Baltimore and Ohio 5300

Last updated
Baltimore and Ohio 5300
Pacific locomotive, President Washington, B&O RR (CJ Allen, Steel Highway, 1928).jpg
No. 5300 shortly after it was first built, 1927
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works
Serial number59881
Build dateFebruary 1927
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 •  Whyte 4-6-2
 •  UIC 2'C1' h2
Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.80 in (2,000 mm)
Wheelbase 72.50 ft (22.10 m) ​
 • Engine37.08 ft (11.30 m)
 • Drivers14 ft (4.3 m)
Axle load 68,000 lb (31,000 kg)
Adhesive weight 201,000 lb (91,000 kg)
Loco weight326,000 lb (148,000 kg)
Tender weight218,000 lb (99,000 kg)
Total weight540,000 lb (240,000 kg)
Fuel type Coal
Fuel capacity17.50 t (17.22 long tons; 19.29 short tons)
Water cap.11,000 US gal (42,000 L; 9,200 imp gal)
Firebox:​
 • Grate area70.30 sq ft (6.531 m2)
Boiler90 in (2,300 mm)
Boiler pressure230 psi (1,600 kPa)
Heating surface:​
 • Firebox390 sq ft (36 m2)
Cylinders Two, outside
Cylinder size 27 in × 28 in (690 mm × 710 mm)
Valve gear Walschaerts
Loco brake Westinghouse air brake
Performance figures
Maximum speed85 mph (137 km/h)
Tractive effort 49,882 lb (22,626 kg)
Factor of adh. 4.03
Career
Operators Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Class P-7
NumbersB&O 5300
B&O 100
Official namePresident Washington
First run1927
Last run1957
Retired1957
Current owner B&O Railroad Museum
DispositionUndergoing cosmetic restoration

Baltimore and Ohio No. 5300, also known as President Washington, is the sole survivor of the P-7 class 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotives. It was built by Baldwin in 1927, and it was used on mainline passenger trains across the Baltimore and Ohio system, particularly the Royal Blue train, until it was retired in 1957. After being stored for a few years, it was donated to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, where it has spent several years on static display. The locomotive is undergoing a cosmetic restoration, as of 2023.

Contents

History

Original service life

Between 1906 and 1928, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the first Class 1 railroad to be incorporated in the United States, ordered over 200 P class 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotives from the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania primarily to be used in passenger trains. [1] The final production class of 4-6-2 locomotives was the P-7 class, of which twenty were built and delivered by Baldwin in 1927, being numbered 5300–5319. This class of olive green, gold, and maroon locomotives was officially named the "President class", since all twenty of the locomotives were named after the first twenty Presidents of the United States, and No. 5300 was named after George Washington. [2]

Shortly after No. 5300 rolled out of the factory in February 1927, it was coupled to the Capitol Limited train to take part in the Fair of the Iron Horse, a celebration of the centenary of the B&O, alongside several other B&O steam locomotives. [3] After the fair ended, No. 5300 was put into service pulling the Royal Blue passenger train between Washington, D.C. and New York City, as well as the Capitol Limited between New York City and Chicago, Illinois. The locomotive rarely made any water stops along the way, as the tender was designed with a water scoop. This allowed for refilling while travelling over track pans. In 1944, No. 5300 was rebuilt with a semi-streamlined tender, and its original olive green livery was replaced with the B&O's standard solid blue livery with its name subsequently being removed from the cab. The locomotive also gained a modern twin-sealed beam headlight in 1951. [4]

As the B&O began purchasing diesel locomotives, a lot of the P class 4-6-2s were removed from the active roster, and those that were left were reassigned to secondary passenger service in Pennsylvania and Ohio. [5] By 1956, No. 5300 was among only fifty-three P class 4-6-2s left on the roster, and with the 5000 series given to locomotives from EMD, No. 5300 was renumbered 100, and the rest of the active 4-6-2s were renumbered 101–152. [6] The following year, President Washington completed its last revenue freight assignment before it was indefinitely retired from the roster, completing 30 years of revenue service, and it was sidelined for storage.

Preservation

The locomotive was purchased along with 2-8-2 300 for safekeeping and donation by Ed Striegel of Striegel Supply & Equipment Corp., a business on Chemical Road in Curtis Bay, Maryland. Mr. Striegel bought railroad equipment for parting out and future sales to other railroads, this though was not the case for the steam locomotives on the property. Upon Mr. Striegel's death, the Baltimore Sun wrote, "In the 1950s, while visiting a storage lot for decommissioned B&O steam engines, Mr. Striegel discovered two historically significant locomotives – the President Washington, No. 100, the high-wheeling Pacific Class that had pulled such classic trains as the Capitol Limited, and a Q-3 class 2-8-2 Mikado type locomotive that had been built in 1918. He salvaged them and donated them to the B&O Railroad Museum. 'They are the linchpins of our collection,' said Courtney B. Wilson, executive director of the museum. 'Ed saved two significant pieces for the museum and, without his help, they would have been lost forever,' he said. 'In my opinion, he was a phenomenal Baltimorean. He was a quiet, unassuming and a very generous guy. The museum was his favorite place to come and he was always looking for ways to improve and enhance its collections,' Mr. Wilson said. [7]

When the museum received No. 5300, it was then repainted in its original 1927 appearance which included: renumbering to 5300 from No.100, the dual-beam headlight swapped for a single beam Pyle National headlight, and the engine was repainted to the original B&O olive green and gold scheme with the Presidential series name, The President Washington, onto the cab. However, since the original B&O herald number plate was not with the engine when it left service, the number plate remained on the smokebox door. The locomotive also received another cosmetic repaint in 1981, [8] and the curved coal bunker sides tender remains much as it was in service.

No. 5300 was initially put on static display at the museum in November 1968, [9] and it subsequently spent the next thirty-seven years sitting outdoors alongside other locomotives, including No. 300 (which was renumbered to its original number, 4500), EMC EA No. 51, Chesapeake and Ohio 4-6-4 No. 490, and Reading 4-8-4 No. 2101. While being displayed outdoors, the locomotive would remain exposed to the elements and would cosmetically deteriorate. [10] In 2006, No. 5300 was put inside one of the museum's buildings to remain safe out of the elements and received a fresh repaint in its original olive green color. [11] During the winter seasons, the locomotive has been temporarily be re-lettered The Polar Express, to promote the museum's Polar Express-themed excursion trains. [12] On August 28, 2021, No. 5300 was removed from static display and towed to the museum's locomotive shop for cosmetic restoration. [13] The restoration will likely take over several years.

Historical significance

No. 5300 is the sole survivor and the prototype of the P-7 class, and it is the last out of over 200 4-6-2 "Pacifics" ever built for the Baltimore and Ohio left to survive the scrapper's torch.

No. 5300 is also one of only three B&O steam locomotives left that were built within the 20th century. The only other two are 2-8-2 No. 4500, which is also preserved at the B&O Railroad Museum, and 0-6-0 No. 1190, which is preserved at the Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugarcreek, Ohio.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2-8-8-4</span> Articulated locomotive wheel arrangement

A 2-8-8-4 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation, has two leading wheels, two sets of eight driving wheels, and a four-wheel trailing truck. The type was generally named the Yellowstone, a name given it by the first owner, the Northern Pacific Railway, whose lines ran near Yellowstone National Park. Seventy-two Yellowstone-type locomotives were built for four U.S. railroads.

Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Western Maryland Railway (WM), and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). Trains operated under the Chessie name from 1973 to 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B&O Railroad Museum</span> United States historic place

The B&O Railroad Museum is a museum and historic railway station exhibiting historic railroad equipment in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) company originally opened the museum on July 4, 1953, with the name of the Baltimore & Ohio Transportation Museum. It has been called one of the most significant collections of railroad treasures in the world and has the largest collection of 19th-century locomotives in the U.S. The museum is located in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's old Mount Clare Station and adjacent roundhouse, and retains 40 acres of the B&O's sprawling Mount Clare Shops site, which is where, in 1829, the B&O began America's first railroad and is the oldest railroad manufacturing complex in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ALCO S-2 and S-4</span> Class of diesel locomotive

The ALCO S-2 and S-4 are 1,000-horsepower (746 kW) diesel electric switcher locomotives produced by ALCO and Canadian licensee Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesapeake and Ohio 614</span> Preserved American 4-8-4 locomotive

Chesapeake and Ohio 614 is a class "J-3-A" 4-8-4 "Greenbrier" (Northern) type steam locomotive built in June 1948 by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) as a member of the J-3-A class. As one of the last commercially built steam locomotives in the United States, the locomotive was built with the primary purpose of hauling long, heavy, high speed express passenger trains for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway such as the George Washington and the Fast Flying Virginian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading 2101</span> Preserved American 4-8-4 locomotive (RDG class T-1)

Reading 2101 is a preserved American class "T-1" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive constructed in September 1945 for use by the Reading Company. Constructed from an earlier "I10SA" 2-8-0 "Consolidation"-type locomotive built in March 1923, the 2101 handled heavy coal train traffic for the Reading until being retired from revenue service in 1959. Withheld from scrapping, the 2101 served as emergency backup power for the three other T1 locomotives serving the Reading's "Iron Horse Rambles" excursions until being sold for scrap in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore and Ohio No. 2 Lord Baltimore</span>

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's sole class V-2 4-6-4 steam locomotive, No. 2 Lord Baltimore, was constructed by the railroad's own Mount Clare Shops in 1935. It was built under the direction of the road's master mechanic George Emerson, and said to have been inspired by the Great Western Railway locomotive 6000 King George V which had appeared at B&O's 1927 Fair of the Iron Horse.

On the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, locomotives were always considered of great importance, and the railroad was involved in many experiments and innovations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakland station (Maryland)</span>

Oakland station is a historic railroad station located at Oakland, Garrett County, Maryland. It is a large brick structure with a two-story central section featuring a cylindrical tower with a domed cap and one-story wings extending from each end along the railroad tracks. It was designed by Baldwin and Pennington, and built in 1884 by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) across the tracks and a meadow from the Railroad's Oakland Hotel, which opened in 1876, to support the development of Oakland and Garrett County as a resort area. It is one of the finest remaining examples in Maryland of a Queen Anne style railroad station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading T-1 Class</span>

The Reading T-1 was a class of 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotives owned by the Reading Company. They were rebuilt from thirty "I-10sa" class 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type locomotives between 1945 and 1947. Out of the thirty rebuilt, four survive in preservation today, those being numbers 2100, 2101, 2102, and 2124.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 1309</span> Preserved American 2-6-6-2 locomotive

Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 1309 is a compound articulated class "H-6" "Mallet" type steam locomotive with a 2-6-6-2 wheel arrangement. It was the very last steam locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) in November 1949 and originally operated by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) where it pulled coal trains until its retirement in 1956. In 1972, No. 1309 was moved to the B&O Railroad Museum for static display until 2014 when it was purchased by the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad (WMSR), who undertook a multi-year effort to restore it to operating condition. The restoration was completed on December 31, 2020, and the locomotive entered tourist excursion service for the WMSR on December 17, 2021. This was the first time an articulated locomotive operated in the Eastern United States since the retirement of Norfolk and Western 1218 in November 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore and Ohio P-7</span> Class of 425 American 4-6-2 locomotives

The Baltimore and Ohio’s P-7 class was a class of 20 Pacific type locomotives built in 1927. Named for the first 20 Presidents of the United States, they were the prime motive power for the B&O’s top passenger trains for 31 years. One example, Baltimore and Ohio 5300, the "President Washington", has been preserved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic Coast Line 1504</span> Preserved ACL P-5-A class 4-6-2 locomotive

Atlantic Coast Line 1504 is a 4-6-2 steam locomotive built in March 1919 by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Richmond, Virginia, for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) as a member of the P-5-A class under the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) standard. No. 1504 was assigned to pull ACL's premier mainline passenger trains during the 1920s to early 40s and even secondary passenger trains and mainline freight trains in the late 1940s until it was retired from revenue service at the end of 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore and Ohio 4500</span> Preserved B&O O-3 class 2-8-2 locomotive

Baltimore and Ohio 4500 is a 2-8-2 "USRA Light Mikado" steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in July 1918 for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) as a member of the Q-3 class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Maryland K-2</span>

The Western Maryland K-2 was a class of 9 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotives built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1912 and operated by the Western Maryland Railway until the early 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spokane, Portland and Seattle 539</span> Preserved American 2-8-2 locomotive

Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway No. 539 is the only preserved example of the class O-3 2-8-2 "Mikado" steam locomotive. It was built by the American Locomotive Company in 1917 for the Northern Pacific Railway as engine No. 1762. It was sold to the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway and renumbered 539, in August 1944. It was reconfigured and converted to oil burning in January 1946. The locomotive was retired in 1957, and it was displayed in Esther Short Park, Washington, until 1997. That year, it was moved to Battle Ground for a potential restoration that never came to fruition. In 2007, it was acquired by the Grand Canyon Railway and moved to Williams, Arizona for an operational restoration that also never came to fruition. In 2019, No. 539 was purchased again by the Port of Kalama, who moved it back to Washington and put it on static display inside the Port's Interpretive Center that was constructed in 2014.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe No. 1316 is a preserved 1309 class 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1911 for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It was frequently used for pulling fast passenger trains in Texas, until it was reassigned to freight service in the late 1940s. After being retired in 1954, it was donated to the Fort Concho Museum in San Angelo, Texas for static display. In 1980, No. 1316 was acquired by the Texas State Railroad, who moved it to Rusk, Texas and restored it in 1982 as their No. 500. It continued to operate there until 2002, when it was found to be due for an overhaul, and it spent several years in storage, disassembled. As of 2024, No. 1316 has been put back together during a cosmetic restoration and it is awaiting the necessary overhaul required to operate it again.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Pine Lumber Co. 28</span> 2-8-0 steam locomotive

Southern Pine Lumber Company No. 28 is a preserved 2-8-0 “Consolidation” steam locomotive that was originally operated by the United States Army Transportation Corps. It is one of three survivors out of over 1,500 General Pershing locomotives built in 1917 for the War Department in World War I, originally numbered 396. After the war, the locomotive was sold off to the Claiborne and Polk Railroad for short distance freight service, and from there, it was sold multiple times throughout its revenue career, until 1956, when it was sold to the Southern Pine Lumber Company in East Texas, where it operated until it was retired in the early 1970s. In 1972, the locomotive was donated to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, who moved it to the Texas State Railroad for restoration four years later. After over twenty years of being stored, awaiting for restoration to come to fruition, the locomotive was fired up again in April 1996 as TSRR No. 300. It has pulled multiple excursion trains between Rusk and Palestine every year since its return to steam alongside a few other steam locomotives, including 2-8-2 No. 400. As of 2024, the locomotive was reverted to one of its original identities as SPLCO No. 28, but is currently getting its running gear repaired in Rusk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading 1251</span> Preserved RDG B-4a class 0-6-0ST locomotive

Reading 1251 is a preserved class "B-4a" 0-6-0 tank locomotive built by the Reading Company's own locomotive shops in Reading in 1918 as the only tank locomotive to be rostered by the Reading after World War I. It served as a shop switcher to pull and push locomotives in and out of the Reading's shops, until it was taken off of the Reading's active list in early 1963. It subsequently spent the next eight years being sold to various owners until becoming fully owned by the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg for static display. As of 2024, the locomotive remains on indoor display inside the museum and is not likely to run again in the near future.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesapeake and Ohio 490</span> Preserved American 4-6-4 locomotive

Chesapeake and Ohio No. 490 is the sole survivor of the L-1 class 4-6-4 "Hudson" type steam locomotives. It was built by Alco's Richmond works in 1926 as an F-19 class 4-6-2 "Pacific" type to be used to pull the Chesapeake and Ohio's secondary passenger trains. It was eventually rebuilt in 1946 to become a streamlined 4-6-4 for the C&O's Chessie streamliner. After the Chessie was cancelled, No. 490 remained in secondary passenger service, until it was retired in 1953. It spent several years in storage in Huntington, West Virginia, until 1968, when it was donated to the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. It remains on static display at the museum, as of 2023.

References

  1. ↑ "Baltimore & Ohio / Buffalo, Rochester, & Pittsburgh / Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton / Cincinnati, Indianapolis, & Western 4-6-2 "Pacific" Locomotives in the USA". www.steamlocomotive.com. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  2. ↑ "Baltimore & Ohio 4-6-2 Locomotives: Roster, Specs, Photos". American-Rails.com. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  3. ↑ "B&O Centenary Exhibition (2nd ed) - www.rgusrail.com". www.rgusrail.com. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  4. ↑ "Columbus Railroads". www.columbusrailroads.com. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  5. ↑ "Baltimore & Ohio Railroad - Steve Eriksen (eriksenphoto)". eriksenphoto.smugmug.com. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  6. ↑ "Baltimore & Ohio Renumbering". The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin (96): 92–93. 1957. ISSN   0033-8842. JSTOR   43520158.
  7. ↑ Rasmussen, Frederick (20 April 2001). "Edward L. Striegel, 82, ran railroad parts firm, enriched B&O; museum". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  8. ↑ "RailPictures.Net Photo: BO 5300 Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Steam 4-6-2 at Baltimore, Maryland by Doug Lilly". www.railpictures.net. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  9. ↑ White, John H. (1970). "Review of Baltimore and Ohio Transportation Museum (Baltimore, Maryland 21223)". Technology and Culture. 11 (1): 70–84. doi:10.2307/3102812. ISSN   0040-165X. JSTOR   3102812.
  10. ↑ "Pictures of BO 5300". www.rrpicturearchives.net. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  11. ↑ "RailPictures.Net Photo: BO 5300 Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Steam 4-6-2 at Baltimore, Maryland by Mitch Goldman". www.railpictures.net. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  12. ↑ "The Polar Express Train Ride 2021". B & O Railroad Museum. Retrieved 2021-08-31.[ permanent dead link ]
  13. ↑ B&O Train Museum moves 1927 Pacific #5300, 28 August 2021, retrieved 2021-09-01
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.