A Camel Pulling a Train?

The locomotive on the front of this post card is a “Ten-Wheeler”.

However, it is unlike any “Ten Wheeler” that I have ever seen – in person or in my post card collection. This one was built in 1873 at the Mt. Care shops of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. This is a “Davis Ten-Wheeler” and a later edition of the famous Winans “Camelback” design. This locomotive was retired in 1900 and now is part of the collection at Perdue University in Indiana. This website will give you some background on the “Camel” locomotives: https://borail.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/9B6B74B9-B2EF-4872-B677-952454751722 The "Camel" locomotives, which were named for their unique shape and cab location, became a trademark of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) during the mid-19th century. The "Camel" became one of the first coal-burning locomotives produced in large quantities. Eccentric builder, Ross Winans, created the original design of the locomotive in 1848. Challenged to design a locomotive that would burn coal more efficiently, Winans' solution was to construct a large firebox behind the locomotive's mainframe, forcing the engineer's cab to be positioned above the boiler. The "Camel" was designed for productivity rather than for crew comfort. The engineer was often too hot as he sat above the boiler, and faced slim survival chances during a derailment. The fireman was also uncomfortable, as there was little shelter to protect him from the weather. A more critical problem the crew faced was a lack of communication resulting from their separated positions. During the 1850s, Master of Machinery, Samuel Hayes, adapted features of the 0-8-0 "Camel" design for a fleet of "Ten Wheelers." His locomotives needed to move passenger trains over the mountains of western Virginia. Successor Master of Machinery, J.C. Davis, also combined the 4-6-0 wheel arrangement with the "Camel" design. Over a ten-year period, Davis turned out over 100 heavier versions of the "Camel."

The post card was published by CharmCraft out of St. Louis, Missouri. It was incorporated on February 6, 1948 and was dissolved on January 14, 1974. It did have a previous name of the “St. Louis Greeting Card Company”. It is a “Plastichrome” post card printed in Boston, Mass. By Colourpicture Publishers, Inc. They existed from 1938 to 1969. They were a major publisher and printer of linen view-cards of the United States based in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts between 1938 and 1969. They later went on to publish photochromes and small spiral bound picture booklets under the name trade name Plastichrome in the 1950's.