This links to a wealth of info about all kinds of unusual designs of steam engines -
http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/locoloco.htm
Wow! I’m going to spend some time on this site. What a find. Not only locomotives, but go up to “The Museum of Retro Technology” for all kinds of whacky inventions. Thanks Al.
If you REALLY want wacky, google the Bulleid ‘Leader’ locomotive of the late 1940’s.
A double-ended diesel look-alike, driven by burning turf, with teeny little steam engines inside the trucks…
Needless to say, it was not a success.
tac
www.ovgrs.org
Post deleted.
tac
Del - I never saw any site like it - so many oddities and steam engine design/development history all collected on one site. I spent over an hour browsing through some of the links and barely cracked the surface.
Terry - that was a weird idea - kind looks like an early predecessor to a Class 66 !!
AL McEvoy said:
Del - I never saw any site like it - so many oddities and steam engine design/development history all collected on one site. I spent over an hour browsing through some of the links and barely cracked the surface.Terry - that was a weird idea - kind looks like an early predecessor to a Class 66 !!
Apparently it smelled like a cosy home fire in action.
After development costs that would have felled an average-sized small African nation it was decided that perhaps diesel-electric traction might just be the way to go…but it was a brave attempt by a truly innovative railroad engineer.
An Irishman, of course.
If you want wacky, remind me sometime to tell you about my ice-powered ornithopter.
tac
www.ovgrs.org
(http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/quadruplex/quintartist2.gif)
Baldwin “Quintaplex,” 2-8-8-8-8-8-2. Do you think that Aristo might build one for us? 
These might not be “extreme”…but they are sufficiently unusual! 
Two of my favorite locos…I would someday like to build a model of both: Erie Railroad’s “Angus Class” 0-8-8-0 Mallet:
(http://scotlawrence.smugmug.com/Railroads-3/Random-Railroad-Photos/erie/810172599_267X3-O.jpg)
there were three of them…used as pushers. Largest camelbacks ever built, and the only articulated/mallet camelbacks ever built. Lehigh Valley Railroad’s “Lilliput”, an unusual 2-2-0, built by Mason:
(http://scotlawrence.smugmug.com/Railroads-3/Random-Railroad-Photos/lilliput/857657841_4V6yd-O.jpg)
Scot
Hey Scot, There IS a slightly better looking 2-2-0 out there–the San Gabriel, built by Vulcan. I tried to build it once for Trainz Railway Sim and gave up due to lack of time–still think it’d be cool.
(http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/faculty/hodgson/Courses/city/LosAngeles/Early_images/train.gif)
The San Gabriel is definetly still on my TO DO list, maybe sometime this summer I’ll start it, we’ll see.
Robbie -
Neat picture. Looks like a steam tractor moved to the rails 