A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material to heat water in the locomotive's boiler to the point where it becomes gaseous and its volume increases 1,700 times. Functionally, it is a steam engine on wheels.
A Mallet locomotive is a type of articulated steam railway locomotive, invented by the Swiss engineer Anatole Mallet (1837–1919).
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The 4-6-2 locomotive became almost globally known as a Pacific type after a New Zealand locomotive that was shipped across the Pacific Ocean.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. This type of steam locomotive is commonly known as the Mountain type.
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.
Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term railroad and the international term railway is the most significant difference in rail terminology. These and other terms have often originated from the parallel development of rail transport systems in different parts of the world. In English-speaking countries outside the United Kingdom, a mixture of US and UK terms may exist.
The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the state park system of California, United States, interpreting the role of the "iron horse" in connecting California to the rest of the nation. It is located in Old Sacramento State Historic Park at 111 I Street, Sacramento.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, usually in a leading truck or bogie, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no trailing wheels. In North America and in some other countries the type was usually known as the Twelve-wheeler.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-10-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, ten powered and coupled driving wheels, and no trailing wheels. Central Pacific Railroad's El Gobernador, built in 1883, was the only locomotive with this wheel arrangement to operate in the United States. The name "Mastodon" has also been applied to this type, though this nickname has also been mistakenly used for the 4-8-0 arrangement, leading to some confusion. Sources refer to the 4-8-0 as the Twelve-wheeler. Later, these locomotives were named "Super Mastodon's."
Gov. Stanford is a 4-4-0 steam locomotive originally built in 1862 by Norris Locomotive Works. Following construction, it was disassembled and hauled by the ship Herald of the Morning around Cape Horn to California, then up the rivers aboard the schooner Artful Dodger, arriving in Sacramento on October 6, 1863. With a dedication ceremony that included artillery discharge, it entered service on November 9, 1863, and it was used in the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in North America by Central Pacific Railroad bearing road number 1. It was Central Pacific's first locomotive and it is named in honor of the road's first president and ex-California governor, Leland Stanford.
C. P. Huntington is a 4-2-4T steam locomotive on static display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California, USA. It is the first locomotive purchased by the Southern Pacific Railroad, carrying that railroad's number 1, and it is named after one of the Big Four who founded it.
Baldwin 60000 is an experimental steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in 1926, during the height of the railroading industry. It received its number for being the 60,000th locomotive built by Baldwin.
Southern Pacific 6051 is an EMD E9 diesel locomotive. It was one of nine E9s built for SP by EMD in December 1954 for the Southern Pacific (SP). It entered service on January 4, 1955, at Los Angeles. These nine locomotives allowed the dieselization of the Coast Daylight and Lark passenger trains. The units operated with E7s, ALCO PAs, and other passenger equipped diesels as required. Assigned to the Los Angeles passenger pool for its entire career, it worked north via the Coast Line to San Francisco or east on the Sunset Route to El Paso or New Orleans. When SP and Rock Island began pooling locomotives on the Chicago to Los Angeles Golden State in 1967, it also worked those trains until they were discontinued the following year, often in mixed SP/Rock Island consists. SP 6051 is the only surviving Southern Pacific passenger-dedicated diesel locomotive, and it currently resides at the California State Railroad Museum (CSRM) in Sacramento, California. It is also used for train excursions.
Southern Pacific 2479 is one of six 4-6-2 heavy "Pacific" type steam locomotives built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1923 for the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), designated the P-10 class. No. 2479 was retired from service in 1956. The locomotive is currently undergoing restoration to operating condition by the Pacific Locomotive Association at Brightside, California.
Mastodon was the unofficial name of the Central Pacific Railroad's number 229, the world's first successful 4-8-0 steam locomotive.
T. D. Judah was the name of a 4-2-2 steam locomotive owned by the Central Pacific Railroad. It was named in honor of the railroad's first chief engineer, Theodore Dehone Judah, who had championed and surveyed a passable route over the Sierra Nevada for the Transcontinental Railroad.
Class E6 on the Pennsylvania Railroad was the final type of 4-4-2 "Atlantic" locomotive built by the railroad, and second only to the Milwaukee Road's streamlined class A in size, speed and power. Although quickly ceding top-flight trains to the larger K4s Pacifics, the E6 remained a popular locomotive on lesser services and some lasted to the end of steam on the PRR. One, #460, called the Lindbergh Engine, is preserved at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. It was moved indoors to begin preparations for restoration on March 17, 2010. On January 10, 2011, PRR #460 was moved to the museum's restoration shop for a two- to three-year project, estimated to cost $350,000. The engine is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The Central Pacific Railroad number 173 was a 4-4-0 steam locomotive built by Norris-Lancaster for the Western Pacific Railroad in 1864. After its acquisition by Central Pacific, 173 was involved in a bad wreck, lying idle for two years before undergoing a sweeping reconstruction by the line's Sacramento Shops. It subsequently became the prototype for the railroad's engines when the CP began constructing locomotives. The engine was successful, and more engines were built to 173's design.
Southern Pacific No. 1744 is a preserved American class "M-6" 2-6-0 "Mogul" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Southern Pacific Railroad in November 1901. Originally equipped with Vauclain compound cylinders, it was rebuilt with conventional cylinders in 1912. It operated for many years out of Oakland, California on the Southern Pacific's Western Division and in California's Central Valley where the locomotive and its classmates were fondly called “Valley Mallets” by their crews. The locomotive was made famous in later years by pulling some of the last steam excursions on the SP alongside other steam locomotives, including 4-8-4 4460. In 1959, No. 1744 was donated to the Sons of Utah Pioneers in Corinne, Utah where it remained on static display, until 1980. That year, it was restored by New London Railroad and Village Incorporated to operate on the Heber Valley Railroad in Heber City for the rest of the decade.
