 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(April 2024) |
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The GS-5 was a class of streamlined 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) from 1942 to 1958. A total of two were built by the Lima Locomotive Works, numbered 4458 and 4459. GS stands for "Golden State" or "General Service."
The GS-5s were identical in appearance to the GS-4s, the only difference being the roller bearings that gave the locomotive a smoother ride and added weight. No. 4458 had roller bearings from the Timken Company and No. 4459 used SKF brand roller bearings. [1] They had a silver smokebox with a dual-headlight casing (the top headlight was a mars light), and an enclosed, all-weather cab. It retained the skyline casing on the top of the boiler, skirting on the sides, an air horn (for use at speeds due to being louder than the whistle which was rarely if ever used on the main line), and teardrop classification lights. They received the orange and red "Daylight" paint scheme. The GS-5's were designed for high-speed passenger service on Southern Pacific's premier passenger trains, the Coast Daylight , San Joaquin Daylight , and the Sunset Limited. In later years they were painted black and had their side skirting removed for easier maintenance. The GS-5s were considered the pinnacle of the GS series and ended their careers on Southern Pacific's San Joaquin Valley line, pulling the ever popular San Joaquin Daylight until late 1956.
Both GS-5s were scrapped after running well over one million miles. The roller bearings on the two locomotives were so successful that at the time of scrapping, they were examined and showed minimal wear. Preserved GS-4 No. 4449 was equipped with roller bearings on the lead truck, trailing truck, and tender (but not the main axles or rods) in 2008, and therefore shares some similarities to a GS-5.
The Southern Pacific was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names Southern Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific Company and Southern Pacific Transportation Company.
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 steam locomotives, 4-8-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type was first used by the Northern Pacific Railway, and initially named the Northern Pacific, but railfans and railroad employees have shortened the name since its introduction. It is most-commonly known as a Northern.
The Coast Daylight, originally known as the Daylight Limited, was a passenger train on the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) between Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, via SP's Coast Line. It was advertised as the "most beautiful passenger train in the world," carrying a particular red, orange, and black color scheme. The train operated from 1937 until 1974, being retained by Amtrak in 1971. Amtrak merged it with the Coast Starlight in 1974.
The Timken Roller Bearing Company was one of the first to introduce roller bearings for railroad cars. Railroad cars owned and operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway were some of the first to use roller bearings rather than "oil waste journal" boxes. Henry Timken, a German immigrant, invented an improved bearing and founded the company in 1899. It was later renamed The Timken Company.
Timken 1111, also called the Timken Four Aces, was a 4-8-4 steam locomotive built in 1930 by American Locomotive Company (Alco) as a demonstration unit for new roller bearings produced by the Timken Roller Bearing Company. It was the first locomotive built with all sealed roller bearings rather than plain bearings or a combination of the two. It was later operated by the Northern Pacific Railroad as their 2626.
The Southern Pacific GS-4 is a class of semi-streamlined 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) from 1941 to 1958. A total of 28 locomotives were built by the Lima Locomotive Works (LLW) in Lima, Ohio, with the first batch of 20 built between March and May 1941, while the second batch of eight were built between March and April 1942. The initials GS stands for Golden State or General Service.
Southern Pacific 4449, also known as the Daylight, is the only surviving example of Southern Pacific Railroad's GS-4 class of 4-8-4 Northern type steam locomotives and one of only two streamlined GS class locomotives preserved, the other being GS-6 No. 4460 at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri. GS is an abbreviation of General Service or Golden State, the latter of which was a nickname for California, where the locomotive was used to operate in revenue service.
The Southern Pacific Class GS-6 is a class of semi-streamlined 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) from 1943 to 1958 and the Western Pacific Railroad (WP) from 1943 to 1953. A total of sixteen were built by the Lima Locomotive Works, numbered 4460 through 4469 by SP and 481 through 486 by WP. GS stands for "Golden State" or "General Service".
The GS-3 was a class of streamlined 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) from 1938 to 1957. A total of fourteen were built by the Lima Locomotive Works, numbered 4416 through 4429. GS stands for "Golden State" or "General Service."
The GS-2 was a class of streamlined 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) from 1937 to 1958. A total of six were built by the Lima Locomotive Works, numbered 4410 through 4415. GS stands for "Golden State" or "General Service."
The Southern Pacific GS-1 was a class of conventional 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) and its Texas subsidiary the Texas and New Orleans Railroad (T&NO) from 1930 to 1956. A total of fourteen were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, numbered 4400 through 4409 by SP and 700 through 703 by T&NO.
Southern Pacific 4460 is the only surviving class "GS-6" steam locomotive, together with "GS-4" class Southern Pacific 4449, which is operational in excursion service. The GS-6 is a semi-streamlined 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive. GS stands for "Golden State" or "General Service". The locomotive was built by the Lima Locomotive Works (LLW) for the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) in 1943. The GS-6 lacked side skirting and red and orange "Daylight" paint found on previous locomotives of the GS class and were painted black and silver instead. The War Production Board controlled locomotive manufacturers during World War II and had turned down Southern Pacific's order of fourteen new Daylight locomotives in 1942. Southern Pacific re-designed the new fleet based on the older GS-2s, only with 260 psi instead of 300 psi, an all-weather cab, and a new GS-4 style tender. The design was finally approved, but the War Production Board reassigned four to the smaller and power-starved Western Pacific Railroad. Their smaller size when compared to previous GS class locomotives and the fact that they were built during World War II earned them the nicknames "War Babies".
El Gobernador was an American 4-10-0 steam locomotive built by Central Pacific Railroad at the railroad's Sacramento, California shops. It was the last of Central Pacific's locomotives to receive an official name and was also the only locomotive of this wheel arrangement to operate on United States rails. El Gobernador was the largest steam locomotive in the world when it was built. Its name is reminiscent of the railroad's first locomotive, Gov. Stanford, as El Gobernador is Spanish for The Governor. This locomotive is a Mastodon type. Confusingly, this was the unofficial name for an earlier engine, "Mastodon" No. 229, the first successful 4-8-0 ever built. Both engines looked nearly identical, except that El Gobernador was longer and had an additional pair of drivers.
The Norfolk and Western J class was a class of 14 4-8-4 "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives built by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) at its Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, between 1941 and 1950. The most powerful 4-8-4 locomotives ever produced, the J class were part of the N&W's "Big Three" that represented the pinnacle of steam technology.
The Valley Flyer was a short-lived named passenger train of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in the United States. The all-heavyweight, "semi-streamlined" train ran between Bakersfield and Oakland, California during the 1939–1940 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. Motive power was two Baldwin-built 1300 class 4-6-2 "Pacific" locomotives refurbished and decorated for the train. It was the Santa Fe's first attempt at streamlining older steam power.
The Lark was an overnight passenger train of the Southern Pacific Company on the 470-mile (760 km) run between San Francisco and Los Angeles. It became a streamliner in 1941 and was discontinued on April 8, 1968. The Lark ran along the same route as the Coast Daylight and was often pulled by a locomotive wearing the famous Daylight paint scheme of orange, red, and black.
The San Joaquin Daylight was a Southern Pacific passenger train inaugurated between Los Angeles and San Francisco's Oakland Pier by way of the San Joaquin Valley and Tehachapi Pass on July 4, 1941. Travel times were between 12 hours (1970) and 14 hours (1944). It operated until the advent of Amtrak in 1971.
The Shasta Daylight was a Southern Pacific Railroad passenger train between Oakland Pier in Oakland, California, and Portland, Oregon. It started on July 10, 1949, and was SP's third "Daylight" streamliner; it had a fast 15-hour-30-minute schedule in either direction for the 713-mile (1,147 km) trip through some of the most beautiful mountain scenery of any train in North America. The Shasta Daylight replaced heavyweight trains on the same route that had taken nearly a day and night to complete the run. The Shasta Daylight was the first diesel powered Daylight and the only Daylight to run beyond California. The scenic route of the Shasta Daylight passed its namesake Mount Shasta in daylight hours.
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 for the Southern Pacific Transportation Company in 1921.