8 THE CALL BOARD

NEWSLETTER OF THE MOHAWK & HUDSON CHAPTER, N.R.H.S.

September 1992

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By Tim Truscott & Dick Barrett

D&H motive power took a giant leap forward in 1940 when the railroad took delivery of the first order of 20 articulated 4-6-6-4 freight locomotives built by the American Locomotive Company. These "Challenger" type steam locomotives were acquired to haul heavy freights, especially coal trains, over the steep grades of the railroad south of the Capital District on the Susquehanna Division and ran between Binghamton, Oneonta, Mohawk Yard in Schenectady and Mechanicville. Two more orders consisting of 15 "Challengers" in 1942, which were assigned to the Pennsylvania Division, and an additional five in 1946 made a total of 40 in this "1500" number series (Nos. 1500-1539). Just as advances in railroad technology had brought larger locomotives at the turn of the century which required larger maintenance facilities, these new articulated locomotives, which were far larger than anything the railroad previously had in service, also meant that even larger facilities were needed. In summary, the Delaware & Hudson's locomotive shop at Colonie had physical constraints which prevented the shop from being used in the usual fashion for servicing the 4-6-6-4's. Most of the major steam locomotive repair shops in the United States were built between 1907 and 1931. None were built after 1931, probably because ofthe effect the Great Depression had on the railroad industry. Of those built during that period, three general types of shop layouts or arrangements were employed: (1) the transverse shop, in which the pits of the erecting bays are arranged side by side; (2) the longitudinal shop, in which the erecting tracks extend the length of a long shop and pit locations are at numerous points along

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those tracks; (3) the combination type of shop, in which the initial and final operations of repairing locomotives are usually performed in a short longitudinal shop at right angles to a transverse shop used for the intermediate repair operations. As originally constructed, the Colonie Shop was arranged in a transverse configuration with the tracks and pits running in an east-west direction. The two erecting bays (Bay 2 and Bay 4), where repair work was actually performed, were located on either side of the transfer bay (Bay 3), which was in the center of the shop (See Call Board article, January 1991). Locomotives entered the building from the west side on one of two tracks and were brought to the transfer bay. Once in Bay 3, the transfer bay, the 150-ton transfer crane carried the locomotive either north or south to one of 12 tracks running in an east-west direction. Once on these tracks, locomotives were moved either east or west into ODe of the two erecting bays (Bay 2 or Bay 4) where they were overhauled. The problem which arose with the "Cballengers" was that the engines, without their tenders, were 85 feet long while the width of the transfer bay and erecting bays were each 65 feet. Therefore, the "Challengers" would not fit between the columns of these three bays. There seemed to be two choices in solving this problem: either modify the roof support system of the Colonie Shop building so that there would be a space greater than 85 feet between the building's columns, or modify a portion of the shop track layout into a longitudinal shop area for working on the "Challengers." By removing one row of the roof supporting columns, transverse pits of the necessary length for the "Challengers" could have been constructed. However, the re-

sulting open area would have necessitated a crane with a span of 130 feet, an unusually long span which would have been twice the span of the existing cranes. This proposal would also have meant extensive changes in the building's roof support system, essentially rebuilding the western half of the shop structure. However, a much simpler and less expensive solution to the problem was implemented under the supervision ofD&H Chief Engineer P.O. Ferris, Engineer of Structures E. Penrose and Division Engineer "J.C. Dorsey: One of the transverse erecting bays, Bay 2, was converted to a three-track longitudinal layout with a pit for each track. Each track in Bay 2 was constructed with a longitudinal reinforced concrete pit for gaining access to the undersides of the engines. The middle pit was 74 feet long, with the two outside pits being 176 feet long. Each of the three tracks was 198 feet in length. Therefore, each track could accommodate two of the "Challenger" locomotives, with enough room left over" to rollout. the front engine unit from under the locomotive. The three new tracks did not extend past the two tracks leading in from the middle of the west side of the shop building. Therefore, the four transverse pits south of the east-west access tracks were not impacted by the three longitudinal pits and were consequent! y not disturbed. Access to these three new longitudinal tracks was gained through new doors provided in the north wall of the building. Only a small amount of track was needed to connect the new pits with existing track north of the shop building. In order to install this connecting track, a low hill on the north side of the building had to be excavated. This work was performed by a

September

1992

NEWSLETTER

OF THE MOHAWK & HUDSON CHAPTER, N.R.H.S.

THE CALL BOARD 9

contractor. The rest of the project was undertaken by D&H employees. Because of the conversion of the west erecting bay, Bay 2, from a transverse operation to a longitudinal operation, changes were required in the arrangement of the cranes. In the original layout, it was sufficient to have one traveling crane in each bay to handle locomotives to and from the transversely-oriented pits; each crane had two trolleys. With the change of Bay 2 to a longitudinal method of operation, two cranes were required: one for each end of the locomotive being lifted. Therefore, it became necessary to install an additional crane in Bay 2. The new crane had a capacity of 150 tons and was of the single trolley type. In spite of the addition of the second crane, the crane runways in Bay 2 were deemed to be of sufficient capacity to support the.additional load of the second crane and no structural changes in the runways or their supports were required. In summary, acquisition by the D&H of the new, larger steam locomotives with the 4-6-6-4 wheel arrangement resulted in the need for larger repair facilities. The conversion of the Delaware & Hudson's Colonie Locomotive Shop to accommodate the "Challengers" was done economically by converting one half of the erecting area from a transverse arrangement to a threetrack longitudinal arrangement. With the new arrangement, six of the new articulated locomotives could be repaired simultaneously within Colonie Shop. Most of the

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A. schematic of the Col-onie Shop

as it was originally constructed showing the center transfer bay and the two erecti ng bays, one on either side of the transfer bay.
modifications to Colonie Shop which were made for the 1500's may still be seen today. References: "Converts Shop to Handle Power," Railway Age, November 28,1942. "Watervliet Terminal, Delaware & Hudson Co.," in Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way, December 1912.

A schematic of the Colonie Shop showing the west side of the shop where the west erecting bay was converted into a transverse shop arrangement to accommodate the "Challengers. "
"Construction Features of the Watervliet Shops of the Delaware & Hudson Company," in Cassier's Magazine: An Engineering Monthly, May 1912.

1941 Locomotive Cyclopedia, SimmonsBoardman Publishing Corporation.

Delaware & Hudson Challengers and Northerns, by Ed Crist with John Krause, 1988, Carstens Publications.

85 ft. 65 ft.
The problem faced by the D&H at Colonie Shop when it acquired the 4-6-6-4 "Challengers" was their length: the locomotives, without tenders, were about 85 ft. long while the distance between the roof supports was about 65 ft. Therefore, part of the shop was rearranged. (Collection of the authors)