2-8-8-2 "Chesapeake" Locomotives in the USA

The first examples of this wheel arrangement were built in 1909 for the Southern Pacific. They were experimental Mallet type locomotives with the boiler split into two sections. The front section was more of a feedwater heater than a boiler. These locomotives later evolved into the now famous cab forward design.

Although most railroads did not have a specific name for this wheel arrangement, the C&O called them "Chesapeakes" while the SP called them "Mallet Consolidations".

Norfolk & Western made this design famous by spending many years putting a lot of effort into perfecting the compound design. The N&W ended up with the ultimate stump-puller in their 2-8-8-2s with unsurpassed pulling ability. Fortunately, two of these impressive steam locomotives survive today.

A Dimensional Comparison of Large Locomotives

Books and magazines will often state that the Big Boy was the largest steam locomotive ever built. But, what do they mean by "largest"? When comparing steam locomotives, many different quantities can be considered. For example, weight, length, horsepower, and tractive effort are all characteristics of how "large" a steam locomotive is. In many of these categories, a locomotive "larger" than a Big Boy can be found. Does this mean that all of those books and magazines are wrong?

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

Surviving Examples of 2-8-8-2 "Chesapeake" Locomotives in the USA

No.	Class	F.M. Whyte	Gauge	Railroad Line	Location	Status	Builder Info	Notes
2050	Y3a	2-8-8-2	4'-8½"	N&W	Illinois Railway Museum, Union, IL	display	ALCO (Richmond) #64070, 1923	Came to the museum in the late 1970s.
		2-8-8-2	14½"	Whiskey River	unknown, Cleveland, OH	stored		From Marshall, WI; being regauged to 16
2156	Y6a	2-8-8-2	4'-8½"	N&W	Virginia Museum of Transportation, Roanoke, VA	display	N&W #317, 1942	On loan from St. Louis MoT for five years

2-8-8-2 "Chesapeake" Locomotives in the USA

A Dimensional Comparison of Large Locomotives

Railroads that used 2-8-8-2 "Chesapeake" Locomotives in the USA (data provided by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media)

Surviving Examples of 2-8-8-2 "Chesapeake" Locomotives in the USA