Rahway Valley No. 12

Type: 2-8-0 Consolidation

Builder: Pittsburgh Locomotive & Car Works (ALCo), Allegheny, PA

Built: August 1902

Construction No.: 25640

Previous Owner(s): Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad No. 96, Class C1B.

Acquired From: Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad

Acquired Date: September 1927

Purchase Price:  $3,213.79

Disposition: Retired December 1927 and stored in Kenilworth. Sold for scrap to a Newark, NJ junk dealer who cut it up at Kenilworth from November 1942 to February 1943.

Notes: A long wheelbase prevented it from entering tight RV industrial sidings. Its weight was too great for RV bridges and other infrastructure.

LOCOMOTIVE SPECIFICATIONS:

Total Locomotive & Tender Wheelbase: 55' 2"

Total Locomotive Weight: 174,000 lbs.

Driver Diameter: 54"

Driver Wheelbase: 15' 4"

Driver Tire: 1-1/2"

Truck Diameter: 29"

Locomotive Wheelbase: 23' 9-1/2"

Tractive Effort: 38,397 lbs.

Cylinders (dia. x stroke): 22" x 28"

Boiler Type: Straight Top

Boiler Pressure: 180 psi.

Boiler Diameter: 73-1/2"

Firebox Dimensions: 115" x 60"

Valve Gear: Stephenson

Valve Type: American Balance

Tender Wheel Diameter: 32"

Coal Capacity: 12 tons

Water Capacity: 6,000 gallons

No. of Tender Wheels: 8

Other Remarks: Franklin fire door, air sanders, bell ringer, flange oilers, automatic couplers

The Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad was originally founded in 1897 by Andrew Carnegie, as the Pittsburgh, Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad, to haul iron ore and other products from the port at Conneaut, Ohio, on the Great Lakes to Carnegie Steel Company plants in Pittsburgh and the surrounding region. On the return trip, Pennsylvania coal was hauled north to Conneaut Harbor. The company was created largely out of a series of small predecessor companies including the Pittsburgh, Shenango and Lake Erie Railroad, and the Butler and Pittsburgh Railroad Company. The company was renamed the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad in 1900. Carnegie Steel had an exclusive 99-year lease to the PS&LE. This lease was acquired by US Steel when that company acquired Carnegie Steel in 1901. At the end of 1925, the B&LE operated 228 miles of road on 631 miles of track.

In 1899, the B&LE began the acquisition of its Class C1B 2-8-0 "Consolidation"-type locomotives. These locomotives were acquired in several batches between 1899 and 1903, with the Pittsburgh Locomotive Works as the builder. Locomotive No. 96 was part of the 1902 order. By that time, Pittsburgh Locomotive Works had been acquired by the American Locomotive Company (ALCo) of Schenectady, New York. 

In 1927, the B&LE began disposing of its Class C1B locomotives in favor of larger, more modern motive power. The B&LE made the locomotives available for purchase, several were scrapped. Disposal took until 1936. 

The Rahway Valley Railroad had two locomotives on its roster, Nos. 8 and 11. No. 8 was also a 2-8-0 "Consolidation"-type and the RV had found success with it; however, it was getting worn out. No. 11 was a 2-6-0 "Mogul"-type and saw plenty of use but was too light and its larger drivers made it slippery on the grades. President & General Manager Roger A. Clark sought another locomotive to supplant No. 8.

Throughout 1927, Clark searched the market for a suitable locomotive. In August, Clark was alerted to three 2-8-0 "Consolidation"-types offered for sale by the Lehigh & New England Railroad; however, they were abruptly taken off the market. Clark was made aware of the locomotives that the B&LE had for sale in Greenville, Pennsylvania. Clark's son, George A. Clark, had reservations about the B&LE engines due to their weight of 87-tons.

Nevertheless, Clark sent shopman Harry Reifsnyder to Greenville to inspect No. 96 on September 16, 1927, with Guy H. Gray, the B&LE's Superintendent of Motive Power. Upon a positive report, Clark authorized the purchase of the locomotive for $2,600. 

The locomotive, renumbered as the Rahway Valley's No. 12, left Greenville on September 22, 1927, with Reifsnyder aboard. No. 12 travelled via the Erie and Lehigh Valley railroads, and arrived at Roselle Park a day or two later. 

No. 12's purchase was said to have been a result of Clark's desire to have a "big engine." The RV crews were immensely proud to have charge over the 12 as it was the biggest locomotive the railroad ever rostered. The locomotive gave the RV very good service and performed reliably; however, it was soon discovered that the locomotive could not forge the tight curvatures of the railroad's industrial sidings. Furthermore, the locomotive was too heavy for the railroad's light bridges and track. The locomotive was retired from service in December of that year, after little more than a month in service. No. 12 was offered for sale but never found a buyer.

Bereft of flues, No. 12 sat stored in Kenilworth for years. The locomotive was stored either in the engine house or on the Station Pond siding for several years. In 1937, when No. 15 was purchased, No. 12 was coated with protective black paint and shoved outside on the siding alongside the engine house. There, the locomotive became a jungle gym of sorts for the youths that hung around Kenilworth, especially Sharon Nees and his friends. No information has presented itself that No. 12 was ever used in service again.

Scrap metal became a precious commodity after the United States entered World War II in December 1941. Finally, in November 1942, a Newark scrap firm offered to cut up No. 12. A pair of black laborers arrived at Kenilworth and went to work on the 12 with acetylene torches. The locomotive was pulled out, from time to time, in front of the coal dock, until the whole job was finished. There was a brief thaw in February 1943. The weather was really balmy and the gound became muddy. Where No. 12 was being cut up, the ground was covered with mushy asbestos boiler packing which created a messy soup. From time to time, a big truck came over from Newark and struggled to pull away with loads of scrap. One day, after the truck was loaded, it could not get out of the mud. A relief truck was sent but it too became stuck. It took a long time before both trucks were freed from their muddy prisons. No. 12's scrapping was completed on February 24, 1943.

No. 12's tender was retained for several years, until about 1948 or so. The tender's rear truck was of use, in late Spring 1944, when No. 15's tender needed a new rear truck.