The Delaware & Chesapeake DE-1 Class 2-10-4
Builder: Baldwin Locomotive Works
Number Built: 15
Used: 1934 - 1963
The Delaware & Chesapeake was one of several railroads across the Northeastern United States to bill itself primarily on bridge and other freight traffic. Having been built starting in 1872 to link Baltimore and Philadelphia with both northern New Jersey and the coalfields around Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, the line would ironically become a closs ally of the very railroad it originally sought to subvert - the Pennsylvania Railroad. Much of the NYL&C's life was spent as a cut-off for freight traffic the PRR would bring in to Harrisburg, Lancaster, or Baltimore for transport north to Philadelphia, New York, and the Lackawanna county region. This bond with the PRR contrasted heavily with the Reading/Central Jersey, which worked actively with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to be a thorn in the side to the PRR.
It was to this end that the Delaware Line would spend most of its locomotive budget on eight-coupled and ten-coupled locomotives, with a few Pacifics for what little passenger traffic the line had - which was mostly commuter service in the Philadelphia/Trenton area. While the majority of these steamers were USRA derivatives, they also owned Van Sweringen Berkshires and of course, the "Delaware" 2-10-4s. These large locomotives were built in the 1930s in order to reduce crew costs caused by the need to doublehead coal trains especially on the mainline from Scranton and Wilkes-Barre to the yards and locomotive facilities at Newton, Pennsylvania. However, there was also a need for these locomotives to have a reasonable bit of speed to them.
This combination of factors would lead to the Delaware Line asking Baldwin for help, and the solution was to clone the AT&SF's TEX-1b class of 2-10-4 locomotives to save money on production. The TEX-2 was chosen as a template due to its success on the ATSF with hauling heavy frieght at reasonably fast speeds for a ten-coupled locomotive. The first of these locomotives, #4600, rolled out of Baldwin's factories in 1929, and was set to work on the heavy coal traffic out of Scranton south to Philadelphia in a hurry. The 4600 proved a success, and another fourteen were constructed in 1935 for work on the coal trains. In service, the locomotives performed admirably, and were favorites among crews for their speed and power.
All of the Delaware class locomotives performed admirably in their carreers, with an additional ten being constructed for service on the D&C's main line from New York to Harrisburg via Easton, Belthlemen, and Reading. It was these locomotives that would be among the last D&C locomotives in service when diesels took over starting in the late 1940s, even with the energy crisis delaying the process. Fortunately, one 4603 was preserved as a static display at Newton, Pennsylvania.
Builder: Baldwin Locomotive Works
Number Built: 15
Used: 1934 - 1963
The Delaware & Chesapeake was one of several railroads across the Northeastern United States to bill itself primarily on bridge and other freight traffic. Having been built starting in 1872 to link Baltimore and Philadelphia with both northern New Jersey and the coalfields around Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, the line would ironically become a closs ally of the very railroad it originally sought to subvert - the Pennsylvania Railroad. Much of the NYL&C's life was spent as a cut-off for freight traffic the PRR would bring in to Harrisburg, Lancaster, or Baltimore for transport north to Philadelphia, New York, and the Lackawanna county region. This bond with the PRR contrasted heavily with the Reading/Central Jersey, which worked actively with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to be a thorn in the side to the PRR.
It was to this end that the Delaware Line would spend most of its locomotive budget on eight-coupled and ten-coupled locomotives, with a few Pacifics for what little passenger traffic the line had - which was mostly commuter service in the Philadelphia/Trenton area. While the majority of these steamers were USRA derivatives, they also owned Van Sweringen Berkshires and of course, the "Delaware" 2-10-4s. These large locomotives were built in the 1930s in order to reduce crew costs caused by the need to doublehead coal trains especially on the mainline from Scranton and Wilkes-Barre to the yards and locomotive facilities at Newton, Pennsylvania. However, there was also a need for these locomotives to have a reasonable bit of speed to them.
This combination of factors would lead to the Delaware Line asking Baldwin for help, and the solution was to clone the AT&SF's TEX-1b class of 2-10-4 locomotives to save money on production. The TEX-2 was chosen as a template due to its success on the ATSF with hauling heavy frieght at reasonably fast speeds for a ten-coupled locomotive. The first of these locomotives, #4600, rolled out of Baldwin's factories in 1929, and was set to work on the heavy coal traffic out of Scranton south to Philadelphia in a hurry. The 4600 proved a success, and another fourteen were constructed in 1935 for work on the coal trains. In service, the locomotives performed admirably, and were favorites among crews for their speed and power.
All of the Delaware class locomotives performed admirably in their carreers, with an additional ten being constructed for service on the D&C's main line from New York to Harrisburg via Easton, Belthlemen, and Reading. It was these locomotives that would be among the last D&C locomotives in service when diesels took over starting in the late 1940s, even with the energy crisis delaying the process. Fortunately, one 4603 was preserved as a static display at Newton, Pennsylvania.
