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Lehigh Valley Railroad - Mason Janus - 0-6-6-0

Known Facts:  According to "American Steam Locomotive" by Brian Solomon, the Janus design may have been intended to be symbolic of the junction of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific in 1869, creating the first transcontinental railroad.  After being tried out by two other railroads, it was purchased by the Lehigh Valley where it was used as a pusher.  It was scrapped in 1877.

According to "The Fairlie Locomotive" by Rowland Abbot,  The Janus was constructed in December 1871 although drawings appeared in "Engineering" in July 1869.  It was originally built for the Central Pacific Railroad in California.  It was first tried on the boston & Albany and then eventually sold to the Lehigh Valley where it performed pusher service on the Wilkes-Barre Summit.

Based on his own research, David Fletcher adds, "The Janus like Double Fairlies was difficult to fire, both in terms of access to fuel and in how you fueled the double firebox. The fuel was carried on the tank tops in 'front' of the cab (both sides!). There was most probably an angle or spill that allowed the coal to slide into the cab through the front windows.

Mason's 0-6-6-0 Double boilered loco 'Janus', was such a failure, he never built another, and all my books suggest no more were built, nor were any imported into the US from the UK except for the D&RG #13 'Mountaineer'.  Double boilered locos of this type were not very successful in the US and not tried again."

Speculation:  Abbott indicates that the Lehigh performed the mother of all kit bashes on this locomotive ... cutting it in half at the middle of the cab, creating two 0-6-0 switchers!  This statement is disputed by a number of other authors.

(c) 2007 Iron Horse 1:29