Hello Railfans
I’m curious as to why would a RR use a slope back tender as opposed to a regualr one? There doesn’t seem to be too many prototypes that used sloped ones, the aristo rodgers springs to mind. I think the rodgers were used close to home in switching or on overhead RR’s in town?? Why reduce the capacity by having a slope back, was it a weight issue?
They do look neat and certainly different but why have them?
I’m just wondering
Todd
Not sure but i’m thinkin it’s easier to see when backing up.
Nick hit the nail on the head. Slope back tenders were primarily used for switching. It was sloped so the engineer could see behind easier. Didn’t need the capacity since they were always near the refueling station.
The Rogers 2-4-2 was originally built for and ran along the New Jersey Shore - a summer holiday operation. It is illustrated in Rogers 1872 catalog. I have a copy around here somewhere but I can’t find it at the moment. I would like to have found it to give you the name of that original railroad… Somewhere and Something Point, if that tweaks someone else’s memory. It ran as a tank engine, no tender.
The tender that AristoCraft sometimes supplies with this engine comes off their Pennsy 0-4-0 switcher.
Pennsy had two of these 0-4-0 locos, one with and one without the tender. The one without the tender was used as a goat to push disabled or fire-out locos around the servicing facility - at the moment I forget the location, but it may have been Altoona. Running without a tender permitted this loco to share the turntable with the mainliners it served.
Now, as to those slope-backed tenders, they were much more common than you might think.
Switchers were equipped with them so that engine crews would have a good rear view, especially of the area around the coupler.
Since the engine was in the yard all day, the reduced water capacity wasn’t such a big deal; the water tank being always nearby.
By far the most common switcher was the 0-6-0, and it probably wouldn’t be a stretch to say nearly all of them were equipped with slopebacks in yard work during the golden age, say 1895-1940.
0-4-0’s became somewhat less common as time marched on, especially on the class one roads. They’re often a better choice for us with our tight curves, however. They, too, would be equipped with slope backed tenders.
The slope back actually has a long history. I’ve seen many photos of those old Mother Hubbards equipped with them.
Hope this helps. Kinarskie Point? … something like that… ??? New Jersey for sure.
Oops, I guess a bunch of us posted at the same time. Hi, guys!
Todd,
John and the others pretty well covered the commonality of slope backed tenders. They were indeed very common. For example the D&RG K-27 class narrow gauge 2-8-2s originally had slope backed tenders. Didja know that? Also in the west the majority of early 0-6-0s on the SP didn’t have the Vanderbilt types we’re so used to seeing ln photos but had slope back tenders as well.
Anyone in HO that remembers the Roundhouse cast metal 0-6-0 they had with a slope back tender…it was based on an SP prototype with die work I believe by the dean of narrow gauge Cliff Grandt.
Very interesting
Thanks guys.