USRA Heavy Pacific

Last updated
USRA Heavy Pacific
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder
Total produced
  • Originals: 20
  • Copies: 88
Specifications
Configuration:
   Whyte 4-6-2
   UIC 2′C1′ h2
Gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.79 in (2,007 mm)
Wheelbase
  • Coupled: 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m)
  • Locomotive: 36 ft 2 in (11.02 m)
  • Loco & tender:70 ft 8+12 in (21.55 m)
Axle load 60,000 lb (27,000 kg)
Adhesive weight 180,000 lb (82,000 kg)
Loco weight300,000 lb (140,000 kg)
Tender weight144,000 lb (65,000 kg)
Total weight444,000 lb (201,000 kg)
Fuel capacityCoal
Water cap.8,000 US gal (30,000 L; 6,700 imp gal)
Tender cap.32,000 lb (15,000 kg)
Firebox:
  Grate area70.8 sq ft (6.58 m2)
Boiler pressure200 psi (1.38 MPa)
Heating surface:
  Firebox284 sq ft (26.4 m2)
  Tubes2,407 sq ft (223.6 m2)
  Flues1,090 sq ft (101 m2)
  Total surface3,808 sq ft (353.8 m2)
Superheater:
  Heating area882 sq ft (81.9 m2)
Cylinders Two, outside
Cylinder size 27 in × 28 in (686 mm × 711 mm)
Valve gear Baker
Valve type14-inch (356 mm) piston valves
Performance figures
Tractive effort 43,800 lbf (194.83 kN)
Factor of adh. 4.1

The USRA Heavy Pacific was a USRA standard class of steam locomotive designed under the control of the United States Railroad Administration, the nationalized railroad system in the United States during World War I. This was the standard heavy passenger locomotive of the USRA types, and was 4-6-2 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or 2′C1′ in UIC classification.

Contents

Roster fleet

Original locomotives

A total of 20 locomotives were built under USRA control, with the production split between the Baldwin Locomotive Works and the American Locomotive Company's Richmond plant; these were sent to the following railroads:

Table of original USRA allocation [1]
RailroadQuantityClassRoad numbersBuiltNotesRetired
Erie Railroad (ERIE)
20
K-5
2915–2934
1919Ten K-5-As were also built as copies (Nos. 2935-2944) in 1923 and a K-5-B (No. 2960) in 1926 by Baldwin. [2] 1950-1952

Locomotive copies

Other post-USRA derivatives include the Baltimore and Ohio P-7 and the Southern Railway Ps-4 classes, the former having larger 80 inch drivers, higher tractive effort, and increased boiler pressure, and the latter with smaller 73 inch drivers, larger cabs, feedwater heaters, and later batches given larger tenders. [3]

Table of USRA copies
RailroadQuantityClassRoad numbersBuiltNotesRetired
Baltimore & Ohio (B&O)
20
P-7
5300-5319
1927Built by Baldwin. [4] 1958
Southern Railway (SOU)
64
1366-1409, 6471-6482, 6675-6691
1923-1928
  • Thirty-six (Nos. 1366-1392, 6471-6475, and 6684-6687) built between 1923 and 1924 at ALCO's Schenectady Works. [5]
  • Twenty-two (Nos. 1393-1404, 6476-6482, and 6688-6691) built in 1926 at ALCO's Richmond Works. [6]
  • The last five (Nos. 1405-1409) built in 1928 by Baldwin. [6]
1949-1953
West Point Route (WPR)
2
P-74
190 & 290
1926Nos. 190 and 290 were both built for the Western Railway of Alabama (WRA) and the Atlanta and West Point Railroad (A&WP), respectively. [7] 1954
Total88

Preservation

Three copies have been preserved.

No.BuilderDate builtPost-USRA ownerLocationImageDisposition
290 Lima Locomotive Works March 1926 Atlanta and West Point Railroad Southeastern Railway Museum
A&wp290-serm-front.jpg
In storage, awaiting cosmetic restoration
1401 American Locomotive Works July 1926 Southern Railway National Museum of American History
Southern Railway 1401 seen 2013.04.26.jpg
On static display
5300 Baldwin Locomotive Works February 1927 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad B&O Railroad Museum
Pacific locomotive, President Washington, B&O RR (CJ Allen, Steel Highway, 1928).jpg
Undergoing cosmetic restoration

References

  1. Drury (2015) , p. 50.
  2. Drury (2015) , p. 176.
  3. Bryant, H. (October 1950). "Ps-4". Trains : 20–26.
  4. Drury (2015) , p. 76.
  5. Ranks & Lowe (1966) , p. 150.
  6. 1 2 Ranks & Lowe (1966) , pp. 151–152.
  7. Drury (2015) , p. 67.