 | This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view .(September 2022) |
On the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, locomotives were always considered of great importance, and the railroad was involved in many experiments and innovations.
The name Tom Thumb is forever associated with the B&O, as the first steam locomotive built in the United States for an American railroad. It was built strictly as a demonstrator, but it was succeeded by a series of similar locomotives (the "Grasshoppers" and the "Crabs") designed by Ross Winans, the first head of motive power on the railroad. [1] Early B&O designs were quite unlike those used on other roads, due to in-house design and the emphasis of pulling power. 4-2-0 locomotives from Norris (represented by the "Lafayette" reproduction in the B&O museum's collection) were the anomaly on a railroad which was already building eight-coupled (0-8-0) locomotives well before the Civil War. [2] By the beginning of the war, new power on the railroad had become more conventional, though many of the older, unconventional designs remained.
Up until 1884 locomotive numbers were reused when locomotives were retired; numbers were not allocated sequentially (unless lower numbers were used up). In 1884, in order to reduce confusion, all locomotives were renumbered to group like locomotives together, and thereafter numbers were retired along with the locomotive to which they referred.
John W. Garrett's desire to have a line to New York led to the construction of the Baltimore Belt Line in order to bring the railroad across Baltimore. The most important feature of this was the Howard Street Tunnel, which began at Camden Station and headed north to Mount Royal Station. Objections to use of steam led, in 1895, to the first main line electrification in North America. Trains in one direction were pulled through the tunnel, by a series of electric locomotives that lasted until the end of steam; in the other direction, the train simply drifted down the slope. Dieselization made the electrification unnecessary and it was discontinued in 1952.
Another innovation was the introduction of Mallet locomotives. Economies in haulage could be achieved by reducing the number of locomotives and trains needed, so ever more powerful locomotives were always sought. In 1904 [3] [4] #2400, a 0-6-6-0 design, was introduced, and quickly became known as "Old Maude" after a mule in a cartoon. "Old Maude" was renumbered to #7000 in 1915, and it boasted an impressive 71,500 pound tractive effort and was a great success at a Maximum speed of only 21 mph. It was the first Mallet in North America. Mallets were built in large numbers for the B&O, culminating in the huge EM-1 2-8-8-4.
In the presidency of Daniel Willard, the motive power department, headed by Col. George H. Emerson, entered on a long series of experiments intended to improve the performance of the steam locomotive. Particular emphasis was placed on the water tube boiler, as opposed to the fire tube boiler used from the earliest days of steam. (In practice, only the firebox used water tubes.) The culmination of these experiments was the duplex #5600 George H. Emerson, the first of its kind. It was to be succeeded by a visionary locomotive of a unique design, of which very little was built before the whole project was cancelled.
Many other trials were conducted of steam locomotive appliances, very few of which had any lasting impact.
At the turn of the 20th century various compound locomotives were tried, particularly of the Vauclain and tandem patterns. As on other roads, they presented maintenance problems, and only the Mallets were repeated. Some engines had scoops to take on water from track pans, which were found on the line to New York.
The P-7 "president" engines were originally painted olive green, with the name of a United States president in gold on the cab; later they were painted a dark blue. Certain experimental engines had a British-style firebox door instead of the usual American Type.
Other trials, it can be said, changed the face of railroading. In 1925 the B&O was one of the buyers of the first model of diesel locomotive, of which CNJ 1000 was the first example. These were used as yard engines in areas where smoke abatement led to restrictions or bans on the use of steam. In 1935 a single unit mainline diesel-electric engine (#50) was constructed; this was eventually transferred to the Chicago and Alton Railroad, an affiliated line.
Finally in 1937 the B&O bought the first multiple unit diesel locomotives to power its passenger trains. And in 1937 they ran the first coast to coast use of diesel electric locomotives. [5] The railroad put an end to the steam locomotive experiments, though wartime pressures would lead to purchase of many other new steam locomotives. Dieselization took many years, and in the meantime a long program of upgrading older locomotives was continued. The P-7 Pacifics were particularly targeted for improvements, culminating in the Cincinnatian, for which four of the engines were upgraded and streamlined to a design by Olive Dennis, who also supervised the refurbishment of the rolling stock.
The B&O did not emphasize standardization, and when road diesels were bought, they were purchased from nearly every manufacturer. By the time of the railroad's purchase in 1963, though, they were well on their way to becoming the all-EMD line which they remained to the end.
In 1954 a group of steam switchers was renumbered to free up numbers in the 600s and 700s for diesels. Then in 1956 all locomotives were renumbered again. All steam locomotives were renumbered below 1000, thus freeing all four digit numbers for use by the growing numbers of diesels.
Before the Civil War, the B&O organized its locomotives into four classes, based upon relative power. After the war this was felt to be inadequate, and a classification scheme was devised, based upon wheel arrangement. Each wheel arrangement was assigned a letter, except for 4-4-0 locomotives, which were subdivided according to cylinder size. When articulated steam locomotives were first introduced, they were assigned a single class ("O"). This proved inadequate almost immediately and a two letter code was used instead, based on treating the locomotive as if it were two engines coupled back-to-back.
Within each letter class, a number was assigned for each successive design. Usually the first class was numbered "1". Locomotives acquired through mergers were renumbered and reclassified to fit into the sequences of numbers and classes.
Lowercase letter suffixes were used to denote successive modifications of a design. The "t" suffix was also used to indicate that the locomotive was assigned an extra large tender. In the 20th century, such modifications were common, and the pattern of suffixes could become confusing. At one point there was even a class "Qodd" Mikado (2-8-2).
Diesel locomotives were initially classified according to intended service and model. Eventually this was dropped in favor of using the manufacturer's model designations.
Steam classes were as follows:
Articulated classes:
Electric locomotive classes were as follows:
There was one gasoline-powered locomotive:
A Mallet locomotive is a type of compound articulated steam locomotive, invented by the Swiss engineer Anatole Mallet (1837–1919).
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.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of locomotives, 4-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels. In France where the type was first used, it is known as the Baltic while it became known as the Hudson in most of North America.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-10-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, ten powered and coupled driving wheels, and two trailing wheels. In the United States and elsewhere the 2-10-2 is known as the Santa Fe type, after the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway that first used the type in 1903.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Mogul.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. In the United States and elsewhere, this wheel arrangement is commonly known as a Consolidation, after the Lehigh and Mahanoy Railroad’s Consolidation, the name of the first 2-8-0.
Under the Whyte notation, a 2-8-4 is a steam locomotive that has two unpowered leading wheels, followed by eight coupled and powered driving wheels, and four trailing wheels. This locomotive type is most often referred to as a Berkshire, though the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway used the name Kanawha for their 2-8-4s. In Europe, this wheel arrangement was mostly seen in mainline passenger express locomotives and, in certain countries, in tank locomotives.
An articulated locomotive is a steam locomotive with one or more engine units that can move independently of the main frame. Articulation allows the operation of locomotives that would otherwise be too large to negotiate a railroad's curves, whether mainlines or special lines with extreme curvature such as logging, industrial, or mountain railways.
In the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a 2-8-8-0 is a locomotive with a two-wheel leading truck, two sets of eight driving wheels, and no trailing truck.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a 2-6-6-2 is a locomotive with one pair of unpowered leading wheels, followed by two sets of three pairs of powered driving wheels and one pair of trailing wheels. The wheel arrangement was principally used on Mallet-type articulated locomotives, although some tank locomotive examples were also built. A Garratt locomotive or Golwé locomotive with the same wheel arrangement is designated 2-6-0+0-6-2 since both engine units are pivoting.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, a 0-6-6-0 wheel arrangement refers to a locomotive with two engine units mounted under a rigid locomotive frame, with the front engine unit pivoting and each engine unit with six coupled driving wheels without any leading or trailing wheels. The wheel arrangement was mostly used to describe Mallet locomotive types and in some occasions, Double Fairlie locomotives.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, 2-6-6-0 is a locomotive with one pair of unpowered leading wheels, followed by two sets of three pairs of powered driving wheels and no trailing wheels. The wheel arrangement was principally used on Mallet-type articulated locomotives. Some tank locomotive examples were also built, for which various suffixes to indicate the type of tank would be added to the wheel arrangement, for example 2-6-6-0T for an engine with side-tanks.
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.
The USRA 2-6-6-2 is a standardized design of 2-6-6-2 Mallet locomotives developed by the United States Railroad Administration during World War I.
The South African Railways Class MA 2-6-6-0 of 1909 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Natal Colony.
Maine Central Railroad Class O locomotives were originally intended for heavy freight service. They were of 4-6-0 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or "2'C" in UIC classification. They replaced earlier class P 2-6-0 locomotives beginning in 1903. They were in turn replaced by class W 2-8-0 locomotives for the heaviest freight service beginning in 1910, but remained in use on branch line trains until replaced by diesel locomotives after World War II. They proved so well-suited for branch line service the design was among the last steam locomotives built for the Maine Central.
Canadian National Railway (CN) Class S locomotives were a Class of 2-8-2 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or 1′D1′ in UIC classification. These locomotives were designed for 16° operating curvature. The first examples of this very successful class were built for the Grand Trunk Railway in 1913. Major purchases of the class continued through 1924. Sub-classes S-3 and S-4 employed higher pressure boilers with smaller diameter cylinders to achieve similar tractive effort with higher efficiency. The class remained in freight service until the final replacement of steam with diesel-electric locomotives. 53 were renumbered between 4045 and 4097 in 1956.
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.
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.
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.