Just received from a woman who found it in her grandfathers things in Pennsylvania. Anyone care to offer some forensic review?

I think 1880's, PRR, prior to standardization. Perhaps swallowed in a RR takeover?

Your feedback?

Looks a lot like that PRR H-3 (?) displayed at Penna. State Railroad Museum at Strasburg-- the one you can walk under.

Howard P.

Agreed, but no evidence of a Belpaire firebox. Might have been upgraded at some time.

Agree class R ( H3) built Alto 1885, records say "first class with Belpaire firebox" looks like cab was very far forward leaving the fireman little room. Picture I found looks like the safety valve is mounted on the cab roof.

I'm certainly no authority on early PRR steam, but there is an almost identical engine pictured on p. 129 of Fred Westing's Pennsy Steam and Semaphores that he identifies as a Class H1 (old class I) built in 1875:

"A novel feature of this class was the Altoona-type boiler which was quite unlike those of other Pennsy engines. The boiler was of the straight-top form with its steam dome in front of the firebox, which latter had its roof sheet 9 1/2 inches below the top of the boiler barrel. Crown and roof sheets both sloped toward the rear at a sharp angle with a narrowing space between them almost entirely filled with water. In such an arrangement there was little steam liberating surface above the firebox. Both crown and roof sheets were flat, and were stayed throughout by screw stays."

-Philip Marshall

I think Philip Marshall has it right.

Class I (later H1) 2-8-0 number 470, built December, 1880 by PRR Altoona Machine Shops, construction number 519. The engine was sold to the Newport & Shermans Valley RR (David Gring, agent) in August, 1901. This info comes from a paperback, Pennsylvania Railroad Altoona Machine Shops Construction Number List 1866-1904.by Joseph D. Lovell With Additional Material By The NRHS BULLETIN Staff, Copyright 1984 by the Library of American Transportation, NRHS Inc.

Disposition after acquisition by N&SV is not discussed. The photo could have been taken before or after August, 1901 because the engine may not have been renumbered.

Not actually "prior to standardization". She seems to be a standard class I, at a time when the standards were quite different from the later standards with which we are more familiar.

I can provide no clues as to location.

Tom

Here is a diagram of the "Altoona-type" boiler used on the H1:


It rather reminds me of the early Ross Winans "camels" on the B&O.

-Philip Marshall

Thanks to all of you who added information regarding the locomotive in the picture. Much appreciated.