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Southern Pacific Railroad's MC-2 class of steam locomotives was the first class to be ordered by and built for Southern Pacific (SP) as cab forward locomotives. They were built in 1909 following the design of SP's MC-1 class built earlier that year. The success of this locomotive model led to the design and introduction of the AC class of 4-8-8-2 cab forward locomotives in the 1930s and 1940s.
A steam locomotive is a type of railway locomotive that produces its pulling power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning combustible material – usually coal, wood, or oil – to produce steam in a boiler. The steam moves reciprocating pistons which are mechanically connected to the locomotive's main wheels (drivers). Both fuel and water supplies are carried with the locomotive, either on the locomotive itself or in wagons (tenders) pulled behind.
The term cab forward refers to various rail and road vehicle designs that place the driver's compartment substantially farther towards the front than is common practice.
Southern Pacific Railroad's MC-1 class of steam locomotive consisted of two locomotives built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in April 1909. They are the first two locomotives converted by Southern Pacific (SP) to run as cab forward locomotives.
In order to get the fuel oil from the tender to the opposite end of the locomotive where the firebox sat, SP had to pressurize the oil in the tender. Five pounds-force per square inch (34 kPa ) of air pressure was sufficient to get the oil to the fire.
In a steam engine, the firebox is the area where the fuel is burned, producing heat to boil the water in the boiler. Most are somewhat box-shaped, hence the name. The hot gases generated in the firebox are pulled through a rack of tubes running through the boiler.
The pascal is the SI derived unit of pressure used to quantify internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus and ultimate tensile strength. It is defined as one newton per square metre. It is named after the French polymath Blaise Pascal.
The two MC-1 locomotives built in May 1909 were rebuilt in 1923 as MC-2 class with uniform cylinders measuring 22 in (559 mm) diameter ×30 in (762 mm) stroke; these rebuilt locomotives weighed 437,000 lb (198,000 kg), like the as-built MC-2 class, but with 393,700 lb (178,600 kg) on the drivers. Most of the rest of the MC-2 class were "simpled" to the same size cylinders by 1931. Except for numbers 4011 and 4013 which were both scrapped by 1936, all of the MC-2 and the two former MC-1 locomotives were rebuilt again into class AC-1 with a higher boiler pressure, but a lower overall tractive effort. The MC-2 rebuilds included installation of a new 4¼-BL Worthington feedwater heater as well.
The bore or cylinder bore is a part of a piston engine. The bore also represents the size of the diameter of the cylinder in which a piston travels. The value of a cylinder's bore, and stroke, is used to establish the displacement of an engine.
In the context of an Internal combustion engine, the term stroke has the following related meanings:
Southern Pacific Railroad's AC-1 class of cab forward steam locomotives consisted of locomotives rebuilt from MC-1 and MC-2 class locomotives that were originally built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1909. The MC-2 class was the first class of locomotives built and delivered to SP as cab forward locomotives in late 1909. The AC-1 class was the first of the successful AC series of cab forward locomotives that numbered nearly 200 in total on the SP. Southern Pacific No. 4002 was rebuilt in June 1923 as a Cab Forward.
SP used these locomotives until after World War II, retiring and then scrapping them in 1947 and 1948. The last locomotive of this class was scrapped on April 12, 1949, at SP's Sacramento shops.
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
