The inventor Seth Boyden, who had already made a name for himself in the field of leather and metalworking, also got into locomotive construction in 1837. The first of the two locomotives he built was the Orange, destined for the Morris & Essex Railroad. It was the first locomotive ever to be built in the state of New Jersey.

It had a 4-2-0 wheel arrangement with a leading bogie and a firebox in front of the driving axle. Boyden designed the very simple controls with a special reversing device. For the first time in history, the cylinders were mounted directly on the outside of the frame below the smoke box, which later became standard on almost all American steam locomotives. They had an exceptionally long stroke, almost three times the diameter.

The engine was first tested on August 1, 1837 and went into commercial operation on September 23. Without counterweights, the running smoothness probably left a lot to be desired due to the large masses going back and forth. Nevertheless, the engine was considered a success and was in use for a number of years.

For local trains, the Lackawanna needed a passenger locomotive that would combine the ability to burn culm, what denotes waste from anthracite mining, with the simplest possible maintenance and high tractive effort. It received a Wootten firebox, the grate of which was extraordinarily large in relation to the heating surface and, at 87,7 square feet, was probably one of the largest ever on a 4-4-0. This required a two-part Camelback cab. In order to achieve the required traction, the cylinders were dimensioned sufficiently and at the same time a moderately large driving wheel diameter was selected. The construction of the locomotive itself was kept as simple as possible.

Initially they were classified in the class 19C, but soon received new class designations with “G” for the 4-4-0 wheel arrangement. The first three series consisted of a total of 27 locomotives and were delivered by ALCO-Schenectady between 1901 and 1903. Although they were almost identical in construction, they received the class designations G-2, G-3 and G-4. All other production lots differed in details and became the G-5 to G-9. Of these, 15 were initially delivered by Baldwin in 1904 before ALCO-Schenectady delivered 12 more in 1905 and finally the last 11 in 1910 and 1911.

Two examples of the class G-6 were equipped with superheaters of Cole type ex works and formed the class G-7. Since the lubrication was not easy to implement with this, this type of superheater was soon removed again. Between 1916 and 1921 many of the locomotives were again fitted with a superheater, but this time a Schmidt type. There were again slight differences in these conversions, which was reflected in the addition of an “a” or “b” after the class names. A single locomotive was given cylinders with a diameter of 21 instead of 20 inches, which earned it the different designation G-10b.

G-6a No. 952 in April 1939 in Kingsland, New Jersey

James Bowie / collection Taylor Rush

Even the saturated version developed a high power compared to other locomotives with the 4-4-0 wheel arrangement and could haul trains with six cars at an average of 40 mph on the existing mountain routes. Nevertheless, they later had to be put into service for suburban trains, since their tractive power soon no longer met the increased requirements. Ten locomotives were converted to conventional driver's cabs in the 1920s and thus survived somewhat longer than their non-converted sisters. Most were retired just before World War II.

The Lackawanna was one of the first US railroads to adopt the 4-8-4 wheel arrangement. In contrast to the Northern Pacific, these were not called “Northern” here, but “Poconos”. They were seen here as the successor to the 4-8-2 with a larger firebox. Thanks to thermic siphons and arch tubes, they came up with a firebox heating surface of 493 square feet. With a driver diameter of 77 inches, they were clearly intended for express trains, while a diameter of only 73 inches was chosen at the Northern Pacific. The later Poconos of the Lackawanna also had smaller wheels.