Southern Pacific Class P-8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Southern Pacific P-8 No. 2461 when it rolled out of Baldwin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Southern Pacific Class P-8 was a class of 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotives that were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) for the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) in 1921.
In all, a total of 15 locomotives of what had become the Southern Pacific Class P-8 were ever constructed by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1921 and they were all numbered 2461 through 2475. [1] [2] They were designed to be used on the Southern Pacific specifically for the Overland Route from Ogden, Utah, to Oakland, California. The P-8 locomotives had operated on the Overland Route until the larger, more powerful Mt-class of 4-8-2s were delivered in the late 1920s. Most of the P-8s were then transferred further west for service between Oakland, California and Sacramento, California, along with the demanding Peninsula Commute services between San Francisco, California and San Jose, California. [1]
Withdrawal of the class commenced in 1957 and concluded in 1958, and all but two were scrapped. [1]
On January 1, 1958, No. 2475 was pulled out of storage and fired up for an excursion train over Altamont Pass, after the excursion train finished, No. 2475 was retired again on May 21, 1958, moved to West Oakland and scrapped on March 25, 1959, at San Jose, California. [3] [4]
Two locomotives have survived into preservation. [1]