Brooks Camelback Locomotive, Long Island Railroad Poster

Brooks Locomotive Works 1890 Camelback Poster Steam Locomotives For any Service. The Brooks Locomotive Works was officially formed on November 11,1869.,by H.G. Brooks. He was the master mechanic of The Erie Railway. Brooks then became a major locomotive builder. The company was merged with several other manufacturers in 1901 to form the American Locomotive Company. ALCO produced locomotives at this facility until 1934 when the shop was renamed ALCO Thermal Products Division. Locomotives produced at the former Brooks plant after ALCO's formation came to be known as ALCO-Brooks locomotives. Brooks Locomotive Works produced about 13,000 Locomotives. Camelbacks have a cab that straddles the boiler. Camelbacks were developed to allow for the use of larger fireboxes, such as the Wooten, which could not be encompassed by a cab. John E. Wootten developed the Wootten firebox to effectively burn anthracite waste, which was a plentiful, cheap source of fuel.The camelback was not a very safe design for its crew.