Steam Giants Prowl The Earth

From another real photo postcard, 1913, is this Achison, Topeka and Santa Fe 2-10-10-2 Mallet locomotive numbered 3009 – the last of the ten that were built. Beginning in 1911, the railroad converted normal 2-10 Mallets into this huge compound configuration, but rather than being truly two engines, what appears to be the second steam boiler is actually a superheater of sorts, a reheater and a feedwater heater. The design proved to be unsuccessful and the company reconverted all ten engines to their original configuration between 1915 and 1918.

In 1918, the Virginian railroad had true compound articulated 2-10-10-2 engines built which were so successful that they were used right into the 1950s. Union Pacific built a 4-8-8-4 compound nicknamed the "Big Boy", but most companies like Norfolk & Western settled on 2-8-8-2 compound articulateds (N&W Y6B) as the preferred configuration which eliminated the need for doubleheading on long grades and were well-suited to hauling coal in mountainous terrain.

AT&SF obviously used the incredible size of this engine for promotional purposes (the banners are not readable, perhaps because the photographer was selling an unsanctioned postcard); it is also interesting to note that the locomotive sitting immediately behind the Mallet is a small engine (4-4-0 or 4-6-0 ?) that was even then a notable antique (the diamond stack had not been used much after the late 1870s), perhaps to further highlight the sheer size of the Mallet. Surely it was remarkable that locomotives had progressed to this stage in the years since 1829, though not quite the phenomenon as from the Wright brothers' plane in 1903 to the moon in 1969.

Peerless Steam Traction Engine 1910

Once steam had been proven efficient in railroad use, manufacturing followed quickly in the form of steam traction engines for farming, road building, and heavy hauling in places where rail lines had not been built. The savings in human manual labor and time were great, not to mention the decreased need for animals for such work.

This real photo postcard (sent in 1910 by Joe S. with a barely literate message from Cuba, WI, to a lady friend, Miss Montag in Evanston, IL, at the burdensome rate of one cent postage) shows that a sizable steam tractor could do much the same work as a rail locomotive with some limitations and somewhat less efficiency due to greater friction than cars with iron wheels on rails and roads not engineered to minimize grades. This is a Peerless traction engine which was fueled with wood; it has a spark arrestor on the stack to make it less likely that the countryside would be set ablaze (you can buy steam powered models of many of these engines today, but they are pricey).

We don’t have the privilege of knowing what these wagons were being used for but the construction of the wheels and the load-bearing beams on the carriages indicate the load was enormous. A bit of research revealed similar tractors and wagons loaded with logs 3 - 4 feet in diameter.

It was interesting to discover that the photographer had deliberately eradicated the faces of the two men on the tractor and one of the men sitting on the top; at this period in time I don’t think it was done for privacy reasons, so I can’t say why. Is it possible that operators of such equipment on roads were required to be licensed and that identification of these men was not desirable?  

Lost: One Very Large London Street

How much is lost to human memory in a relatively short time! It is hard to imagine that 100 years ago someone would take a 4" x 5" glass negative image of a busy street in the heart of London and a collector today cannot, no matter how much effort expended, tell anyone where it was taken – or find anyone who can.

You might assume that a pair of two-story columns that carry the name Ontario set in this wide thoroughfare, and a series of smaller columns crowned with sculpture and adorned with wreaths and garlands, would provide all one would need to get the answer. You would be wrong. No online search of Ontario, the date (1911), monuments, street names, has turned up any images or descriptions to verify that what you see before your eyes actually ever existed. Today it is a matter of no apparent historical importance.

Of course, as steeped in English history as I may be, not being an citizen of Great Britain or having the benefit of lifelong exposure to the published trivia of the 20th century there, perhaps I should not be surprised. I have accustomed myself to having the wealth of far more arcane knowledge at my computer keyboard fingertips, so I am unreasonably frustrated when what I want to know does not appear before my eyes. Spoiled, no? [In case you don't recognize it, this is the textual equivalent of a lying down, kicking, screaming tantrum]

I am transported in time by this image. I am virtually certain it is not a figment of my imagination. If you can shed some light – and I am sure someone can – I would be eternally grateful.

What we see and know: Signs on the side of the bus advertise the Coronation Exhibition (George V) at the Great White City exhibition grounds (covering 140 acres at Shepherd's Bush) making 1911 the date; it is the Victoria - Hampstead Heath route going to Malden Road, Tottenham Road, Charing Cross, Whitehall, and Victoria Station; also advertisements for Heinz Baked Beans and Pears Soap. The large wagon with canvas cover reads Rose's Lime Juice (still available today). The Hansom cab has a top-hatted driver sitting high above the traffic.

NOTE December 15, 2009: I promised (above) to be "eternally grateful" if someone would identify the streetscape above – and now an accommodating Londoner has done just that! See the comment below. I knew that the right person would happen along and it has been sooner rather than later. Thank you! [A knowledgeable reader from Scotland did the same for me a few months ago, identifying an Edinburgh street in this Streetscape section]

To Market, To Market ...

If you didn’t grow up on Mother Goose rhymes, it goes like this:

To Market, to market to buy a fat pig,
Home again, home again, jiggety-jig.
To market, to market to buy a fat hog,
Home again, home again, jiggety-jog.

We cannot tell what this market lady has for sale, only that it is packed in hay in baskets, so it is fragile like eggs or mushrooms or fish. Before mechanical refrigeration and before anyone dreamed of frozen food, if you didn’t want to eat everything from a jar or can, you took to the street for farm produce in season, the butcher (beef, pork and poultry were separate shops), fishmonger, cheese vendor, for whatever was fresh.

Markets were not just for food; there may have been sellers of small household notions and handcrafted wares; on certain days of the week traveling sellers could be expected; yet the market square was a social place where you saw friends, killed time discussing business and farm conditions and caught up on the latest gossip. This day, in the 1880s perhaps, is brisk weather but not brisk business. It is a small unmounted albumen print of a French town market.

If you didn’t find what you wanted for dinner or didn’t want to cook, you might take your meal at the cafe restaurant on the corner.

Girl In A Window Seat

It cannot be known if this engaging portrait was the work of a professional or talented amateur, if it was at home (my opinion) or if it was a studio setting (if so, it is a superior example showing what can be done by a photographer who hasn't taken the easy route to knocking out commissions).

The pose and expression are casual – and did I mention engaging. These are the keepsakes that are family treasures, more the pity that it no longer is that. Early 20th century.