The urgent necessity for narrow-gauge railway equipment for our armed forces in Europe was first brought home to us when Gen. Pershing cabled on July 15, 1917. In this message he asked for large quantities of 60-centimeter locomotives, cars, and track. The types requested were entirely new in this country.
Specifically, there were required 195 60-centimeter steam locomotives with a low center of gravity and with a maximum of 3½ tons axle load; 126 40-horsepower gasoline locomotives; 63 20-horsepower gasoline locomotives; and 3,332 freight cars of various types, including box cars and flat cars of 10-ton capacity, tank cars, and dump cars. To aid in the building of this new equipment many photographs and designs brought over from France were used. It was decided to build the 10-ton cars fitted with small 4-wheel trucks at each end, rather than to make them of the 4-wheeled type, as with this construction they would be better adapted for the rounding of short curves.
60-CENTIMETER GAUGE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE; TRACTIVE POWER, 6,225 POUNDS. CYLINDERS, 9 × 12, DRIVING WHEELS 23½ INCHES, WHEEL BASE 5 FEET 10 INCHES; WEIGHT IN WORKING ORDER 34,500 POUNDS; CAPACITY: WATER 476 GALLONS, FUEL 1,700 POUNDS.
60-CENTIMETER GAUGE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE; 50 HORSEPOWER. CYLINDERS 5½ × 7, DRIVING WHEELS 30 INCHES, WHEEL BASE 4 FEET; WEIGHT IN WORKING ORDER 14,000 POUNDS; FUEL CAPACITY, 30 GALLONS.
ARMORED RAILWAY MOTOR CAR. HALL-SCOTT GASOLINE ENGINE; LENGTH 62 FEET 9 INCHES, WIDTH 9 FEET 11 INCHES, TRUCK CENTERS 46 FEET.
ARMORED MOTOR CAR, OIL-ELECTRIC ENGINE.