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The Pennsylvania Railroad's S2 class was a steam turbine locomotive designed and built in a collaborative effort by Baldwin Locomotive Works and Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, as an attempt to prolong the dominance of the steam locomotive by adapting technology that had been widely accepted in the marine industry. One was built, #6200, delivered in September 1944. The S2 was the sole example of the 6-8-6 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, with a six-wheel leading truck keeping the locomotive stable at speed, eight powered and coupled driving wheels, and a six-wheel trailing truck supporting the large firebox. The S2 used a direct-drive steam turbine provided by the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, geared to the center pair of axles with the outer two axles connected by side rods; the fixed gear ratio was 18.5:1. Such design was to prevent energy loss and S2 achieved a mechanical efficiency of 97% which means only 3% of steam energy was lost within the propulsion equipment. The disadvantage of a direct-drive steam turbine was that the turbine could not operate at optimal speeds over the locomotive's entire speed range. The S2 was the largest, heaviest and fastest direct-drive turbine locomotive design ever built.
The locomotive was to be a 4-8-4, but wartime restrictions on light steel alloys increased weight until six-wheel leading and trailing trucks were needed; its construction was also delayed by World War II. Construction of the locomotive took place at the Baldwin plant in Eddystone. Two turbines were fitted, one for forward travel and a smaller one for reversing at speeds up to 22 mph (35 km/h). Superheated steam at a rate of about 2,000 pounds per hour was directed onto the turbine blades through 4 nozzles; thousands of turbine blades transmitted steam energy to the transmission gear. The maximum rotation speed of the forward turbine is 9,000 rpm, developing 6,900 hp; the reverse turbine generates 1,500 hp at 8,300 rpm. A monitoring system ensured that the forward turbine could only be started when the reverse turbine was switched off. Weight of propulsion equipment was 39,000 lbs., or 5.65 lbs/hp. A large boiler with a Belpaire firebox and long combustion chamber was fitted. An automatic lubrication system was installed, connecting the transmission case, where the driving gear wheels were immersed in a lubricant reservoir filled with lubricating oil. Lubricant goes through all lubrication points, including roller bearings on all axles via the filtered pipes with the help of two steam pumps. A Worthington-pattern feedwater heater was fitted for increased efficiency. Twin air pumps for train braking were fitted below the running boards beside the smokebox front, and a large radiator assembly at the nose cooled the compressed air.
The turbine exhaust was piped through a set of four nozzles in the smokebox, providing an even draft for the fire and exiting through a unique quadruple stack. S2 had no smoke deflector when it was delivered from Baldwin to PRR in September 1944, but, soon after it began its service, PRR found out that the locomotive blew heavy smoke at lower speed during operation. So, a pair of small smoke deflectors was acquired and a thin semi-circular metal plate for smoke lifting was filled a few feet behind the smokestack. Apparently, these weren't adequate, so a much-larger pair which look like the "elephant ears" used on New York Central class S1b 4-8-4 Niagara and Union Pacific FEF-3 4-8-4 was added at Altoona Works in December, 1946. Using a smoke deflector was never a tradition of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Prior to S2 #6200, there were only three K4s-installed smoke deflectors between 1939 and 1941, for an experimental purpose: PRR #5038, #3876 and #3878. Their smoke deflectors were all removed after the war, so the steam turbine #6200 was the only Pennsy locomotive with huge "elephant ears" after the war.
The tender of the PRR S2 #6200 was originally made for a class L1s locomotive with the designation 180-F-82. Later, it was assigned as 180-P-75 for class K4s No. 3768; the tender was rebuilt again and received the designation 180-P-85 for S2 6200 use. This large 16-wheel tender was similar to that used on the PRR's other large passenger locomotives, the T1 and S1. In order to reduce the crew's workload, a "Fluid Pressure Control System" ( U.S. Patent 2,515,962 ) designed by Westinghouse engineer Harry C. May was installed on the locomotive. It controlled starting, running, reversing, power output, and speed, and limited speed in both directions of operation, all in one single control lever which was installed in front of the engineer's seat.
The locomotive proved to be powerful and capable, with reserves of power at speed and reasonable fuel economy. The turbine drive was easy on the track and allowed more power at the rail. During a test run officially arranged by PRR on 30 March 1945, S2 #6200 towing a dynamometer car was able to pull a 17-car train over a distance of 48 kilometers (level track) at a speed of 110 mph (180 km/h) between Fort Wayne and Chicago. Engineer Mr. Flaya Cartwright and Fireman Mr. M.E. Brown were assigned to this official test run. E.S. Cox, a British locomotive engineer, once traveled on the footplate and reported that "100mph was maintained and exceeded for 12 consecutive minutes". While economical at speed, the locomotive was highly-uneconomical at lower speed. The turbine used less steam than conventional locomotives above 30 mph (48 km/h), but below that the locomotive used too much steam and fuel. The boiler normally operated at 310 psi (2.1 MPa), but at low speed the pressure could drop as low as 85 psi (0.59 MPa). The increased fuel usage at low speeds caused the firebox to run hotter, which sometimes caused stay bolts to break.
The locomotive's problems, the rapid decline of PRR's ridership since 1947 and the advantages of the emerging diesel locomotive ensured that #6200 would never be duplicated, but S2 still participated in the 1948 Chicago Railroad Fair with a T1 4-4-4-4 Duplex Steam Locomotive. [1] In August 1949, the locomotive suffered severe turbine damage. Since the maintenance costs rose steadily, the S2 was finally stored in Crestline and Altoona. In 1952, she was finally retired and was scrapped the following year.
The S2 was assigned to the Fort Wayne Division and based at the Crestline enginehouse. It hauled various prestigious passenger trains serving the New York to Chicago corridor such as The Broadway Limited, The Liberty Limited, The Trail Blazer, The General, The Manhattan Limited and The Golden Arrow on the route between Chicago and Crestline, Ohio (283 miles/ 446 km). S2 also hauled troop trains and was seen towing express freight trains. PRR S2 #6200, as an experimental prototype of a direct-drive steam turbine locomotive, ran 103,000 miles in total before it was completely withdrawn from service in August, 1949 and would soon await the scrapper's torch. The 6200 was eventually scrapped in Conway, Pennsylvania.
The model train company Lionel made several models of the S2. The first ones, 671 and 2020, were released in 1946 and were discontinued in 1949. The 681 turbine's first production run was in 1950 and 1951. It was similar to both of the original turbine models but the 681 has Lionel's Magne-Traction feature which makes the wheels magnetic. In 1952, The Korean War caused a shortage of magnetic material, so the 671 was reissued as the 671rr (671 rerun). The 681 returned the next year. In 1954 and 1955, another turbine, numbered 682, was released. The 682 was basically a 681 but with valve gear on the wheels and a white stripe painted on both sides.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, a 2-10-4 locomotive has two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a Bissel truck, ten coupled driving wheels on five axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles, usually in a bogie. These were referred to as the Texas type in most of the United States, the Colorado type on the Burlington Route, and the Selkirk type in Canada.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-10-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, ten powered and coupled driving wheels on five axles, and no trailing wheels. This arrangement was often named Decapod, especially in the United States, although this name was sometimes applied to locomotives of 0-10-0 "Ten-Coupled" arrangement, particularly in the United Kingdom. Notable German locomotives of this type include the war locomotives of Class 52.
Main components found on a typical steam locomotive include:
The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) K4 4-6-2 "Pacific" was its premier passenger-hauling steam locomotive from 1914 through the end of steam on the PRR in 1957.
The M1 was a class of steam locomotive of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). It was a class of heavy mixed-traffic locomotives of the 4-8-2 "Mountain" arrangement, which uses four pairs of driving wheels with a four-wheel guiding truck in front for stability at speed and a two-wheel trailing truck to support the large firebox needed for sustained power. Although built for both passenger and freight work, they spent most of their service lives hauling heavy high-speed freight trains. Many PRR men counted the M1 class locomotives as the best steam locomotives the railroad ever owned.
The Pennsylvania Railroad's class K5 was an experimental 4-6-2 "Pacific" type, built in 1929 to see if a larger Pacific than the standard K4s was worthwhile. Two prototypes were built, #5698 at the PRR's own Altoona Works, and #5699 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. Although classified identically, the two locomotives differed in many aspects, as detailed below. They were both fitted with a much fatter boiler than the K4s, but dimensionally similar to those of the I1s 2-10-0 "Decapods". Most other dimensions were enlarged over the K4s as well; the exceptions being the 70 square feet (6.5 m2) grate area and the 80 in (2.032 m) drivers.
The PRR S1 class steam locomotive was a single experimental duplex locomotive of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was designed to demonstrate the advantages of duplex drives espoused by Baldwin Chief Engineer Ralph P. Johnson. It was the longest and heaviest rigid frame reciprocating steam locomotive that was ever built. The streamlined Art Deco styled shell of the locomotive was designed by Raymond Loewy.
A steam turbine locomotive is a steam locomotive which transmits steam power to the wheels via a steam turbine. Numerous attempts at this type of locomotive were made, mostly without success. In the 1930s this type of locomotive was seen as a way both to revitalize steam power and challenge the diesel locomotives then being introduced.
The Pennsylvania Railroad's class P5 comprised 92 mixed-traffic electric locomotives constructed 1931–1935 by the PRR, Westinghouse and General Electric. Although the original intention was that they work mainly passenger trains, the success of the GG1 locomotives meant that the P5 class were mostly used on freight. A single survivor, prototype #4700, is at the National Museum of Transportation in St Louis, Missouri.
The Pennsylvania Railroad's class O1 comprised eight experimental boxcab electric locomotives built in 1930 and 1931. They were built in preparation for the New York to Washington Electrification project. They had the wheel arrangement classified as 4-4-4 in the Whyte notation. Although successful, they were not powerful enough for the railroad's increasingly heavy trains. For production, the PRR chose to concentrate on the P5 class, effectively an enlarged and more powerful version of the O1 with an additional pair of driving wheels.
The Pennsylvania Railroad DD1 was a class of boxcab electric locomotives built by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The locomotives were developed as part of the railroad's New York Tunnel Extension, which built the original Pennsylvania Station in New York City and linked it to New Jersey via the North River Tunnels. The Pennsylvania built a total of 66 locomotives in its Altoona Works; they operated in semi-permanently coupled pairs. Westinghouse supplied the electrical equipment.
The Pennsylvania Railroad class Q1, #6130, was a single experimental steam locomotive designed for dual service. The locomotive entered service in 1942, and retired in 1949 after accumulating a relatively low 165,000 service miles.
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.
Pennsylvania Railroad Class L1s were 2-8-2 "Mikado"-type steam locomotives that were used on the Pennsylvania Railroad during the early twentieth century. These 574 locomotives were manufactured between 1914 and 1919 by the railroad's own Juniata Shops as well as the Baldwin Locomotive Works (205) and the Lima Locomotive Works (25).
The Trail Blazer was a deluxe all-coach train, inaugurated between New York and Chicago via Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 17:25 schedule operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The trains departed New York City and Chicago every day at 4:30 pm and 3:00 pm, respectively, and arrived at the destination the next morning. The Trail Blazer was one of the first all-coach trains to provide premium services comparable to a Pullman train. The Trail Blazer name was first used in 1927 for the East St. Louis-Pittsburgh preferred freight VL-6.
Pennsylvania Railroad 1361 is a 4-6-2 K4 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built in May 1918 by the Pennsylvania Railroad's (PRR) Juniata Shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It hauled mainline passenger trains in Pennsylvania and commuter trains in Central New Jersey on the PRR until its retirement from revenue service in 1956. Restored to operating condition for excursion service in 1987, No. 1361 and its only surviving sister locomotive, No. 3750, were designated as the official state steam locomotives by the Pennsylvania General Assembly. In 1988, it was sidelined due to mechanical problems and was currently owned by the Railroaders Memorial Museum (RMM) in Altoona, Pennsylvania, who were currently attempting to return No. 1361 back to operation.
The Pennsylvania Railroad G5 is a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotives built by the PRR's Juniata Shops in the mid-late 1920s. It was designed for passenger trains, particularly on commuter lines, and became a fixture on suburban railroads until the mid-1950s. The G5 was the largest and most powerful 4-6-0 locomotive, except for a single Southern Pacific 4-6-0 that outweighed it by 5,500 lb.
A duplex locomotive is a steam locomotive that divides the driving force on its wheels by using two pairs of cylinders rigidly mounted to a single locomotive frame; it is not an articulated locomotive. The concept was first used in France in 1863, but was particularly developed in the early 1930s by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, the largest commercial builder of steam locomotives in North America, under the supervision of its then chief engineer, Ralph P. Johnson.
Pennsylvania Railroad 5550 is a mainline duplex drive steam locomotive under construction in the United States. With an estimated completion by 2030, the locomotive will become the 53rd example of the Pennsylvania Railroad's T1 steam locomotive class and the only operational locomotive of its type, as well as the largest steam locomotive built in the United States since 1952. The estimated cost of PRR 5550 was originally $10 million, but an updated projected cost of $7 million was released with the acquisition of an existing long-haul tender from the Western New York Railway Historical Society in August 2017. Construction began in 2014 with the casting of the locomotive's keystone-shaped number plate. Major components, including two Boxpok drivers, the prow, the cab, third-course boiler, and fire door have been completed.
The Pennsylvania Railroad's class K29s comprised a single experimental 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive. Constructed by Alco-Schenectady, it was given road number 3395. Although only one demonstrator was constructed, the K29s would become the basis for the highly successful K4s Pacifics and L1s Mikados. The lone example spent most of its life on the PRR's Pittsburgh division main line and was retired around 1929.