Berkshire locomotive

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The Nickel Plate 765 is one of two remaining operating Berkshire steam locomotives 07 25 09 107x - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg
The Nickel Plate 765 is one of two remaining operating Berkshire steam locomotives

A "Berkshire" type steam locomotive refers to a steam locomotive built with a 2-8-4 wheel configuration. The design was initially intended to improve on the USRA Heavy Mikado design (2-8-2), which was deemed to lack sufficient speed and horsepower. That was overcome by the inclusion of a larger, 100-square-foot (9.3 m2) firebox, requiring an extra trailing axle, giving the locomotive its distinctive 2-8-4 wheel arrangement.

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The name of "Berkshire" was chosen for the 2-8-4 type based on the Lima Locomotive Works testing on the Berkshire Hills of the Boston & Albany Railroad. After the Class A-1 successfully outperformed a Class H-10 Mikado, the Boston & Albany Railroad became the first to order the new Berkshires. Over 600 were built by the Lima Locomotive Works, the American Locomotive Company, and Baldwin Locomotive Works. A total of nineteen different railroads purchased Berkshires, including the Erie Railroad, who owned 105 Berkshires, more than any other railroad; the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, who nicknamed theirs the Kanawhas; and the Louisville & Nashville Railroad's, whose locomotives were technically designated as Class M-1 but were referred to as "Big Emmas".

Only two "Berkshire" type steam locomotives are in operating condition today: Pere Marquette 1225 and Nickel Plate 765. However, in February, 2016, the newly formed Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation based out of Ravenna, Kentucky, was established to restore Chesapeake & Ohio 2716 back into operation. [1]

See also

Notes

    Related Research Articles

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lima Locomotive Works</span> Defunct locomotive manufacturer

    Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shop's location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Erie Railroad main line, the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line and the Nickel Plate Road main line and shops.

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Pere Marquette 1225</span> Preserved PM N-1 class 2-8-4 locomotive

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Nickel Plate Road 765</span> Preserved NKP S-2 class 2-8-4 locomotive

    Nickel Plate Road 765 is a class "S-2" 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road". In 1963, No. 765, renumbered as 767, was donated to the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, where it sat on display at the Lawton Park, while the real No. 767 was scrapped at Chicago in 1964.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Superpower steam</span>

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Louis–San Francisco 4018</span> Preserved American 2-8-2 locomotive

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesapeake and Ohio 2755</span> Preserved American 2-8-4 locomotive (C&O K-4 class)

    Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 2755 is a standard gauge steam railway locomotive of the 2-8-4 type, called "Berkshire" by most US railroads, but "Kanawha" by the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O). It is one of a total of ninety built by ALCO and Lima between 1943 and 1947.

    The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society (FWRHS) is a non-profit group in New Haven, Indiana that is dedicated to the restoration and operation of the ex-Nickel Plate Railroad's steam locomotive no. 765 and other vintage railroad equipment. Since restoration, the 765 was added to the National Register of Historic Places as no. 96001010 on September 12, 1996 and has operated excursion trains across the Eastern United States. In 2012, the FWRHS's steam locomotive no. 765 was added to the Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam program.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesapeake and Ohio 2716</span> Preserved American 2-8-4 locomotive (C&O K-4 class)

    Chesapeake and Ohio Railway 2716 is a class "K-4" 2-8-4 "Kanawha" (Berkshire) type steam locomotive built in 1943 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O). While most railroads referred to these 2-8-4 type locomotives as Berkshires, the C&O referred to them as Kanawhas after the Kanawha River, which flows through West Virginia. Used as a dual service locomotive, No. 2716 and its classmates served the C&O in a variety of duties until being retired from revenue service in 1956.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesapeake and Ohio class K-4</span> Class of 90 American 2-8-4 locomotives

    The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway's K-4 class were a group of ninety 2-8-4 steam locomotives purchased during and shortly after World War II. Unlike many other railroads in the United States, the C&O chose to nickname this class "Kanawha", after the river in West Virginia, rather than "Berkshire", after the region in New England.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesapeake and Ohio class H-8</span> Class of 60 American 2-6-6-6 locomotives

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisville and Nashville class M-1</span> Class of 42 American 2-8-4 locomotives

    The Louisville and Nashville M-1 was a class of forty-two 2-8-4 steam locomotives built during and after World War II as dual-service locomotives. They were nicknamed "Big Emmas" by crews and were built in three batches between 1942 and 1949.

    The Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation (KSHCO) is a nonprofit organization based on the border between Irvine and Ravenna, Kentucky. The organization mainly focuses on the restoration of Chesapeake and Ohio K-4 2-8-4 steam locomotive No. 2716 along with other vintage railroad equipment. The organization has plans of turning the surrounding area into its own tourist attraction called the Kentucky Rail Heritage Center through a partnership with the R.J. Corman Railroad Group and CSX Transportation.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesapeake and Ohio class T-1</span> American steam locomotive

    The Chesapeake and Ohio T-1 was a class of forty 2-10-4 steam locomotives built by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio in 1930 and operated until the early 1950s.

    References

    1. "Kentucky group to restore C&O 2-8-4 No. 2716". Trains. February 7, 2016. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017.