Western & Atlantic “General”
United States 1855 5 produced
“General” was one of five identical mixed traffic locomotives that had been in service with the Western & Atlantic since 1855. It gained notoriety during the American Civil War in the “Great Locomotive Chase”. The locomotive was stolen by Northern troops and brought north with the intention of causing damage to the railway line. It was chased by “Texas” and eventually stalled for lack of fuel. After the war, the locomotive remained in service with the Louisville & Nashville until 1891. There were subsequent disputes about the locomotive's ownership and it is now being displayed in the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia.
Technical data
General
- Built
- 1855
- Manufacturers
- Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor
- Wheel arrangement
- 4-4-0 (American)
- Gauge
- 1,524 mm
Dimensions and weights
- Wheelbase
- 6.25 m
- Service mass
- 22.7 t
- Adhesion mass
- 14.5 t
- Rigid wheelbase
- 2.13 m
- Axle load
- 7.3 t
- Water capacity
- 7,571 l
- Fuel capacity
- 2.3 t (wood)
Boiler
- Grate area
- 1.161 m²
- Firebox surface
- 6.596 m²
- Tube heating surface
- 69.492 m²
- Evaporative heating surface
- 76.088 m²
- Total heating surface
- 76.1 m²
Power plant
- Driver diameter
- 1,524 mm
- Boiler pressure
- 8.3 bar
- Expansion type
- simple expansion
- Cylinders
- two, 381 x 559 mm
Power
- Power source
- steam
- Estimated power
- 93 kW (126 PS)
- Starting effort
- 37.4 kN
Calculated values
- Factor of adhesion
- 1 : 3.80
- Optimal speed
- 14 km/h
- Power-to-weight ratio
- 4.1 kW/t
- Heating Surface Equivalent
- 109.1 m²
- Cylinder volume/HSE
- 1 : 1,168.23
- Adhesive weight/Total
- 1 : 1.56
- Tractive force/Heating surface
- 1 : 10.27
- Grate area/Heating surface
- 1 : 65.54
- Firebox/Tube surface
- 1 : 10.54
