What was the purpose of the “dog house” on the coal tender of the 2-8-8-2 Mallet and alike locos ?.
Thanks,
Tracklayer
I believe it was a shelter for the front end brake man to ride. The dog house I think was a way to keep him out of the way while the hectic comotion of keeping the boiler up to par took place inside the cab.
I know that the Rio Grande, Frisco, and Mopac were fond of dog houses as well.
James
The head end brakeman or switchman rode the doghouse. Before the days of CTC and automated switches for sidings, the doghouse was the place since many of the cabs on eastern steam were small and did not have space for extra crew members.
I read stories were it was freezing in the winter, you cooked like a sausage in the summer, and very smoky & dirty inside those.
I can’t help but wonder which came first, being sent out to sleep in the doghouse because one had upset the wife or the tender doghouse as a bad place to spend time and the concept migrated to the home. Shows that I have too much time on my hands.
Since most tenders used in colder climes had provision for steam lines to keep the water from freezing, it’s hard to believe that nobody thought to route one to the doghouse. If they didn’t, it’s harder yet to believe that the subject wouldn’t come up at periodic contract negotiations.
Wonder if any ever had a throne installed for really long trips?
According to Kalmbach’s North American Steam book often times the design,construction were more or less up to the shop foreman’s discretion. It also mentioned (Ican’t remember where) that all class 1 railroads had to equip their mainline locomotives tenders with a dog house for the head end brakeman.
The head-end brakie’s private compartment served a very useful purpose aside from keeping him out of the fireman’s way. It’s a lot easier to look back along the train for significant problems if the tender isn’t in the way! In the days of friction bearing trucks, it was a lot better if the brakie noticed that telltale smoke from a hot box BEFORE the axle melted off and scattered the train across the countryside.
Man those poor guys really had it bad. [:(]
A number of states, including Oklahoma, Kansas, and a number of others in the middle part of the country mandated the use of the doghouse in order to keep the head-end brakeman out of the weather. Somebody else commented on the discomfort of the doghouse. My mom’s sister was married to an old-time brakeman on the Frisco. You should have heard his comments. Well, actually, nobody should hear that kind of vocabulary . ([soapbox]) He hated them since they were terribly cold in the winter and hot in the summer. As for dirty, nobody on a steam locomotive was coming home clean!
Woodard
[C):-)]
that’s where my wife sends me after purchasing a 2-8-8-2 mallet!..