigh Valley R.R. as both roads merely tip the corner of the county. Nor is the abandoned Elmira & State Line R.R.. mentioned as there is apparently no records of the engines of the line.
* * * *
The question "Why did the diesel locomotive replace the steam locomotive?" arises; and the answer is a simple one - economy for the railroad companies.
Many have wondered why the steam locomotive was not improved upon to enable steam to compete successfully with the diesel, for despite its short-comings, it was low in cost, simple in construction, easy to maintain, and could utilize almost any type of a solid fuel. As the tonnage of the trains increased over the years it was necessary to construct large engines until the ultimate limit of capacity had been reached, i.e., the over-all weight and size was restricted because of operating clearances and load limitations.
Too, the low over-all efficiency was tolerated because coal of all kinds was plentiful and cheap.
The chief value of a locomotive is its ability to produce ton-miles, bat when it is idle for any cause there is a loss of investment. Boiler maintenance and washings, inspections, and repairs require time and money and is the most serious handicap under which the steam locomotive has labored. The necessity of fire cleaning and ash dumping enroute was also a limiting factor, as were the numerous water-stops.
To allow for larger boilers and grate areas the locomotive designers were forced to add non-power producing wheels to carry the increased weight: thus reducing the tractive force of the engines by removing weight from the driving wheels. Too, the larger engines required bigger tenders for additional fuel and water for extended non-stop runs, and these tenders were added dead weight for the locomotives to pull.
Water consumption was a most important actor. This is a cheap commodity, but in the case of the steam locomotive the problem of providing o suitable and dependable pure supply in large, unfailing quantities was an immense item of expense. The overage cost of water for a single steam locomotive was estimated as being 10% of the total fuel cost.
There were occasions when, due to a lack of tonnage, a locomotive rated at a given tonnage could not be given the maximum weight, and was dispatched with fewer cars than it was rated to haul, yet with the some operating expense as for a full tonnage train. With multiple diesel units the lighter tonnage trains can be moved with fewer units by simply leaving the unneeded sections behind at the initial terminal with a saving on fuel, maintenance, and wages. That the diesel is admirably suited to present day operation is shown by this fact - that any number of units can be coupled together as the requirements warrant and all units can be operated by a single engine crew.
Where helping engines were used on trains it was necessary to employ a crew on each locomotive. In many cases, such as on heavy grades, two, and sometimes, three, helping engines were required, and a separate crew was needed on each locomotive, thus increasing the operating costs With diesel power the helping engines, for the most port, are eliminated. Such flexibility is an important asset on the side of the diesel locomotives.
--- Diesels Unlimited ---
In totaling the facts it is obvious that the steam locomotive, regardless et how colorful it was, had distinct drawbacks and limitations which precluded the possibility of its ever being an efficient tonnage mover.
Thee diesel locomotive, on the other hand, is not hampered by the mechanical limitations of counter-balancing, gives a better performance at high speeds, and operates more smoothly and with less impact on the rails and roadbed. Because of the constant horsepower directed to the wheels it has a greater starting factor and a higher rate of acceleration at lower speeds. With diesel locomotives there are no non-powered wheels.
The absence of the steam boiler with its restrictions on productivity makes it possible for the diesel engine to realize the important economy from a greater utilization and availability. It can be used more intensively because it requires less time for servicing at terminals and enroute when needed.
Add to this the considerable savings in fuel costs. A lesser amount of oil is required and this can be corned on the engine itself and not in a separate tender; too, less refuelings are needed. Whereas large amounts of water are needed by the steam locomotive, the diesel requires only a small amount in the cooling system of the motors, thus the expensive way-side water facilities can be eliminated. Terminal space can be halved by the removal of round-houses, turn-tables, coaling wharfs, water tanks and ash pits. Hundreds of cars once consigned to hauling the bulky fuel coforoar the steam locomotives have been released to revenue lading and a few tank cars of oil supply the diesel fleets. In emergences the diesels can be re-fueled at outlying points by any local fuel oil dealer.
--- Railroaders Like 'Em ---
Most employees who once suffered out the winter's cold and the summer's heat on the steam locomotive are boosters of the diesel engines These is no smoke, flying cool dust, choking gas fumes or blinding cinders. Visibility is better. Running times between terminals have been shortened due to the diesel's ability to maintain a faster average speed, and even more important, the time consuming water stops have been abolished.
--- Farewell to Steam ---
But "color and glamor" of the steam engine has passed from the American railroad scene. The sight of a high stepping Pacific engine racing its train across the countryside has vanished, while no more will the massive freight engine fill the sky with columns of smoke as if strains to lift its cargo to the summit of the grade. With the departure at PRR No. 4616 on a misty Autumn dawn from the Southport yards the thrusting side rods stopped and the steam chime whistle sang its farewell to Chemung County forever.
All honor to the reciprocating steam locomotive, one of the grandest and most useful pieces of mechanism that man has ever produced, but which is fading into the past to join the very modes of transportation it replaced.
During the Civil War the Erie fleet consisted of mostly Mogul (2-0-0) freight and American (4-4-0) high wheeled passenger engines, the latter weighing 28 to 30 tons. When the company converted from broad to standard gauge in 1883 the business had increased to such an extent that the old Moguls were experiencing great difficulty in hauling the tonnage and so the directors ordered 50-ton Consolidation type (2-8-0) freight engines. These proved satisfactory.
In 1889 the Erie put into passenger service Ten-Wheeler (4 6-0) type haulers und they proved adequate to their tasks but by 1905 the directors found it necessary to order a more powerful passenger engine. This was the Pacific (4 6-2) type which proved itself by doing yeoman service on so many railroads for so many years. By 1926 passenger equipment had so increased in weight that the company felt the need for a larger Pacific type and this improved design pulled the Erie passenger trains until the diesels replaced them in the mid 1940's.
The last at the mighty freight engines of the Erie were placed in service in 1927 and were sleek, stoker-fired Berkshire (2-8-4) type with weights at 222 and 224 tons, standing 16 feet above the rail Until the Erie replaced them with diesels in the late 1940's, these engines were the backbone of the main line freight service.
In 1944 the Erie acquired its first road diesel, but the identity of the first unit assigned to Elmira is unknown.
--- The Northern Central ---
In 1863 when the Northern Central Rwy. Co. leased the company: the motive power had increased to 16 engines. Thereafter the power was augmented by engines of the lessee. The overtaxed wood-burners were an assorted lot, weighing between 28 and 31 tons, but heavier engines, though needed, could not be used successfully as the roadbed and light rails were not capable of handling the heavier machines.
In the early 1870's the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. began gaining control of the Northern Central Rwy. and commenced building locomotives in their own shops for the latter road. Same older Pennsylvania R. R engines were re-numbered and assigned to the NCR. A rebuilding of the line enabled 48-ton locomotives to negotiate the route in the 1880s and 1890s, and after the turn of the century the weight at newer engines had increased to 64 tons.
During this period the fleet consisted of mostly the Mogul, the Consolidation and the American type and were coal-burners, wood no longer being used. Automatic couplers were now in use and the air brake was being adopted.
When the NCR lost its identity to the Pennsylvania R. R. in 1913, the original engines of the Williamsport & Elmira R. R. and the NCR had worn out and had been scrapped; and from that time until the present the motive power has been all Pennsylvania R. R.
Following World War 1 the PRR built a Mikado (2-8-2) type freight engine for use on tis system and in 1918 some of these engines were assigned to the Elmira and Canandaigua sections. It was during this period that electric headlights come into use. In the mmd-1920s a larger steam freight engine was put into use on the line south of Elmira. Known as Decapods (2-10-0), they weighed between 289 and 297 tons, had ten low driving wheels and were stoker-fired. Bridge and rail restrictions forbade the use of these engines north of Elmira until 1943, after which they were used on the coal trains to Sodus Point on Lake Ontario. In late 1956 diesels replaced the Decapods on the coal trains north of Elmira, tho they continued to be used south of the city.
--- The Last Roundup ---
At this time the company had a very wide assortment of motive power of various types and dimensions due to the fact that the company had taken control of so many smaller railroads. The engines used coal and were stoked by hand. Many of them carried two cabs and had wide, overhanging fire-boxes.
The first of the "big" engines was received by the company in 1899 snd were of the 4-6-0 type, weighing 100 tons They were called "Brooks Hogs" by the operating personnel. In 1911 a Consolidation type was introduced which tipped the scales at 118 tons and these engines were followed the next year by the heavier Mikado type.
A 3-cylinder Mountain (4-8 2) type weighing 197 tons was the next addition in 1926 to the freight fleet und in 1929 the last addition to the steam fleet appeared. This was a Pocono type with a wheel arrangement of 4-8-4. In 1934 an improved design of this engine was acquired, tipping he scale at 224 tons.
The newer locomotives of the line lived a very short life as the adoption of the diesels forced their disposal Must were scrapped and a few were sold to other railroads.
The passenger engines of the company in 1900 were of the 4-6-0 type, weighing 89 tons. As the tonnage of the cars increased, the company was obliged to secure larger and more powerful engines for this service. These were the Pocono (4-8-4), the Mountain (4-8 2), and the Hudson (4-6 4) types, placed in service variously between 1924 and 1937. The Mountain engines boasted a weight of 191 tons while the Hudsons placed 189 tons on the rails. As with the newer freight engines, the passenger locomotives were replaced by diesel power in the 1940s.
The last steam locomotive on the DL & W to operate in Chemung County was No. 1643, a 4-8-4, which departed from the local yards with a freight train for the east on the afternoon of Dec 19, 1951.
--- Pride of the U. I. & E. ---
--- Farewell to Steam ---