Richmond Locomotive Works

Last updated
Richmond Locomotive Works in 1911, after merger with ALCO General View of American Locomotive Works Richmond Va.jpg
Richmond Locomotive Works in 1911, after merger with ALCO

Richmond Locomotive Works was a steam locomotive manufacturing firm located in Richmond, Virginia.

Contents

It began operation in 1887, and produced upward of 4,500 engines during its 40 years of operation. [1] The Richmond Locomotive Works was the largest and most significant manufacturer of locomotives in Virginia during its years of production. [2] Its only contemporary in Virginia was the Roanoke Shops, which produced locomotives exclusively for Norfolk & Western. In 1901 the works merged with several others to form the American Locomotive Company, which continued production at the Richmond works until 1927.

Among the locomotives Richmond produced was locomotive H2 293 for the Finnish State Railways, the locomotive that pulled Lenin's train into Petrograd on the last leg of his return from exile during the Russian Revolution of 1917, and Southern Railway 1401, which pulled President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Funeral Train.

History

Built at American Locomotive Company's Richmond works in 1926, Southern Railway 1401 seen in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Southern Ps4.jpg
Built at American Locomotive Company's Richmond works in 1926, Southern Railway 1401 seen in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

The Richmond Locomotive Works grew out of Tredegar Iron Works to become a nationally known manufacturer of steam locomotive engines and an integral part of the industrial landscape of the city of Richmond. [3] The engines it produced were shipped across America, as well as several countries in Europe, Asia and the South Pacific. [4]

Most Richmond Locomotive engines were sold to Southern carriers. [5] Many were sold to Virginia lines, including Richmond City Railway, as well as the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, the Richmond and Danville Railroad and the Seaboard Air Line. Other buyers included the Louisville and Nashville Railroad; the Louisville Southern Railway; the Wilmington, Onslow and East Carolina Railroad; the Raleigh and Cape Fear Railway; the Nashville and Tellico Railroad; the Atlanta and Florida Railroad; the Georgia Pacific Railway; the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad; the Savannah, Americus and Montgomery Railway; the Southern Railroad; the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad; the Mississippi River and Bonne Terre Railway; the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Railroad; and the Little Rock and Hot Spring Western Railroad. Richmond locomotives were delivered as far away as the Southwestern Arkansas and Indian Territory Railroad and the Alameda and San Joaquin Railroad, [6] Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway; the Rio Grande and Western Railroad; the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad; and the California and Northeastern Railway. [7]

Richmond locomotives also had a significant market in the Midwest as well. Midwestern purchasers included the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway; the Cincinnati, Richmond and Muncie Railroad; the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad; the Wabash Railroad; the Chicago Great Western Railway; the Brainerd and Northern Minnesota Railway; the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway; and the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad purchased several engines, including two specifically constructed for carrying passengers to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

One 4-6-0 locomotive was shipped to New Zealand in 1901 as a sample for the New Zealand Railways to try. It was classed in the 'Ub' family (along with a fellow ALCO product - a Brooks 4-6-0) and given the road number of #371. It was considered too light for mainline running, steaming poorly on New Zealand's ungraded coals but found a home on a local Canterbury Plains branchline serving it for 30 years. It was dumped in 1933 but has been rediscovered for possible restoration.

Sale and merger

In 1901, the Richmond Locomotive Works was purchased by Joseph Leiter for $3 million. [8] At the time, the company employed about 1,600 workers and was producing two locomotives a day. [9]

Later that year, Richmond and seven other manufacturing companies merged to form American Locomotive Company (ALCO). Locomotive production at Richmond Locomotive Works ceased in September 1927.

Preserved Richmond locomotives

Finnish class Hk1 No 293 locomotive built by Richmond Locomotive Works preserved at the Finland Station, St.Petersburg, Russia. This was the locomotive that carried Lenin to Petrograd on the last leg of his return from exile, accelerating the Russian Revolution of 1917. The locomotive M-293, which in August 1917 Lenin went to Finland.JPG
Finnish class Hk1 No 293 locomotive built by Richmond Locomotive Works preserved at the Finland Station, St.Petersburg, Russia. This was the locomotive that carried Lenin to Petrograd on the last leg of his return from exile, accelerating the Russian Revolution of 1917.

The following locomotives (in serial number order) built by Richmond before the ALCO merger have been preserved. All locations are in the United States unless otherwise noted.

Serial numberWheel arrangement
(Whyte notation)
Build dateOperational owner(s)Disposition
2957 2-8-0 1900 Santa Fe 769 Old Coal Mine Museum, Madrid, New Mexico
2991 4-6-0 1900 Finnish Railways 293 Finland Station, St-Petersburg, Russia

The following preserved Richmond locomotives were built post-merger:

Serial numberWheel arrangement
(Whyte notation)
Build dateOperational owner(s)Disposition
284462-8-01904 Southern Railway 630 Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, Chattanooga, Tennessee
N/A 2-6-4T 1907 China Railway DB1-28 Shenyang Railway Museum, Shenyang, China [10]
46831 4-6-2 1910 Norfolk and Western 578 Ohio Railway Museum, Worthington, Ohio
593144-6-21919 Atlantic Coast Line 1504 U.S. Sugar, Clewiston, Florida
617694-6-21920 Florida East Coast Railway 148 U.S. Sugar, Clewiston, Florida
632624-6-21922Florida East Coast Railway 153 Gold Coast Railroad Museum, Miami, Florida
64070 2-8-8-2 1923 Norfolk and Western Railway 2050 Illinois Railway Museum, Union, Illinois
66555 4-6-4 1926 Chesapeake and Ohio 490 B&O Railroad Museum, Baltimore, Maryland
668884-6-21926 Southern Railway 1401 Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Locomotive Company</span> Defunct locomotive manufacturer

The American Locomotive Company was an American manufacturer that operated from 1901 to 1969, initially specializing in the production of locomotives but later diversifying and fabricating at various times diesel generators, automobiles, steel, tanks, munitions, oil-production equipment, as well as heat exchangers for nuclear power plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montreal Locomotive Works</span> Defunct Canadian locomotive manufacturer

Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer that existed under several names from 1883 to 1985, producing both steam and diesel locomotives. For many years it was a subsidiary of the American Locomotive Company. MLW's headquarters and manufacturing facilities were in Montreal, Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Railroad Museum</span> Railroad museum in Sacramento, California

The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the California State Parks system that interprets the role of railroads in the West. It is located in Old Sacramento State Historic Park at 111 I Street, Sacramento, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooks Locomotive Works</span>

The Brooks Locomotive Works manufactured railroad steam locomotives and freight cars from 1869 through its merger into the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1901.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooke Locomotive and Machine Works</span>

The Cooke Locomotive and Machine Works, located in Paterson, New Jersey, manufactured steam railroad locomotives from 1852 until it was merged with seven other manufacturers to form American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1901.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2-8-0</span> Locomotive wheel arrangement

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. In the United States and elsewhere, this wheel arrangement is commonly known as a Consolidation, after the Lehigh and Mahanoy Railroad’s Consolidation, the name of the first 2-8-0.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works</span> 19th-century steam locomotive manufacturer in Paterson, NJ

Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works was a manufacturer of railroad steam locomotives based in Paterson, in Passaic County, New Jersey, in the United States. Between its founding in 1832 and its acquisition in 1905, the company built more than 6,000 steam locomotives for railroads around the world. Most 19th-century U.S. railroads owned at least one Rogers-built locomotive. The company's most famous product was a locomotive named The General, built in December 1855, which was one of the principals of the Great Locomotive Chase of the American Civil War.

A 2-8-8-2, in the Whyte notation for describing steam locomotive wheel arrangements, is an articulated locomotive with a two-wheel leading truck, two sets of eight driving wheels, and a two-wheel trailing truck. The equivalent UIC classification is, refined to Mallet locomotives, (1'D)D1'. These locomotives usually employ the Mallet principles of articulation—with the rear engine rigidly attached to the boiler and the front engine free to rotate—and compounding. The 2-8-8-2 was a design largely limited to American locomotive builders. The last 2-8-8-2 was retired in 1962 from the N&W's roster, two years past the ending of steam though steam was still used on steel mill lines and other railroads until 1983.

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a 2-6-6-2 is a locomotive with one pair of unpowered leading wheels, followed by two sets of three pairs of powered driving wheels and one pair of trailing wheels. The wheel arrangement was principally used on Mallet-type articulated locomotives, although some tank locomotive examples were also built. A Garratt locomotive or Golwé locomotive with the same wheel arrangement is designated 2-6-0+0-6-2 since both engine units are pivoting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Canyon Railway</span> Historic railway to Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona

The Grand Canyon Railway is a heritage railroad which carries passengers between Williams, Arizona, and the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ALCO RS-1</span> Diesel-electric locomotive built by ALCO

The ALCO RS-1 was a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by Alco-GE between 1941 and 1953 and the American Locomotive Company from 1953 to 1960. ALCO subsidiary Montreal Locomotive Works built an additional three RS-1s in 1954. This model has the distinction of having the longest production run of any diesel locomotive for the North American market. The RS-1 was in production for 19 years from the first unit Rock Island #748 in March 1941 to the last unit National of Mexico #5663 in March 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otto Kuhler</span> American designer (1894–1977)

Otto August Kuhler was an American designer, one of the best known industrial designers of the American railroads. According to Trains magazine he streamstyled more locomotives and railroad cars than Cret, Dreyfuss and Loewy combined. His extensive concepts for the modernization of the American railroads have repercussions onto the railways worldwide until today. In addition he was a prolific artist of industrial aesthetics and of the American West in general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ALCO FA</span> American locomotive class

The ALCO FA was a family of B-B diesel locomotives designed to haul freight trains. The locomotives were built by a partnership of ALCO and General Electric in Schenectady, New York, between January 1946 and May 1959. Designed by General Electric's Ray Patten, they were of a cab unit design; both cab-equipped lead FA and cabless booster FB models were built. A dual passenger-freight version, the FPA/FPB, was also offered. It was equipped with a steam generator for heating passenger cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Museum of Transportation</span> Transport museum in Roanoke, Virginia

The Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT) is a museum in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, that is devoted to the topic of transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio Railway Museum</span> Railway museum in Worthington, Ohio

The Ohio Railway Museum is a railway museum that was founded in 1948. It is located in Worthington, Ohio, near Columbus, Ohio.

<i>Jupiter</i> (locomotive) Early American 4-4-0 steam locomotive

The Jupiter was a 4-4-0 steam locomotive owned by the Central Pacific Railroad. It made history when it joined the Union Pacific No. 119 at Promontory Summit, Utah, during the golden spike ceremony commemorating the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad</span> Defunct American Class I railroad

The Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (MStP&SSM) was a Class I railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the Midwestern United States. Commonly known since its opening in 1884 as the Soo Line after the phonetic spelling of Sault, it was merged with several other major CP subsidiaries on January 1, 1961, to form the Soo Line Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic Coast Line 1504</span> Preserved ACL P-5-A class 4-6-2 locomotive

Atlantic Coast Line 1504 is a 4-6-2 steam locomotive built in March 1919 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Richmond, Virginia, for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) as a member of the P-5-A class under the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) standard. No. 1504 was assigned to pull ACL's premier main line passenger trains during the 1920s to early 40s and even main line freight trains in the late 1940s until it was retired from revenue service at the end of 1952.

References

  1. Steam Locomotive Builders, American Locomotive Company
  2. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Richmond Locomotive and Machine Works, March 15, 2007
  3. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Richmond Locomotive and Machine Works, March 15, 2007
  4. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Richmond Locomotive and Machine Works, March 15, 2007
  5. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Richmond Locomotive and Machine Works, March 15, 2007
  6. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Richmond Locomotive and Machine Works, March 15, 2007
  7. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Richmond Locomotive and Machine Works, March 15, 2007
  8. New York Times, Buys Locomotive Works, May 6, 1901
  9. New York Times, Buys Locomotive Works, May 6, 1901
  10. "Railography : Chinese Locomotive Lists : Shenyang Railway Museum".

Notes

  1. ^ Sunshine Software, Steam Locomotive Information . Retrieved October 4, 2005.