Union Pacific Railroad - Steam Locomotive Number 766?

Question

Can any American railfans assist a Brit? I've a book which includes a picture of Dale Creek Bridge on the Union Pacific taken c1870. This is being crossed by a double-headed passenger train. The train engine is numbered 766 which looks to be a 4-4-0. It is odd, however, in that it has a cab where one would be expected, behind the firebox. That firebox appears to be fairly lengthy, but in front of it , and over the boiler, and behind the dome, there appears to be another cab. Can anyone explain the operation of this loco? I have tried a google, but couldn't find anything.

Answer 1

I think what you have there is a 'Camelback' loco - a type of American loco with a cab over the boiler for the driver and another cab at the rear of the boiler for the fireman. So the driver's controls were in the cab over the boiler and the fire door was in the normal place. Below the running plate the same as any other, conventional 4-4-0 locomotive.

Answer 2

You can get more information on locomotives on the following website, good luck.

http://www.railarchive.com/rlsteam/index...

Answer 3

i dont know if this will help but in the info i found the only good picture shows a very large exhaust funnel at the front on top of the boiler about the size of a cab,it is a baldwin built 4-4-0.

try checking out union pacifice in wyoming for info

Answer 4

I've only seen this on TV shows, but it's true that the engineer's controls were in odd places on some locomotives biult in the heyday of American steam power.  Some cabs were places in the middle of the boiler, so that the engineer could see equally well when travelling either in forward or reverse (useful in commuter rail where a train would go back and forth between suburbs several times a day), and some even had the cab at the locomotive's nose, like a modern deisel.  This had two disadvantages - in the event of a wreck it was more likely that the engineer would be hurt if he was closer to the front of the engine, and it moved the engineer away from his fireman or stoker, those two need to communicate so that the engine has enough coal to support the engineer's power needs.

You might want to go to http://www.trains.com and ask this same question on their forums.  They have a lot of knowlegable folks there who are better than your humble narrator.

Answer 5

These engines were called "camel backs."  The fireman remained in his position behind the firebox, while the engineer and head brakeman occupied the cab, which was located in the middle.

They came in many different wheel arrangements and were manufactured by the Baldwin Locomotive Works.  There may have been other builders as well, but I am not familiar with them.

Good question.