Rahway Valley No. 11
(McCoy Collection, courtesy Donald A. Maxton)
Type: 2-6-0 Mogul
Builder: Burnham, Williams, & Co., Philadelphia, PA (Baldwin Locomotive Works)
Built: March 1904
Construction No.: 23934
Previous Owner(s): Grafton & Upton Railroad No. 5
Acquired From: General Equipment Co., Paterson, NJ
Acquired Date: October 1922
Purchase Price: $12,324.46 less $3,000 received in trade-in for Nos. 9 and 10.
Disposition: Worn out, it was retired in 1933 and stored at Kenilworth. Scrapped in January 1935.
Notes: The RV traded Nos. 9 and 10 to General Equipment for No. 11. Professed a failure by RV crews. Fast passenger type, too light and slippery on the grade to Summit.
LOCOMOTIVE SPECIFICATIONS
Total Locomotive & Tender Weight: 191,000 lbs.
Total Locomotive Weight: 121,000 lbs.
Weight on Drivers: 103,000 lbs.
Driver Diameter: 56-1/2"
Driver Wheelbase: 13' 8"
Driver Tire: 1-1/2"
Locomotive Wheelbase: 21' 3-1/2"
Tractive Effort: 25,417 lbs.
Cylinders (dia. x stroke): 19" x 26"
Boiler Pressure: 180 psi.
Firebox Area: 140 sq. feet
Grate Area: 21 sq. feet
Valve Gear: Stephenson
Tender Weight: 70,000 lbs.
Water Capacity: 3,500 gallons
No. of Tender Wheels: 8
Other Remarks:
History of the Locomotive
Roger A. Clark moved his family east, from Oregon, to manage the little Rahway Valley Railroad in 1920. He found the line ailing, in default, and in possession of just one good locomotive. No. 8 was an ex-P&LE 2-8-0 Consolidation, a good work horse. Nos. 9 and 10 were two ex-PRR 0-6-0's purchased during the wartime rush, but entirely unfit for the needs of the RV. In October 1922, Clark struck a deal with the General Equipment Co. of Paterson, NJ. In exchange for Nos. 9 and 10, both disused by the RV, General Equipment would provide the railroad with its eleventh locomotive. No. 11 had spent 2-1/2 years in Paterson waiting for a buyer. General Equipment had acquired it in February 1920 from the Grafton & Upton Railroad in Massachusetts, where it had served as No. 5. The G&U was an electrified interurban with a busy daytime passenger schedule. It had ordered this 2-6-0 Mogul from Baldwin in March 1904 to work in nighttime transfer service.
No. 11 saw plenty of use on the RV but was overly abused. No. 8, despite its reputation for reliability and preference by the crew, was proving evermore troublesome to keep in service. As such, No. 11 was pressed into service for prolonged periods. Unfortunately, the locomotive was not well suited for the all around work required of it. No. 11 was a fast passenger-type and slippery on the RV's stiff grades due to its light weight and high drivers. Nos. 8 and 11 would double-head the hill to Summit, with the former doing most of the work. The undue stress placed upon No. 11 wore the locomotive out quickly. Before long, the railroad's crew professed the locomotive failure. It began to steam poorly and it was said that "every lump of coal you threw in the firebox went right up the stack." Compounding matters, the locomotive had sustained heavy damage in an engine house fire on the G&U in 1914. Rather than send the locomotive to Baldwin for repair, the G&U contracted the work to a local machinist who completed the job in reportedly record time.
No. 11 outlasted No. 8 and its ill-fated successor, No. 12, in service. It served as understudy to Nos. 13 and 14, for a time, beginning the practice of keeping one locomotive in service, one in repairs, and one as a backup. It was finally retired from service in 1933 and scrapped two years later.