What were the most powerful steam locomotives ever built? The Big Boys? Nope. What was the heaviest steam locomotive ever built? The Big Boys? Well, maybe, maybe not. Read on to find out the answer.
The Chesapeake & Ohio and the Virginian were the only two railroads to have this type of locomotive. The C&O called them Alleghenies. The Virginian called them the Blue Ridge type.
Number of "Allegheny" Type Locomotives Built by Year | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | |||||||||
Railroad | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | Totals |
Road Numbers | 1600-1609 | 1610-1619 | 1620-1644 | 900-907 | 1645-1659 | ||||
C&O | 10 | 10 | 25 | 15 | 60 | ||||
VGN | 8 | 8 | |||||||
Totals: | 10 | 10 | 25 | 8 | 15 | 68 |
If you were to ignore all of the unsuccessful and experimental locomotives, then look at the overall ratings of the remaining steam locomotives in the above categories, it would become clear that there were many large locomotives. One could argue that the Big Boys were the largest and maybe they were. But the NP Z-5, the DM&IR M-3/4, the C&O H-8, and the N&W Y6b were all examples of the largest of all successful steam locomotives.
Railroad | WP | N&W | GN | NP | SP | DM&IR | B&O | SP | UP | UP | C&O | N&W | PRR | PRR | South African Railways |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Class | M-137 | Y6b | R-2 | Z-5 | AC-9 | M-3/M-4 | EM-1 | AC-10/11/12 | Big Boy (4884-2) | 4664-5 | H-8 - 1645 | A | Q2 | S1 | GL |
Wheel Arrangement | 2-8-8-2 | 2-8-8-2 | 2-8-8-2 | 2-8-8-4 | 2-8-8-4 | 2-8-8-4 | 2-8-8-4 | 4-8-8-2 | 4-8-8-4 | 4-6-6-4 | 2-6-6-6 | 2-6-6-4 | 4-4-6-4 | 6-4-4-6 | 4-8-2+2-8-4 |
Series | 251-260 | 2171-2200 | 2044-2059 | 5001-5011 | 3800-3811 | 220-237 | 7600-7629 | 4205-4294 | 4020-4024 | 3930-3949 | 1645-1659 | 1200-1242 | 6175+ | 6100 | 2350-2357 |
Cyl:Dia x Stroke | 26x32 | 25x32 | 28x32 | 26x32 | 24x32 | 26x32 | 24x32 | 24x32 | 23.75x32 | 21x32 | 22.5x33 | 24x30 | 19.75x28 | 22x26 | 22x26 |
Driver Diameter | 63 | 58 | 63 | 63 | 63.5 | 63 | 64 | 63.5 | 68 | 69 | 67 | 70 | 69 | 84 | 48 |
Boiler Pressure | 235 | 300 | 240 | 250 | 250 | 240 | 235 | 250 | 300 | 280 | 260 | 300 | 300 | 300 | 200 |
Grate Area | 145 | 106.2 | 126 | 182 | 139.5 | 125 | 117.5 | 139 | 150 | 132 | 135 | 122 | 121.7 | 132 | 75 |
Evaporative Heating Surface | 6,811 | 4,915 | 7,869 | 7,673 | 6,918 | 6,782 | 5,298 | 6,470 | 5,755 | 4,642 | 6,795 | 6,639 | 6,725 | 5,661 | 3,396 |
Superheater Heating Surface | 2,152 | 1,478 | 3,515 | 3,219 | 2,831 | 2,770 | 2,118 | 2,616 | 2,043 | 1,741 | 2,922 | 2,703 | 2,930 | 2,085 | 835 |
Weight on Drivers | 552,700 | 548,500 | 544,000 | 558,900 | 531,200 | 560,257 | 485,000 | 531,700 | 545,200 | 404,200 | 504,010 | 432,350 | 393,000 | 281,450 | 324,464 |
Total Engine Weight | 665,100 | 611,520 | 630,750 | 723,400 | 689,900 | 695,040 | 628,700 | 657,900 | 772,250 | 634,500 | 751,830 | 573,000 | 619,100 | 608,170 | |
Maximum Axle Weight | 69,088 | 68,000 | 70,900 | 66,400 | 62,100 | 69,100 | 67,800 | 85,480 | 72,000 | 79,780 | 40,992 | ||||
Tender Weight | 408,250 | 378,600 | 372,780 | 402,000 | 400,700 | 438,000 | 382,000 | 393,300 | 436,500 | 434,500 | 431,710 | 378,600 | 422,000 | 451,840 | |
Total Engine and Tender Weight | 1,073,350 | 990,120 | 1,003,530 | 1,125,400 | 1,090,600 | 1,133,040 | 1,010,700 | 1,051,200 | 1,208,750 | 1,069,000 | 1,183,540 | 951,600 | 1,041,100 | 1,060,010 | 472,864 |
Overall Wheelbase | 108 | 114.87 | 106.02 | 110.08 | 112.99 | 113.49 | 112.5 | 112.17 | 117.58 | 106.67 | 112.92 | 108.27 | 107.62 | 123.76 | 83.58 |
Tractive Effort | 137,174 | 124,644 | 162,475 | 145,930 | 123,364 | 140,093 | 115,056 | 123,364 | 135,375 | 97,352 | 110,211 | 125,897 | 100,816 | 76,403 | 89,137 |
Tractive Effort Booster | 13,900 | 13,400 | 15,000 | ||||||||||||
Maximum Speed | 50 | 63 | 80 | 70 | 60 | 100 | |||||||||
Drawbar Horsepower | 5,600@25 | 6,000@40 | 6,345@41.5 | 7,498@46 | 5,300@43 | 7,200 |
No. | Class | F.M. Whyte | Gauge | Railroad Line | Location | Status | Builder Info | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1604 | H-8 | 2-6-6-6 | 4'-8½" | C&O | B&O Railroad Museum, Baltimore, MD | display | Lima #7824, 1941 | From Russell, KY the Roanoke, VA |
1601 | H-8 | 2-6-6-6 | 4'-8½" | C&O | Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, MI | display | Lima #7821, 1941 |