This AT&SF 1050 Class Prairie type (2-6-2) locomotive was built by Baldwin in 1902. It was one of one hundred and three delivered to the railroad between 1902 and 1903 as four cylinder Vauclain compounds following delivery of fifty Vauclain compound Prairies in 1901.
The main advantage claimed for compounding was lower fuel and water consumption, but the Vauclain arrangement produced uneven forces and excess wear at the crosshead, which increased maintenance costs and largely offset any fuel economies. The complex valve assembly and the starter valve, which allowed admission of high pressure steam directly to the low pressure cylinder, also increased maintenance costs. By the turn of the century, many US railroads were therefore turning away from compounds and converting those they owned to single-expansion locomotives. The AT&SF subsequently simpled all its 1050s between 1910 and 1922 with 23½" x 28" cylinders.
#1129 served on various AT&SF divisions in New Mexico for fifty-one years, and its last scheduled run ended in Belen, NM, on 25th July 1953.
At 210,190 lbs, 141,690 lbs on their drivers, the simplified 1050s weighed 20,190 lbs more than the as-built compounds. #1129's grate is 55.3 sq ft and the firebox 195 sq ft. An oil burner with a total heating surface of 3,738 sq ft, it operated at 200 psi delivering 38,097 lbs tractive effort. The 69" drivers were designed for general use and the additional weight increased tractive effort from the as-built compounds' 29,134 lbs.
The tender weighs 112,610 lbs light with a
capacity of 7,000 gallons of water and 2,350
gallons of oil.
#1129 was donated to the city of Las Vegas, NM, by the AT&SF and delivered to its present site in City Park at the junction of Grand Ave and Mills Ave on 25th April 1956.
It is one of two hundred and thirty-three Prairie type locomotives bought by the AT&SF between 1901 and 1903, most of which worked well into the 1950s. Many have survived and are dotted about the South-West. You can see more on the ATSF #1050, ATSF #1024, ATSF #1067, ATSF #1079, ATSF #1096, ATSF #1108, ATSF #1139, ATSF #1819 and ATSF #1880 pages of this website.
