 RAILROAD
ARTWORK... |
| Early Steam I tried to capture the menagerie of builders, designs, and colors that made up the roster of the early railroads. Standardization did not really take hold until the U.S. Military Railroads of the Civil War. The effectiveness of standard designs and engineering, born in battle, worked miracles on a somewhat less armed conflict, the Transcontinental Railroad. Standardization became a way of life in general railroading from 1870 on. Some of the builders listed on these virtual "lithographs" never existed. Others are corruptions of actual companies or persons who worked to bring the locomotive out of "infancy". Individuals like Ross Winans, George and Robert Stephenson, Isaac Dripps, and a host of other gifted, classical "mechanics", helped establish America as we know it today. Their creations reflect their personalities. Though many of us have forgotten their role, and even the machines they created, they were the Gates, Wosniaks, and Jobs of their time. These modern geniuses of the "computer revolution" are changing the world with silicone and electrons.. Their predecessors brought about our world with steel and steam. I have tried to convey the progress of locomotive development in those early years, very much akin to computer technology in the 20th Century. Evidence of design evolution can be seen in small differences. The odd dome placement and canted cylinders of "Seneca" gave way to the more conventional arrangements found on "Tamaqua".
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| Tamaqua: built 1856 (An original image created with Microsoft Visio and exported as a GIF file) |
 "Tamaqua" itself shows some of the
evolutionary dead ends. The rounded corner cab (and similar cabs like Mulholland's
"Hiawatha") did not survive into standardization.
Likewise the full fenders, abundant brass, and filigree paint. In time even the
rather straight boiler lines would vanish as fireboxes and the boilers
themselves grew ever larger. Strangely enough, the horizontal steel bars of the
pilot would become an icon. The Pennsylvania would use them as standard
equipment till steam locomotives disappeared all together. |
| Reliance: built 1857 (An original image created with Microsoft Visio and exported as a GIF file) |
 "Reliance"
with her "russia iron" boiler jacket and "Panther" in regal purple are
attempts to capture the clean lines pioneered by William Mason. These
locomotives represent the functional beauty that was to become the
standard look of the following generations of steam engines. Both are
patterned after designs of William Mason. There is also a revised
version of "Reliance"
available as an animated GIF file |
| Panther: built 1859 (An original image created with Microsoft Visio and exported as a GIF file) |
 I
went with purple on "Panther" trying to emulate the more outrageous
color schemes of the period. Before black became the dominant color for
standardized steam, they were often painted in a variety of colors. A
more dramatic example of this practice is
"Tiger" built
by Baldwin in 1857 for the Pennsylvania Railroad. I created a model of "Panther"
for Microsoft Train Simulator, based on the "General" by Jon Davis. Both
are available at Train-Sim.com |
| Lehigh: built 1854 (An original image created with Microsoft Visio and exported as a GIF file) |
 An oddball, but very successful design is shown
in "Lehigh". Modeled after "'Susquehanna" which Ross Winans
built for the Pennsylvania in the 1850's, it's appearance is more polished than
the typical Winans product. Hundreds of these "Camel" types were
built. They were all variations on a cheap, simple design that was roughly finished, and
probably over
priced. I created several models for Microsoft Train Simulator based on this
design, including "Suquehanna" |
| Leviathan: built 1859 (An original image created with Microsoft Visio and exported as a GIF file) |
 "Leviathan" is meant to represent an
experimental coal burning 4-10-0 built in 1859. The "Leviathan" is a
modified Winans design, somewhat similar to the Hayes ten wheelers of the
Baltimore & Ohio. Winans himself produced an
experimental 4-10-0 as early as 1856. A similar locomotive was the Philadelphia
& Readings "Pennsylvania". An 0-12-0, this engine was developed by Mulholland
and built in 1863. Engines of this size were used as helpers on the steep
Appalachian grades. |
| Seneca: built 1847 (An original image created with Microsoft Visio and exported as a GIF file) |
"Seneca" is another example of an evolutionary dead end with her odd
domes, slanted cylinders, and closely space leading wheels. Locomotives
of similar designs continued in service for many years, surviving well
after the Civil War. |
| Bee: built 1834 (An original image created with Microsoft Visio and exported as a GIF file) |
A different concept is shown with "Bee".
Rather than showing the trend forward, it's a look back. This little switcher was conceived as a locomotive similar to the Camden &
Amboy's "John Bull" now on display in the Smithsonian. I used photos
of the "John Bull" taken around 1866 as a guide to drawing an engine
built in 1834 and updated at a later time. The inside connected main rods, the
external frame and side cranks, and Burry style firebox are all vestiges of that earlier
time. |
| Diesel Diesel? Yes, they are diesel drawings. First generation cab units like EMD's E series and F series are among my favorites. Alco PA's and FA's are a close second with the oddball Alco's, Baldwin's, and Fairbanks Morse fighting for third. For a time color came back in blazing glory in the paint schemes on these car body locomotives. The uncolored diesel drawings were obtained from The Railroad Paint Shop I hope to start making my own, using Visio. Right know however, I'm still having fun with the old steamers. The colors and road names were added with Paint Shop Pro. While the Lehigh & Atlantic is a "period pike" by definition, but it was fun to "look into the future" at how the locomotives might appear a century later. To that end there is also a "rendering" of a Northern E-Unit, the Northern being a descendent of the L&A much as Conrail evolved from the railroads of the North Eastern United States
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| ALCO DL-109: built 1941 (This image was obtained from The Railroad Paint Shop and colored in fictional Lehigh & Atlantic livery) |
 Predecessor
to the famed PA unit, the DL was streamlined by Otto Kuhler and
originally built as the DL103b for Rock Island. A total of 74 units were
built between 1940 and 1945, most of them for the New Haven. They were a
belated response to Electro-Motives E series and never reached the
popularity of their chief competitor. Though successful in their time,
none have survived to the present. |
| EMD E-4: built 1939 (This image was obtained from The Railroad Paint Shop and colored in fictional Northern livery) |
 Originally
developed by Electro-Motive in the mid 1930's the E series continued for
several incarnations. Finally ending with the last E-9 in 1963 this very
successful production totaled well over a thousand units. 1300 or more
of these large 1800-2400 horsepower passenger locomotives were owned by
a majority of railroads in North America. Phased out as passenger
service disappeared, some were tried, and failed, as freight
locomotives. Today, several of the surviving E-series are still in
service as passenger locomotives. |
