Duplex Locomotive - The Duplex Solution

The Duplex Solution

In Europe this problem was often overcome by dividing the drive between inside and outside cylinders, or else by using Articulated locomotives, although at the time it was not believed possible to run one stably at greater than 50 mph. American railroads proved to be unwilling to use locomotives with inside cylinders, so the problem of balance could not be solved by adding more cylinders per coupled wheel set. As locomotives got larger and more powerful, their reciprocating machinery had to get stronger and thus heavier, and thus the problems posed by imbalance and hammer blow became more severe. Speed also played a factor, since the forces became greater and more destructive at higher wheel speeds. Ralph P. Johnson felt that the growing size and piston thrusts of existing express passenger locomotives could not be sustained with the by-then conventional 4-8-4 2-cylinder layout. In addition, he became convinced that a single pair of cylinders with conventional valve gear and piston valves was approaching the limits in terms of steam flow.

The earliest attempt at duplex locomotive was an 0-6-6-0 tank locomotive designed by Jules Petiet in 1863 for the French Northern Railway, but the idea was not perpetuated. However, the innovation of more rigid hinges that permitted only horizontal swinging movements and not twisting or vertical movement was from ALCO, and not seen until 1936's Union Pacific Challenger.

Instead came the idea of having multiple groups of cylinders and driven wheels mounted in one rigid frame. A "duplex" version of a 4-8-4 would be a 4-4-4-4, with the eight driving wheels split into two groups of four, each with its own set of cylinders and valve gear. The reciprocating mass of both sets would be substantially less than the single set on the 4-8-4, since they would be under less stress and gentler piston thrusts. The cylinders could be smaller yet have larger, more efficient valves. The most obvious tradeoff was that in Baldwin's proposed design, the rigid wheelbase was longer since the second set of cylinders had to be between the two sets of drivers. This was sufficient for many roads, for whom current locomotives were taxing enough, to reject the duplex idea.